head to head · open source
Kilo vs sidex
Kilo has 27,863 GitHub stars, 3,336 forks, 586 open issues and last shipped yesterday. sidex has 3,165 stars, 266 forks, 50 open issues and last shipped 2 months ago. Kilo leads on adoption by 780% (27,863 vs 3,165 stars). Kilo is written in TypeScript under MIT; sidex is written in TypeScript under MIT. Kilo has attracted 12% as many forks as stars, sidex 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 (vscode), 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 | sidex | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 28K | ★ 3.2K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-05 | 2026-08-26 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.3K | ⑂ 266 |
| 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 sidex if
- You want the sidex feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and sidex 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 sidex
SideX VSCode's workbench, without Electron. Why · What's Working · AI Agent · Getting Started · How It's Built · Contributing · Discord SideX is a port of Visual Studio Code that replaces Electron with Tauri — a Rust backend and OS's native webview. The same TypeScript workbench, the same editor, terminal, and Git integration, running without a bundled browser. Early release. Core editing and the terminal are solid. The extension host and debugger are still in progress. See What's Working for the full picture. Why VSCode's memory useage is almost entirely from its bundled Chromium, not the editor itself. Tauri…
read the full sidex overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Kilo or sidex more popular?
Kilo has 27,863 GitHub stars and sidex has 3,165. Kilo has the larger community by that measure.
Are Kilo and sidex free?
Both are open source. Kilo is licensed under MIT and sidex under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Kilo and sidex?
Kilo is written in TypeScript and sidex 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 sidex?
Choose Kilo if you want the larger community (27,863 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose sidex if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.