head to head · open source
Mattermost vs certstrap
Mattermost has 39,510 GitHub stars, 9,087 forks, 1,012 open issues and last shipped yesterday. certstrap has 2,462 stars, 212 forks, 32 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Mattermost leads on adoption by 1,505% (39,510 vs 2,462 stars). Mattermost is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; certstrap is written in Go under Apache-2.0. Mattermost has attracted 23% as many forks as stars, certstrap 9%. Mattermost was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (golang), 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
| Mattermost | certstrap | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 40K | ★ 2.5K |
| License | Custom / other | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Go |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 9.1K | ⑂ 212 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Mattermost if
- You weight community size — 40K stars and counting
- You want the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick certstrap if
- You want the certstrap feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and certstrap fits your workflow better
About Mattermost
Mattermost is an open core, self hosted collaboration platform that offers chat, workflow automation, voice calling, screen sharing, and AI integration. This repo is the primary source for core development on the Mattermost platform; it's written in Go and React, runs as a single Linux binary, and relies on PostgreSQL. A new compiled version is released under an MIT license every month on the 16th. Deploy Mattermost on premises, or try it for free in the cloud. Learn more about the following use cases with Mattermost: DevSecOps Incident Resolution IT Service Desk Other useful resources: Download and Install…
read the full Mattermost overview →
About certstrap
certstrap A simple certificate manager written in Go, to bootstrap your own certificate authority and public key infrastructure. Adapted from etcd ca. certstrap is a very convenient app if you don't feel like dealing with openssl, its myriad of options or config files. Common Uses certstrap allows you to build your own certificate system: 1. Initialize certificate authorities 2. Create identities and certificate signature requests for hosts 3. Sign and generate certificates Certificate architecture certstrap can init multiple certificate authorities to sign certificates with. Users can make arbitrarily long…
read the full certstrap overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Mattermost or certstrap more popular?
Mattermost has 39,510 GitHub stars and certstrap has 2,462. Mattermost has the larger community by that measure.
Are Mattermost and certstrap free?
Both are open source. Mattermost has no licence declared in this registry, and certstrap is licensed under Apache-2.0. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Mattermost and certstrap?
Mattermost is written in TypeScript and certstrap in Go. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Mattermost or certstrap?
Choose Mattermost if you want the larger community (39,510 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose certstrap if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.