head to head · open source
OpenViking vs liam
OpenViking has 41,477 GitHub stars, 3,377 forks, 999 open issues and last shipped yesterday. liam has 5,161 stars, 242 forks, 29 open issues and last shipped yesterday. OpenViking leads on adoption by 704% (41,477 vs 5,161 stars). OpenViking is written in Python under AGPL-3.0; liam is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0. OpenViking has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, liam 5%. OpenViking 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.
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Side by side
| OpenViking | liam | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 41K | ★ 5.2K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-04 | 2026-11-04 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.4K | ⑂ 242 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick OpenViking if
- You weight community size — 41K stars and counting
- You want the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- 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 OpenViking
The Context Database for AI Agents English / 中文 / 日本語 Website · Live Demo · GitHub · Issues · Docs · Blog Lark · WeChat · Discord · X What is OpenViking OpenViking is an open source context database for AI agents — one filesystem for everything an agent knows: knowledge, memory, and skills. Most agent memory is a black box: text goes in, embeddings come out, and nobody can see what was actually stored. OpenViking organizes context as a virtual filesystem under viking:// instead. Agents navigate it like files — ls , tree , read , write , grep — and you can open any directory to inspect and edit what your agent…
read the full OpenViking overview →
About liam
Automatically generates beautiful and easy to read ER diagrams from your database. Website • Documentation • Roadmap What's Liam ERD? Liam ERD generates beautiful, interactive ER diagrams from your database. Whether you're working on public or private repositories, Liam ERD helps you visualize complex schemas with ease. Beautiful UI & Interactive : A clean design and intuitive features (like panning, zooming, and filtering) make it easy to understand even the most complex databases. Simple Reverse Engineering : Seamlessly turn your existing database schemas into clear, readable diagrams. Effortless Setup : Get…
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Frequently asked questions
Is OpenViking or liam more popular?
OpenViking has 41,477 GitHub stars and liam has 5,161. OpenViking has the larger community by that measure.
Are OpenViking and liam free?
Both are open source. OpenViking is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and liam under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between OpenViking and liam?
OpenViking is written in Python 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, OpenViking or liam?
Choose OpenViking if you want the larger community (41,477 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose liam if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.