head to head · open source
mantis vs flow-next
mantis has 2,704 GitHub stars, 224 forks, 1 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. flow-next has 716 stars, 63 forks, 6 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. mantis leads on adoption by 278% (2,704 vs 716 stars). mantis is written in Python under Apache-2.0; flow-next is written in Python under MIT. mantis has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, flow-next 9%. flow-next was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (code-review), 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
| mantis | flow-next | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 2.7K | ★ 716 |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Python | Python |
| Last push | 2026-11-03 | 2026-11-03 |
| Forks | ⑂ 224 | ⑂ 63 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick mantis if
- You weight community size — 2.7K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick flow-next if
- You want the flow-next feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and flow-next fits your workflow better
About mantis
Mantis: Portable Toolkit for Building Secure Software [!CAUTION] USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL. This suite is designed to generate and execute autonomously generated code that may be unstable or perform unexpected actions. USE THIS ONLY IN ISOLATED, RESTRICTED ENVIRONMENTS. Never run this suite on a machine with access to production systems, sensitive data, or internal networks. [!IMPORTANT] RESPONSIBLE USE AI models are non deterministic and can hallucinate findings or generate incorrect patches. All findings must be manually verified by a security expert before being reported. Do not mass file…
read the full mantis overview →
About flow-next
Flow Next Agents generate. flow next proves. Implementation got cheap. Reviewing it, verifying it, and keeping a codebase coherent did not. Flow Next is a workflow plugin that runs inside your coding agent. Give it the change you want and the rules your project follows. It turns that intent into specs, implementation, review, and pull requests with evidence. Your specs, decisions, and task state live in your repository. A real recorded run: plan, then cross model plan review (catches a missing guard, fix, SHIP), then implement plus tests, then impl review SHIP, ending on the receipt. Nothing staged; every frame…
read the full flow-next overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is mantis or flow-next more popular?
mantis has 2,704 GitHub stars and flow-next has 716. mantis has the larger community by that measure.
Are mantis and flow-next free?
Both are open source. mantis is licensed under Apache-2.0 and flow-next under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between mantis and flow-next?
mantis is written in Python and flow-next 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, mantis or flow-next?
Choose mantis if you want the larger community (2,704 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose flow-next if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.