head to head · open source
iwe vs projectmem
iwe has 1,715 GitHub stars, 88 forks, 1 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. projectmem has 833 stars, 42 forks, 2 open issues and last shipped 8 days ago. iwe leads on adoption by 106% (1,715 vs 833 stars). iwe is written in Rust under Apache-2.0; projectmem is written in Python under MIT. iwe has attracted 5% as many forks as stars, projectmem 5%. iwe was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (ai-agents, ai-memory), 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
| iwe | projectmem | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 1.7K | ★ 833 |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Rust | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-20 | 2026-09-15 |
| Forks | ⑂ 88 | ⑂ 42 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick iwe if
- You weight community size — 1.7K 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 projectmem if
- You want the projectmem feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and projectmem fits your workflow better
About iwe
IWE is a local first Rust tool that turns a directory of Markdown files into a knowledge graph, serving the same notes to your editor through a language server and to AI agents through a CLI and MCP server — it is built for anyone who wants database style queries over plain notes they continue to own.
About projectmem
projectmem is an open source, local first memory layer for AI coding agents, built for developers who use Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor, Antigravity or Codex and want each new session to start from what the project already learned rather than from nothing.
read the full projectmem overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is iwe or projectmem more popular?
iwe has 1,715 GitHub stars and projectmem has 833. iwe has the larger community by that measure.
Are iwe and projectmem free?
Both are open source. iwe is licensed under Apache-2.0 and projectmem under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between iwe and projectmem?
iwe is written in Rust and projectmem 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, iwe or projectmem?
Choose iwe if you want the larger community (1,715 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose projectmem if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.