head to head · open source
gentle-shell vs roam-code
gentle-shell has 1,568 GitHub stars, 253 forks, 369 open issues and last shipped yesterday. roam-code has 515 stars, 50 forks, 12 open issues and last shipped 5 days ago. gentle-shell leads on adoption by 204% (1,568 vs 515 stars). gentle-shell is written in TypeScript under MIT; roam-code is written in Python under Apache-2.0. gentle-shell has attracted 16% as many forks as stars, roam-code 10%. gentle-shell was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 5 topic tags (ai-agents, ai-coding, code-review, developer-tools), 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
| gentle-shell | roam-code | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 1.6K | ★ 515 |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Python |
| Last push | 2026-11-04 | 2026-10-31 |
| Forks | ⑂ 253 | ⑂ 50 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick gentle-shell if
- You weight community size — 1.6K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick roam-code if
- You want the roam-code feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and roam-code fits your workflow better
About gentle-shell
gentle shell™ Your coding agent for controlled development in the workspace you lead. Website · Quickstart · Docs · Wiki Your terminal can run an agent. Your workspace should help you lead it. gentle shell is your coding agent, bringing your changes, tasks, and engineering workflow together—built for Pi. One workspace. A coding agent you direct. A workflow you can inspect. BUILT FOR PI · Coding agent workspace · Focused agents · ODD + optional SDD ★ Star gentle shell on GitHub Built for Pi. Shaped by Gentle AI. Features gentle shell — Your coding agent, in the workspace you lead A complete workspace for the…
read the full gentle-shell overview →
About roam-code
roam code Local code analysis and ready to run checks for coding agents. Roam gives your agent a reusable codebase index, pattern findings, candidate algorithmic alternatives, and checks it can call as it works. It can investigate code and evaluate changes without building each analysis from scratch. Runs on your machine · free and open source · no account or API key for local analysis · no automatic source code or telemetry upload 287 commands · 246 MCP tools (17 in the default core preset) · 28 languages Connect your agent · Try a task · Documentation · Explore the code map Why Roam is different Your agent can…
read the full roam-code overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is gentle-shell or roam-code more popular?
gentle-shell has 1,568 GitHub stars and roam-code has 515. gentle-shell has the larger community by that measure.
Are gentle-shell and roam-code free?
Both are open source. gentle-shell is licensed under MIT and roam-code under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between gentle-shell and roam-code?
gentle-shell is written in TypeScript and roam-code in Python. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, gentle-shell or roam-code?
Choose gentle-shell if you want the larger community (1,568 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose roam-code if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.