head to head · open source
Kilo vs opcode
Kilo has 27,853 GitHub stars, 3,335 forks, 586 open issues and last shipped yesterday. opcode has 22,434 stars, 1,706 forks, 332 open issues and last shipped 2 months ago. Kilo leads on adoption by 24% (27,853 vs 22,434 stars). Kilo is written in TypeScript under MIT; opcode is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0. Kilo has attracted 12% as many forks as stars, opcode 8%. Kilo was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (claude), 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
| Kilo | opcode | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 28K | ★ 22K |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-04 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.3K | ⑂ 1.7K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Kilo if
- You weight community size — 28K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- 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 Kilo
English 简体中文 繁體中文 한국어 Deutsch Español Français Italiano Dansk 日本語 Polski Русский Bosanski العربية Norsk Português (Brasil) ไทย Türkçe Українська বাংলা Ελληνικά Tiếng Việt The open source coding agent for building with AI in VS Code, JetBrains, or the CLI. Kilo Code is an AI coding agent that meets you everywhere you work: VS Code, JetBrains, and the CLI. It's open source with open pricing. You pick from 500+ models, switch between them mid task, and pay the model provider's rate with zero markup. No API keys required to start. Installation Pick where you want to run Kilo. VS Code Install the Kilo Code extension…
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 →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Kilo or opcode more popular?
Kilo has 27,853 GitHub stars and opcode has 22,434. Kilo has the larger community by that measure.
Are Kilo and opcode free?
Both are open source. Kilo is licensed under MIT and opcode under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Kilo and opcode?
Kilo is written in TypeScript 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, Kilo or opcode?
Choose Kilo if you want the larger community (27,853 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose opcode if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.