head to head · open source
helix vs opcode
helix has 46,772 GitHub stars, 4,011 forks, 1,671 open issues and last shipped 1 months ago. opcode has 22,429 stars, 1,705 forks, 332 open issues and last shipped 2 months ago. helix leads on adoption by 109% (46,772 vs 22,429 stars). helix is written in Rust under MPL-2.0; opcode is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0. helix has attracted 9% as many forks as stars, opcode 8%. helix 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.
← all 20902 open source comparisons
Side by side
| helix | opcode | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 47K | ★ 22K |
| License | MPL-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Rust | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-29 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.0K | ⑂ 1.7K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick helix if
- You weight community size — 47K stars and counting
- You want the MPL-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick opcode if
- You want the opcode feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and opcode fits your workflow better
About helix
A Kakoune / Neovim inspired editor, written in Rust. The editing model is very heavily based on Kakoune; during development I found myself agreeing with most of Kakoune's design decisions. For more information, see the website or documentation. All shortcuts/keymaps can be found in the documentation on the website. Troubleshooting Features Vim like modal editing Multiple selections Built in language server support Smart, incremental syntax highlighting and code editing via tree sitter Although it's primarily a terminal based editor, I am interested in exploring a custom renderer (similar to Emacs) using wgpu…
read the full helix overview →
About opcode
opcode A powerful GUI app and Toolkit for Claude Code Create custom agents, manage interactive Claude Code sessions, run secure background agents, and more. [!TIP] ⭐ Star the repo and follow @getAsterisk on X for early access to asteria swe v0 . [!NOTE] This project is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Anthropic. Claude is a trademark of Anthropic, PBC. This is an independent developer project using Claude. 🌟 Overview opcode is a powerful desktop application that transforms how you interact with Claude Code. Built with Tauri 2, it provides a beautiful GUI for managing your Claude Code sessions…
read the full opcode overview →
More in Developer Tools
Related comparisons
More IDEs & Code Editors projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the IDEs & Code Editors field.
Frequently asked questions
Is helix or opcode more popular?
helix has 46,772 GitHub stars and opcode has 22,429. helix has the larger community by that measure.
Are helix and opcode free?
Both are open source. helix is licensed under MPL-2.0 and opcode under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between helix and opcode?
helix is written in Rust and opcode 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, helix or opcode?
Choose helix if you want the larger community (46,772 stars) or its MPL-2.0 licence terms. Choose opcode if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.