head to head · open source
Mole vs portabase
Mole has 73,641 GitHub stars, 2,611 forks, 6 open issues and last shipped yesterday. portabase has 1,867 stars, 145 forks, 33 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. Mole leads on adoption by 3,844% (73,641 vs 1,867 stars). Mole is written in Shell under GPL-3.0; portabase is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0. Mole has attracted 4% as many forks as stars, portabase 8%. Mole 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
| Mole | portabase | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 74K | ★ 1.9K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Shell | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-10-31 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.6K | ⑂ 145 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Mole if
- You weight community size — 74K stars and counting
- You want the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Shell
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick portabase if
- You want the portabase feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and portabase fits your workflow better
About Mole
Mole 🐹 Clean, uninstall, analyze, optimize, and monitor your Mac. Free open source CLI, plus a native Mac app. 💡 Prefer a native app? Mole for Mac brings cleanup, app management, maintenance, disk maps, and live status into one lightweight, VoiceOver ready app. One license covers 2 Macs with lifetime updates and a 14 day refund. The CLI stays free and open source. Features All in one toolkit : Combines CleanMyMac, AppCleaner, DaisyDisk, and iStat Menus in a single binary Deep cleaning : Removes caches, logs, leftovers, and orphaned app data to reclaim gigabytes of space Smart uninstaller : Removes apps plus…
About portabase
Portabase Portabase is a tool designed to simplify the backup and restoration of your database instances. It integrates seamlessly with Portabase agents for managing operations securely and efficiently. [![NextJS][NextJS]][NextJS url] [![BetterAuth][BetterAuth]][BetterAuth url] [![Drizzle][Drizzle]][Drizzle url] [![ShadcnUI][ShadcnUI]][ShadcnUI url] [![Docker][Docker]][Docker url] Website • Documentation • Demo • Installation • Report Bug • Request Feature Installation You have 5 ways to install Portabase: Automated CLI (recommended) details Docker Run details Docker Compose setup details Unraid Community Apps…
read the full portabase overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Mole or portabase more popular?
Mole has 73,641 GitHub stars and portabase has 1,867. Mole has the larger community by that measure.
Are Mole and portabase free?
Both are open source. Mole is licensed under GPL-3.0 and portabase under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Mole and portabase?
Mole is written in Shell and portabase 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, Mole or portabase?
Choose Mole if you want the larger community (73,641 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose portabase if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.