head to head · open source
frigate vs IRremoteESP8266
frigate has 35,947 GitHub stars, 3,601 forks, 95 open issues and last shipped yesterday. IRremoteESP8266 has 3,600 stars, 933 forks, 105 open issues and last shipped 26 days ago. frigate leads on adoption by 899% (35,947 vs 3,600 stars). frigate is written in TypeScript under MIT; IRremoteESP8266 is written in C++ under LGPL-2.1. frigate has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, IRremoteESP8266 26%. frigate was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (home-automation), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| frigate | IRremoteESP8266 | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 36K | ★ 3.6K |
| License | MIT | LGPL-2.1 |
| Written in | TypeScript | C++ |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-08-23 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.6K | ⑂ 933 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick frigate if
- You weight community size — 36K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick IRremoteESP8266 if
- You want the IRremoteESP8266 feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the LGPL-2.1 license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You evaluated both and IRremoteESP8266 fits your workflow better
About frigate
Frigate NVR is a complete and local network video recorder built for Home Assistant, with AI object detection. It uses OpenCV and Tensorflow to run realtime object detection locally on IP cameras, so video analysis happens on your own hardware instead of a vendor cloud. Project lives in the Home Assistant home automation ecosystem, with tight integration through a custom component, and it talks over MQTT so other systems can consume its events. Written mainly in TypeScript, MIT licensed, 8 years old, 35,896 stars and 3,596 forks on GitHub.
read the full frigate overview →
About IRremoteESP8266
IRremoteESP8266 is an open source C++ library for the Arduino framework that lets ESP8266 and ESP32 boards send and receive infrared signals. It lives in the embedded home automation and HVAC control ecosystem and is based on Arduino IRremote. It uses common 940 nm infrared LEDs and common infrared receiver modules, including TSOP{17,22,24,36,38,44,48} demodulators.
read the full IRremoteESP8266 overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is frigate or IRremoteESP8266 more popular?
frigate has 35,947 GitHub stars and IRremoteESP8266 has 3,600. frigate has the larger community by that measure.
Are frigate and IRremoteESP8266 free?
Both are open source. frigate is licensed under MIT and IRremoteESP8266 under LGPL-2.1. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between frigate and IRremoteESP8266?
frigate is written in TypeScript and IRremoteESP8266 in C++. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, frigate or IRremoteESP8266?
Choose frigate if you want the larger community (35,947 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose IRremoteESP8266 if its feature set, stack or LGPL-2.1 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.