head to head · open source
JumpServer vs pwd.sh
JumpServer has 31,917 GitHub stars, 5,815 forks, 97 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. pwd.sh has 1,564 stars, 132 forks, 0 open issues and last shipped 20 days ago. JumpServer leads on adoption by 1,941% (31,917 vs 1,564 stars). JumpServer is written in Python under GPL-3.0; pwd.sh is written in Shell under MIT. JumpServer has attracted 18% as many forks as stars, pwd.sh 8%. JumpServer 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
| JumpServer | pwd.sh | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 32K | ★ 1.6K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Python | Shell |
| Last push | 2026-11-06 | 2026-10-19 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.8K | ⑂ 132 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick JumpServer if
- You weight community size — 32K stars and counting
- You want the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick pwd.sh if
- You want the pwd.sh feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Shell
- You evaluated both and pwd.sh fits your workflow better
About JumpServer
An open source PAM platform (Bastion Host) [![][license shield]][license link] [![][docs shield]][docs link] [![][deepwiki shield]][deepwiki link] [![][discord shield]][discord link] [![][docker shield]][docker link] [![][github release shield]][github release link] [![][github stars shield]][github stars link] English · 中文(简体) · 中文(繁體) · 日本語 · Português (Brasil) · Español · Русский · 한국어 What is JumpServer? JumpServer is an open source Privileged Access Management (PAM) platform that provides DevOps and IT teams with on demand and secure access to SSH, RDP, Kubernetes, Database and RemoteApp endpoints through a…
read the full JumpServer overview →
About pwd.sh
pwd.sh is a Bash script to manage text secrets, such as passwords, using GnuPG. Each secret is saved to a randomly named file in a directory. An encrypted index maps usernames to secrets contained in files. Both the index and files can be decrypted directly with GnuPG without pwd.sh. Install Download from Releases, or to use the latest version, clone the repository: Or download the script directly: Use Run the script interactively using ./pwd.sh or symlink to a directory in PATH : w write (create) a secret r read (access) a secret l list secret names and paths s generate a random secret u generate a random…
read the full pwd.sh overview →
More in Security & Privacy
Related comparisons
More Identity & Access Management (IAM) projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Identity & Access Management (IAM) field.
Frequently asked questions
Is JumpServer or pwd.sh more popular?
JumpServer has 31,917 GitHub stars and pwd.sh has 1,564. JumpServer has the larger community by that measure.
Are JumpServer and pwd.sh free?
Both are open source. JumpServer is licensed under GPL-3.0 and pwd.sh under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between JumpServer and pwd.sh?
JumpServer is written in Python and pwd.sh in Shell. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, JumpServer or pwd.sh?
Choose JumpServer if you want the larger community (31,917 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose pwd.sh if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.