head to head · open source
Mole vs Reef
Mole has 73,641 GitHub stars, 2,611 forks, 6 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Reef has 616 stars, 34 forks, 37 open issues and last shipped 1 months ago. Mole leads on adoption by 11,855% (73,641 vs 616 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 6%. 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 | ★ 74K | ★ 616 |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Shell | Swift |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-09-26 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.6K | ⑂ 34 |
| 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 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 🐹 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 Reef
Reef The macOS window manager that gives every app its own Alt Tab. Download for macOS · GitHub Releases (Requires macOS 14.6+) How we made Reef (YouTube) Key Features Reef lets you bind applications to number keys and cycle through their windows with an Alt Tab like interface. We built Reef because we wanted a fast and simple window switcher for macOS. Bind applications to number keys to refocus to any window for that app Assign profiles for different sets of bindings Do your binding and profile management through the keyboard Customizable keyboard shortcuts Usage Binding You should start by binding different…
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Frequently asked questions
Is Mole or Reef more popular?
Mole has 73,641 GitHub stars and Reef has 616. 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 (73,641 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose Reef if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.