head to head · open source
go2rtc vs halcyon-video
go2rtc has 14,208 GitHub stars, 1,323 forks, 928 open issues and last shipped 12 days ago. halcyon-video has 869 stars, 39 forks, 80 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. go2rtc leads on adoption by 1,535% (14,208 vs 869 stars). go2rtc is written in Go under MIT; halcyon-video is written in TypeScript under GPL-3.0. go2rtc has attracted 9% as many forks as stars, halcyon-video 4%. halcyon-video was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (media-server), 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
| go2rtc | halcyon-video | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 14K | ★ 869 |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Go | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-06 | 2026-09-16 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.3K | ⑂ 39 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick go2rtc if
- You weight community size — 14K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick halcyon-video if
- You want the halcyon-video feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and halcyon-video fits your workflow better
About go2rtc
go2rtc is a camera streaming application written in Go and released under the MIT license. It runs as a zero dependency binary on Windows, macOS, Linux, and FreeBSD, and it also ships as a Docker image, a Home Assistant add on, and a Home Assistant integration. The project lives in the smart home and media server ecosystem, with topics spanning Home Assistant, HomeKit, ONVIF, RTSP, RTMP, HLS, MJPEG, MP4, and FFmpeg. It can be embedded into another project through its HTTP API or run as a standalone application with a web interface at http://localhost:1984/ .
read the full go2rtc overview →
About halcyon-video
Halcyon Video is a self hosted, GPL 3.0 licensed TypeScript application that turns a Jellyfin, Plex, or Emby library into a walkable 3D 1990s video rental store, built for people who want to browse their own collection from the couch with a keyboard, gamepad, TV remote, or phone.
read the full halcyon-video overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is go2rtc or halcyon-video more popular?
go2rtc has 14,208 GitHub stars and halcyon-video has 869. go2rtc has the larger community by that measure.
Are go2rtc and halcyon-video free?
Both are open source. go2rtc is licensed under MIT and halcyon-video under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between go2rtc and halcyon-video?
go2rtc is written in Go and halcyon-video 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, go2rtc or halcyon-video?
Choose go2rtc if you want the larger community (14,208 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose halcyon-video if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.