head to head · open source
jsdoc vs liam
jsdoc has 15,465 GitHub stars, 1,492 forks, 459 open issues and last shipped yesterday. liam has 5,116 stars, 239 forks, 29 open issues and last shipped yesterday. jsdoc leads on adoption by 202% (15,465 vs 5,116 stars). jsdoc is written in JavaScript under Apache-2.0; liam is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0. jsdoc has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, liam 5%. liam was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (documentation), 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
| jsdoc | liam | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 15K | ★ 5.1K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | JavaScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-19 | 2026-09-19 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.5K | ⑂ 239 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick jsdoc if
- You weight community size — 15K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick liam if
- You want the liam feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and liam fits your workflow better
About jsdoc
JSDoc is an API documentation generator for JavaScript that reads annotations in source comments and produces a browsable documentation site, aimed at JavaScript developers and library maintainers who need reference documentation to stay in sync with code.
read the full jsdoc overview →
About liam
Liam is an open source TypeScript tool that automatically generates beautiful, interactive ER diagrams from an existing database schema, built for developers and teams who need to read, document, and share the structure of a database without drawing diagrams by hand.
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Frequently asked questions
Is jsdoc or liam more popular?
jsdoc has 15,465 GitHub stars and liam has 5,116. jsdoc has the larger community by that measure.
Are jsdoc and liam free?
Both are open source. jsdoc is licensed under Apache-2.0 and liam under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between jsdoc and liam?
jsdoc is written in JavaScript and liam 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, jsdoc or liam?
Choose jsdoc if you want the larger community (15,465 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose liam if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.