head to head · open source
moonshine vs WorkFlow-Engine
moonshine has 1,305 GitHub stars, 151 forks, 2 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. WorkFlow-Engine has 865 stars, 154 forks, 1 open issues and last shipped yesterday. moonshine leads on adoption by 51% (1,305 vs 865 stars). moonshine is written in PHP under MIT; WorkFlow-Engine is written in Java under GPL-3.0. moonshine has attracted 12% as many forks as stars, WorkFlow-Engine 18%. WorkFlow-Engine was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (form-builder), 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
| moonshine | WorkFlow-Engine | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 1.3K | ★ 865 |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | PHP | Java |
| Last push | 2026-11-03 | 2026-11-04 |
| Forks | ⑂ 151 | ⑂ 154 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick moonshine if
- You weight community size — 1.3K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches PHP
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick WorkFlow-Engine if
- You want the WorkFlow-Engine feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You evaluated both and WorkFlow-Engine fits your workflow better
About moonshine
MoonShine Simple for beginners and powerful for experts: Administration panel for Laravel framework Hello, developer! 👋 Tired of boring, cookie cutter, or overly complex admin panels? Meet MoonShine — the admin panel you’ll love at first sight (and first prompt). Imagine having: ✅ A developer friend who specializes in admin panels, understands you halfway through a sentence, and builds the functionality you need quickly. ✅ A layout designer and UI/UX expert who can change the colors and style of your admin panel in just a minute to match any brand. ✅ A smart architecture that works not only with Laravel but far…
read the full moonshine overview →
About WorkFlow-Engine
基于SpringBoot+Vue前后端分离的Java国产信创工作流引擎 简介 工作流引擎为业务流程自动化提供底层支撑，通过表单设计器、流程设计器与事项管理模块的协同，实现流程从设计、运行到监控的全生命周期管理。支持表单可视化配置、流程图形化设计、待办事项集中处理及跨系统集成，结合模板管理与智能提醒功能，提升流程流转效率与规范化水平，满足复杂业务场景的自动化需求。系统在线体验 （一）表单设计器 表单设计器提供可视化的表单创建与配置工具，支持通过拖拽操作快速设计表单结构，灵活设置数据源关联、字段绑定规则及校验逻辑。可自定义表单样式与布局，适配不同终端展示需求，支持数组、表格等复杂数据结构的录入与展示。通过配置表单动作触发规则，实现与后端数据的联动交互，同时支持导入标准化模板，简化常用表单的重复设计工作，提升表单制作效率与标准化程度，为流程流转提供结构化数据载体。 （二）流程设计器 流程设计器支持图形化流程建模与全生命周期管理，核心功能包括流程可视化设计、实例运行监控及版本迭代支持。通过图形界面拖拽节点元素（如开始事件、审批节点、结束事件），配置节点权限、流转条件及处理规则，构建可视化流程模型；可实时监控流程实例状态，对异常流程执行删除、挂起、激活等操作，查看审批历程与变量信息；支持低版本流程实例向高版本无缝迁移，保障流程迭代过程中业务连续性，同时支持流程模拟，提前发现设计缺陷，优化流程路径。 （三）事项管理…
read the full WorkFlow-Engine overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is moonshine or WorkFlow-Engine more popular?
moonshine has 1,305 GitHub stars and WorkFlow-Engine has 865. moonshine has the larger community by that measure.
Are moonshine and WorkFlow-Engine free?
Both are open source. moonshine is licensed under MIT and WorkFlow-Engine under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between moonshine and WorkFlow-Engine?
moonshine is written in PHP and WorkFlow-Engine in Java. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, moonshine or WorkFlow-Engine?
Choose moonshine if you want the larger community (1,305 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose WorkFlow-Engine if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.