head to head · open source
halo vs CMSeeK
halo has 39,797 GitHub stars, 10,329 forks, 112 open issues and last shipped today. CMSeeK has 2,578 stars, 521 forks, 36 open issues and last shipped 2 months ago. halo leads on adoption by 1,444% (39,797 vs 2,578 stars). halo is written in Java under GPL-3.0; CMSeeK is written in Python under GPL-3.0. halo has attracted 26% as many forks as stars, CMSeeK 20%. halo was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (cms, content-management-system), 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
| halo | CMSeeK | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 40K | ★ 2.6K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Java | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-07-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 10K | ⑂ 521 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick halo if
- You weight community size — 40K stars and counting
- You want the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick CMSeeK if
- You want the CMSeeK feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and CMSeeK fits your workflow better
About halo
Halo is an open source, Java based website building tool licensed under GPL 3.0 that lets individuals and teams publish and run a blog, knowledge base, corporate website, or online store from infrastructure they control.
About CMSeeK
What is a CMS? A content management system (CMS) manages the creation and modification of digital content. It typically supports multiple users in a collaborative environment. Some noteable examples are: WordPress, Joomla, Drupal etc . Release History Changelog File Functions Of CMSeek: Basic CMS Detection of over 180 CMS Drupal version detection Advanced Wordpress Scans Detects Version User Enumeration Plugins Enumeration Theme Enumeration Detects Users (3 Detection Methods) Looks for Version Vulnerabilities and much more! Advanced Joomla Scans Version detection Backup files finder Admin page finder Core vulnera…
read the full CMSeeK overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is halo or CMSeeK more popular?
halo has 39,797 GitHub stars and CMSeeK has 2,578. halo has the larger community by that measure.
Are halo and CMSeeK free?
Both are open source. halo is licensed under GPL-3.0 and CMSeeK under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between halo and CMSeeK?
halo is written in Java and CMSeeK 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, halo or CMSeeK?
Choose halo if you want the larger community (39,797 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose CMSeeK if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.