head to head · open source
LobeChat vs claude-forge
LobeChat has 83,716 GitHub stars, 16,033 forks, 922 open issues and last shipped yesterday. claude-forge has 871 stars, 183 forks, 29 open issues and last shipped 2 months ago. LobeChat leads on adoption by 9,511% (83,716 vs 871 stars). LobeChat is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; claude-forge is written in Shell under MIT. LobeChat has attracted 19% as many forks as stars, claude-forge 21%. LobeChat 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
| LobeChat | claude-forge | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 84K | ★ 871 |
| License | Custom / other | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | Shell |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-09-03 |
| Forks | ⑂ 16K | ⑂ 183 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick LobeChat if
- You weight community size — 84K stars and counting
- You want the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick claude-forge if
- You want the claude-forge feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Shell
- You evaluated both and claude-forge fits your workflow better
About LobeChat
[![][image banner]][vercel link] LobeHub LobeHub organizes your agents into 7×24 operation. It hires, schedules, reports on your entire AI team. You stay in charge — without staying online. English · 简体中文 · [Official Site][official site] · [Changelog][changelog] · [Documents][docs] · [Blog][blog] · [Feedback][github issues link] [![][github release shield]][github release link] [![][docker release shield]][docker release link] [![][vercel shield]][vercel link] [![][discord shield]][discord link] [![][codecov shield]][codecov link] [![][github action test shield]][github action test link] [![][github action…
read the full LobeChat overview →
About claude-forge
⚡ New here? Walk through setup in 60 seconds → English · 한국어 · 中文 · setup guide in 13 languages oh my zsh for Claude Code — one install, full professional kit What is it? • Why bother? • Install • What's inside • How to use • Architecture • FAQ • 한국어 v4.3.0 (September 2026, latest) — session time report now reads Codex too. Same hook, same report; it detects whether a transcript is a Claude Code transcript or a Codex rollout log and counts either. Wiring for Codex is two entries you add to /.codex/hooks.json (how). v4.2.0 (September 2026) — Adds session time report (22nd hook)…
read the full claude-forge overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is LobeChat or claude-forge more popular?
LobeChat has 83,716 GitHub stars and claude-forge has 871. LobeChat has the larger community by that measure.
Are LobeChat and claude-forge free?
Both are open source. LobeChat has no licence declared in this registry, and claude-forge is licensed under MIT. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between LobeChat and claude-forge?
LobeChat is written in TypeScript and claude-forge in Shell. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, LobeChat or claude-forge?
Choose LobeChat if you want the larger community (83,716 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose claude-forge if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.