head to head · open source
mall vs sh
mall has 84,792 GitHub stars, 29,827 forks, 15 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. sh has 3,151 stars, 1,013 forks, 80 open issues and last shipped yesterday. mall leads on adoption by 2,591% (84,792 vs 3,151 stars). mall is written in Java under Apache-2.0; sh is written in Shell under Apache-2.0. mall has attracted 35% as many forks as stars, sh 32%. sh was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (docker, redis), 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
| mall | sh | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 85K | ★ 3.2K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Java | Shell |
| Last push | 2026-09-15 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 30K | ⑂ 1.0K |
| 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 sh if
- You want the sh feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Shell
- You evaluated both and sh 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 sh
kejilion.sh is an all in one Linux management script — a root level Shell toolbox for VPS owners, self hosters and administrators that gathers system monitoring, Docker management, LDNMP site deployment, backups and site protection into one interactive tool.
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Frequently asked questions
Is mall or sh more popular?
mall has 84,792 GitHub stars and sh has 3,151. mall has the larger community by that measure.
Are mall and sh free?
Both are open source. mall is licensed under Apache-2.0 and sh under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between mall and sh?
mall is written in Java and sh 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, mall or sh?
Choose mall if you want the larger community (84,792 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose sh if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.