head to head · open source
Graphite vs Chalk.ist
Graphite has 27,269 GitHub stars, 1,259 forks, 562 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Chalk.ist has 1,845 stars, 149 forks, 22 open issues and last shipped 8 months ago. Graphite leads on adoption by 1,378% (27,269 vs 1,845 stars). Graphite is written in Rust under Apache-2.0; Chalk.ist is written in Vue under MIT. Graphite has attracted 5% as many forks as stars, Chalk.ist 8%. Graphite was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
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
| Graphite | Chalk.ist | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 27K | ★ 1.8K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Rust | Vue |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-01-07 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.3K | ⑂ 149 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Graphite if
- You weight community size — 27K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Chalk.ist if
- You want the Chalk.ist feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Vue
- You evaluated both and Chalk.ist fits your workflow better
About Graphite
Graphite is a browser based, open source procedural vector editor and 2D content creation application built with Rust. It operates entirely client side with no signup required and runs directly at editor.graphite.art. As an alpha stage project, it combines layer based compositing with a node based procedural graphics engine, evolving beyond traditional vector editing into a generalized graphics toolbox.
read the full Graphite overview →
About Chalk.ist
Chalk.ist is a Vue project in the Productivity & Utilities / Design & Visualization category. GitHub description says create beautiful images of source code. Tagline says transform source code into visuals. Homepage is https://chalk.ist. License is MIT. License line names Kasper Mikiewicz 2022. Repository language is Vue. Repository stats include 1845 stars, 149 forks, 0 contributors, and 22 open issues. Repo age is 0 years. Last push is 2026 01 07T17:18:35Z. The excerpt lists no topics.
read the full Chalk.ist overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Graphite or Chalk.ist more popular?
Graphite has 27,269 GitHub stars and Chalk.ist has 1,845. Graphite has the larger community by that measure.
Are Graphite and Chalk.ist free?
Both are open source. Graphite is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Chalk.ist under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Graphite and Chalk.ist?
Graphite is written in Rust and Chalk.ist in Vue. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Graphite or Chalk.ist?
Choose Graphite if you want the larger community (27,269 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Chalk.ist if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.