head to head · open source
Mermaid vs sentinl
Mermaid has 90,293 GitHub stars, 9,266 forks, 1,781 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. sentinl has 1,318 stars, 292 forks, 22 open issues and last shipped 8 months ago. Mermaid leads on adoption by 6,751% (90,293 vs 1,318 stars). Mermaid is written in TypeScript under MIT; sentinl is written in JavaScript under Apache-2.0. Mermaid has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, sentinl 22%. Mermaid was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
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
| Mermaid | sentinl | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 90K | ★ 1.3K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-15 | 2026-01-21 |
| Forks | ⑂ 9.3K | ⑂ 292 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Mermaid if
- You weight community size — 90K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick sentinl if
- You want the sentinl feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and sentinl fits your workflow better
About Mermaid
Mermaid is a JavaScript based diagramming tool that renders diagrams from Markdown like text definitions. It lives in the JavaScript/TypeScript ecosystem and operates both in the browser and in Node.js environments. The project’s core purpose is to eliminate the gap between software development and documentation by letting developers write diagrams alongside code, avoiding the rot and overhead of manual diagram maintenance.
read the full Mermaid overview →
About sentinl
Sentinl is an open source JavaScript application for the Elasticsearch ecosystem. It extends Siren Investigate and Kibana with alerting and reporting functionality under the Apache License, version 2. It targets Siren Investigate and Kibana 6.x through a native app interface.
read the full sentinl overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Mermaid or sentinl more popular?
Mermaid has 90,293 GitHub stars and sentinl has 1,318. Mermaid has the larger community by that measure.
Are Mermaid and sentinl free?
Both are open source. Mermaid is licensed under MIT and sentinl under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Mermaid and sentinl?
Mermaid is written in TypeScript and sentinl in JavaScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Mermaid or sentinl?
Choose Mermaid if you want the larger community (90,293 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose sentinl if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.