head to head · open source
Onlook vs bb
Onlook has 27,169 GitHub stars, 2,144 forks, 380 open issues and last shipped 22 days ago. bb has 5,334 stars, 779 forks, 463 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Onlook leads on adoption by 409% (27,169 vs 5,334 stars). Onlook is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; bb is written in TypeScript under MIT. Onlook has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, bb 15%. bb was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 3 topic tags (claude-code, codex, ide), 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
| Onlook | bb | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 27K | ★ 5.3K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-10-21 | 2026-11-11 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.1K | ⑂ 779 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Onlook if
- You weight community size — 27K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick bb if
- You want the bb feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and bb fits your workflow better
About Onlook
Onlook The design tool for AI native designers — now in early access. Onlook makes designing on top of your codebase effortless. Craft exceptional experiences with AI in code. → Join the waitlist 👨💻👩💻👨💻 We're hiring engineers in SF! 👩💻👨💻👩💻 View Demo · Report Bug · Request Feature [![Discord][discord shield]][discord url] [![LinkedIn][linkedin shield]][linkedin url] [![Twitter][twitter shield]][twitter url] 中文 Español Deutsch français Português Русский 日本語 한국어 This is the open source visual editor that started Onlook (Next.js + Tailwind). The hosted product we're building next, for AI native…
read the full Onlook overview →
About bb
bb bb is an agentic IDE that builds itself. It can control, customize, and automate itself, laying the groundwork for your own software factory. Every surface — the desktop app, web app, CLI, and HTTP API — is a first class way to drive bb. Work runs in threads you can follow live, steer at any point, or hand off to another agent. [!NOTE] bb is in active development. Core architecture is stable, but workflows and surfaces are still evolving. Use bb Download the desktop app The recommended way to start using bb is the desktop app: Download the latest desktop app The desktop app supports macOS on Apple Silicon…
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Frequently asked questions
Is Onlook or bb more popular?
Onlook has 27,169 GitHub stars and bb has 5,334. Onlook has the larger community by that measure.
Are Onlook and bb free?
Both are open source. Onlook is licensed under Apache-2.0 and bb under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Onlook and bb?
Onlook is written in TypeScript and bb 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, Onlook or bb?
Choose Onlook if you want the larger community (27,169 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose bb if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.