head to head · open source
lean-ctx vs code-on-incus
lean-ctx has 3,926 GitHub stars, 360 forks, 9 open issues and last shipped yesterday. code-on-incus has 771 stars, 67 forks, 24 open issues and last shipped yesterday. lean-ctx leads on adoption by 409% (3,926 vs 771 stars). lean-ctx is written in Rust under Apache-2.0; code-on-incus is written in Go under MIT. lean-ctx has attracted 9% as many forks as stars, code-on-incus 9%. code-on-incus was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (claude-code), 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
| lean-ctx | code-on-incus | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 3.9K | ★ 771 |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Rust | Go |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 360 | ⑂ 67 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick lean-ctx if
- You weight community size — 3.9K 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 code-on-incus if
- You want the code-on-incus feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and code-on-incus fits your workflow better
About lean-ctx
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read the full lean-ctx overview →
About code-on-incus
code on incus ( coi ) Give every AI coding agent its own machine with active defense. coi runs your AI coding tool (Claude Code, Codex, opencode, pi, omp) inside its own isolated Linux system a full OS container with root access, systemd, Docker, and the freedom to install anything. The agent works like it would on a real server but it can't touch your host, can't see your credentials, and if it does something dangerous, coi pauses or kills the container on its own. One command drops you into a coding session. Your project is mounted, file permissions just work, and your SSH keys, tokens, and environment…
read the full code-on-incus overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is lean-ctx or code-on-incus more popular?
lean-ctx has 3,926 GitHub stars and code-on-incus has 771. lean-ctx has the larger community by that measure.
Are lean-ctx and code-on-incus free?
Both are open source. lean-ctx is licensed under Apache-2.0 and code-on-incus under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between lean-ctx and code-on-incus?
lean-ctx is written in Rust and code-on-incus in Go. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, lean-ctx or code-on-incus?
Choose lean-ctx if you want the larger community (3,926 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose code-on-incus if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.