head to head · open source
frigate vs magic
frigate has 35,953 GitHub stars, 3,602 forks, 95 open issues and last shipped today. magic has 1,193 stars, 175 forks, 0 open issues and last shipped 6 days ago. frigate leads on adoption by 2,914% (35,953 vs 1,193 stars). frigate is written in TypeScript under MIT; magic is written in C# under MIT. frigate has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, magic 15%. frigate was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (ai), 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 | magic | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 36K | ★ 1.2K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | C# |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-12 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.6K | ⑂ 175 |
| 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 magic if
- You want the magic feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches C#
- You evaluated both and magic 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 magic
Instant SECURE Full Stack Apps and AI Agents Turn plain English into a working full stack app — database, secure API, business logic, and frontend — running on your own hardware , with zero lock in . An open source alternative to Lovable, Bolt, and Replit that gives you the whole backend, plus an MCP server that turns every endpoint into a tool for Claude, Cursor, or Codex. Read more about Hyperlambda. [ ] Run it in 60 seconds Then open localhost:5555 , point it at localhost:4444 , and log in with root / root . Point the API Wizard at your database, and it generates a complete, secured REST API — then extend it i…
read the full magic overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is frigate or magic more popular?
frigate has 35,953 GitHub stars and magic has 1,193. frigate has the larger community by that measure.
Are frigate and magic free?
Both are open source. frigate is licensed under MIT and magic under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between frigate and magic?
frigate is written in TypeScript and magic 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 magic?
Choose frigate if you want the larger community (35,953 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose magic if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.