head to head · open source
GitButler vs hunk
GitButler has 21,668 GitHub stars, 1,013 forks, 439 open issues and last shipped yesterday. hunk has 9,323 stars, 300 forks, 162 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. GitButler leads on adoption by 132% (21,668 vs 9,323 stars). GitButler is written in Rust under a custom or non-standard licence; hunk is written in TypeScript under MIT. GitButler has attracted 5% as many forks as stars, hunk 3%. GitButler was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (git), 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
| GitButler | hunk | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 22K | ★ 9.3K |
| License | Custom / other | MIT |
| Written in | Rust | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-14 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.0K | ⑂ 300 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick GitButler if
- You weight community size — 22K stars and counting
- You want the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick hunk if
- You want the hunk feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and hunk fits your workflow better
About GitButler
GitButler is a Git based version control client with a graphical interface and a command line interface. It is built for AI powered workflows and described as a drop in Git user interface replacement for people and agents. The project lives in the Git and GitHub ecosystem, and it is built as a Tauri desktop application using Rust, Svelte, and TypeScript.
read the full GitButler overview →
About hunk
hunk is a review first terminal diff viewer for agentic coders: an MIT licensed TypeScript tool that opens agent authored changesets in an interactive terminal review interface instead of raw patch text, aimed at developers who must inspect changes produced by AI coding agents or by collaborators.
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Frequently asked questions
Is GitButler or hunk more popular?
GitButler has 21,668 GitHub stars and hunk has 9,323. GitButler has the larger community by that measure.
Are GitButler and hunk free?
Both are open source. GitButler has no licence declared in this registry, and hunk is licensed under MIT. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between GitButler and hunk?
GitButler is written in Rust and hunk in TypeScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, GitButler or hunk?
Choose GitButler if you want the larger community (21,668 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose hunk if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.