head to head · open source
mantis vs roam-code
mantis has 2,706 GitHub stars, 224 forks, 1 open issues and last shipped yesterday. roam-code has 515 stars, 50 forks, 12 open issues and last shipped 5 days ago. mantis leads on adoption by 425% (2,706 vs 515 stars). mantis is written in Python under Apache-2.0; roam-code is written in Python under Apache-2.0. mantis has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, roam-code 10%. mantis was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (ai-agents, 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 | roam-code | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 2.7K | ★ 515 |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | Python |
| Last push | 2026-11-04 | 2026-10-31 |
| Forks | ⑂ 224 | ⑂ 50 |
| 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 roam-code if
- You want the roam-code 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 roam-code 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 roam-code
roam code Local code analysis and ready to run checks for coding agents. Roam gives your agent a reusable codebase index, pattern findings, candidate algorithmic alternatives, and checks it can call as it works. It can investigate code and evaluate changes without building each analysis from scratch. Runs on your machine · free and open source · no account or API key for local analysis · no automatic source code or telemetry upload 287 commands · 246 MCP tools (17 in the default core preset) · 28 languages Connect your agent · Try a task · Documentation · Explore the code map Why Roam is different Your agent can…
read the full roam-code overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is mantis or roam-code more popular?
mantis has 2,706 GitHub stars and roam-code has 515. mantis has the larger community by that measure.
Are mantis and roam-code free?
Both are open source. mantis is licensed under Apache-2.0 and roam-code under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between mantis and roam-code?
mantis is written in Python and roam-code 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 roam-code?
Choose mantis if you want the larger community (2,706 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose roam-code if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.