head to head · open source
GitButler vs hunk
GitButler has 21,914 GitHub stars, 1,044 forks, 439 open issues and last shipped yesterday. hunk has 9,741 stars, 325 forks, 162 open issues and last shipped yesterday. GitButler leads on adoption by 125% (21,914 vs 9,741 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 | ★ 9.7K |
| License | Custom / other | MIT |
| Written in | Rust | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.0K | ⑂ 325 |
| 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 Git, but better . GitButler is a modern Git based version control interface with both a GUI and CLI built from the ground up for AI powered workflows. Website • Blog • Docs • Downloads Our beautiful GUI Our amazing but CLI [![TWEET][s1]][l1] [ ![BLUESKY][s8]][l8] [![DISCORD][s2]][l2] [![CI][s0]][l0] [![INSTA][s3]][l3] [![YOUTUBE][s5]][l5] [![DEEPWIKI][s7]][l7] [s0]: [l0]: [s1]: [l1]: [s2]: [l2]: [s3]: [l3]: [s5]: [l5]: [s7]: [l7]: [s8]: [l8]: GitButler is a powerful new Git based version control system, designed from scratch to be simple, powerful and flexible. It is designed for ease of use and modern…
read the full GitButler overview →
About hunk
hunk Hunk is a review first terminal diff viewer for agent authored changesets, built on OpenTUI and Pierre diffs. hunk.dev · Documentation multi file review stream with sidebar navigation inline AI and agent annotations beside the code split, unified, and responsive auto layouts watch mode for auto reloading file and Git backed reviews keyboard, mouse, pager, and Git difftool support Split view with sidebar and inline AI notes Unified view and mouse selectable menus Install The default installation method on macOS and Linux downloads a standalone binary and installs it into /.hunk . It checks the archive…
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Frequently asked questions
Is GitButler or hunk more popular?
GitButler has 21,914 GitHub stars and hunk has 9,741. 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 (21,914 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose hunk if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.