head to head · open source
Mole vs Reef
Mole has 67,748 GitHub stars, 2,383 forks, 6 open issues and last shipped today. Reef has 603 stars, 31 forks, 37 open issues and last shipped 3 months ago. Mole leads on adoption by 11,135% (67,748 vs 603 stars). Mole is written in Shell under GPL-3.0; Reef is written in Swift under MIT. Mole has attracted 4% as many forks as stars, Reef 5%. Mole was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (macos), 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
| Mole | Reef | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 68K | ★ 603 |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Shell | Swift |
| Last push | 2026-09-19 | 2026-06-28 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.4K | ⑂ 31 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Mole if
- You weight community size — 68K 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 Reef if
- You want the Reef feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Swift
- You evaluated both and Reef fits your workflow better
About Mole
Mole is an open source macOS utility that combines system cleanup, application management, and live monitoring into a single native app and CLI tool. It runs on macOS 12+ for both Intel and Apple Silicon, offering a unified interface for reclaiming disk space, uninstalling apps thoroughly, visualizing storage, and tracking real time system health. Built in Shell and licensed under GPL 3.0, it aggregates functionality found across several paid tools—CleanMyMac, AppCleaner, DaisyDisk, and iStat Menus—into one binary.
About Reef
Reef is a free, MIT licensed macOS window manager that binds applications to number keys and gives each app its own Alt Tab style switcher, aimed at Mac users who want to refocus any window of any app from the keyboard instead of hunting through the Dock or Mission Control.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Mole or Reef more popular?
Mole has 67,748 GitHub stars and Reef has 603. Mole has the larger community by that measure.
Are Mole and Reef free?
Both are open source. Mole is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Reef under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Mole and Reef?
Mole is written in Shell and Reef in Swift. 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 Reef?
Choose Mole if you want the larger community (67,748 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Reef if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.