head to head · open source
mall vs m_flow
mall has 84,789 GitHub stars, 29,826 forks, 15 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. m_flow has 4,504 stars, 258 forks, 13 open issues and last shipped 17 days ago. mall leads on adoption by 1,783% (84,789 vs 4,504 stars). mall is written in Java under Apache-2.0; m_flow is written in Python under Apache-2.0. mall has attracted 35% as many forks as stars, m_flow 6%. mall 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
| mall | m_flow | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 85K | ★ 4.5K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Java | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-15 | 2026-09-01 |
| Forks | ⑂ 30K | ⑂ 258 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick mall if
- You weight community size — 85K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick m_flow if
- You want the m_flow feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and m_flow fits your workflow better
About mall
mall is a complete e commerce system built on Spring Boot and MyBatis, distributed as a Java project under the Apache 2.0 license. It ships two applications in one repository: a storefront system for shoppers and an administrative back office for operators. The storefront covers the home portal, product recommendation, product search, product display, shopping cart, order flow, member center, customer service, and help center. The back office covers product management, order management, member management, promotion management, operations management, content management, statistics reports, finance management, perm…
About m_flow
M flow is a Python bio inspired cognitive memory engine positioned as a new paradigm for Graph RAG. It lives in the LLM retrieval and agent memory ecosystem, as a database like component for knowledge graphs, episodic memory, long term memory, and MCP workflows.
read the full m_flow overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is mall or m_flow more popular?
mall has 84,789 GitHub stars and m_flow has 4,504. mall has the larger community by that measure.
Are mall and m_flow free?
Both are open source. mall is licensed under Apache-2.0 and m_flow under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between mall and m_flow?
mall is written in Java and m_flow in Python. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, mall or m_flow?
Choose mall if you want the larger community (84,789 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose m_flow if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.