head to head · open source
one-api vs mcp2cli
one-api has 36,940 GitHub stars, 6,867 forks, 1,036 open issues and last shipped 8 months ago. mcp2cli has 2,402 stars, 177 forks, 3 open issues and last shipped 7 days ago. one-api leads on adoption by 1,438% (36,940 vs 2,402 stars). one-api is written in JavaScript under MIT; mcp2cli is written in Python under MIT. one-api has attracted 19% as many forks as stars, mcp2cli 7%. mcp2cli 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
| one-api | mcp2cli | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 37K | ★ 2.4K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | JavaScript | Python |
| Last push | 2026-01-09 | 2026-09-12 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.9K | ⑂ 177 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick one-api if
- You weight community size — 37K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick mcp2cli if
- You want the mcp2cli feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and mcp2cli fits your workflow better
About one-api
One API is a self hosted LLM API management and key redistribution system that exposes many model providers through the standard OpenAI API format, aimed at developers, teams and operators who want a single endpoint, a single key model and a single quota surface across providers.
read the full one-api overview →
About mcp2cli
mcp2cli is a Python command line tool that turns any MCP server, OpenAPI specification, or GraphQL endpoint into an immediately usable CLI at runtime with zero code generation, built for developers and AI coding agents that need to reach those APIs straight from a terminal.
read the full mcp2cli overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is one-api or mcp2cli more popular?
one-api has 36,940 GitHub stars and mcp2cli has 2,402. one-api has the larger community by that measure.
Are one-api and mcp2cli free?
Both are open source. one-api is licensed under MIT and mcp2cli under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between one-api and mcp2cli?
one-api is written in JavaScript and mcp2cli in Python. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, one-api or mcp2cli?
Choose one-api if you want the larger community (36,940 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose mcp2cli if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.