head to head · open source
mall vs sqlchat
mall has 84,792 GitHub stars, 29,827 forks, 15 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. sqlchat has 5,848 stars, 507 forks, 22 open issues and last shipped 5 months ago. mall leads on adoption by 1,350% (84,792 vs 5,848 stars). mall is written in Java under Apache-2.0; sqlchat is written in TypeScript under MIT. mall has attracted 35% as many forks as stars, sqlchat 9%. mall was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 3 topic tags (mongodb, mysql, 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 | sqlchat | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 85K | ★ 5.8K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Java | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-15 | 2026-04-21 |
| Forks | ⑂ 30K | ⑂ 507 |
| 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 sqlchat if
- You want the sqlchat feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and sqlchat 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 sqlchat
SQL Chat is an MIT licensed, chat based SQL client and editor written in TypeScript that lets people query, modify, add to, and delete from a database using natural language instead of clicking through graphical SQL controls, and it is aimed at developers, analysts, and data teams who want a conversational interface in place of a traditional SQL client.
read the full sqlchat overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is mall or sqlchat more popular?
mall has 84,792 GitHub stars and sqlchat has 5,848. mall has the larger community by that measure.
Are mall and sqlchat free?
Both are open source. mall is licensed under Apache-2.0 and sqlchat under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between mall and sqlchat?
mall is written in Java and sqlchat 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, mall or sqlchat?
Choose mall if you want the larger community (84,792 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose sqlchat if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.