head to head · open source
Onlook vs bb
Onlook has 26,814 GitHub stars, 2,108 forks, 380 open issues and last shipped 1 months ago. bb has 3,946 stars, 553 forks, 463 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Onlook leads on adoption by 580% (26,814 vs 3,946 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 14%. bb was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (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 | ★ 3.9K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-08-25 | 2026-09-26 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.1K | ⑂ 553 |
| 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 is an open source, Apache 2.0 visual editor for Next.js and TailwindCSS projects that lets designers and developers edit a running React app in the browser while the underlying code changes in real time.
read the full Onlook overview →
About bb
bb is the agent IDE that builds itself: an MIT licensed TypeScript application that lets developers drive coding agents from a desktop app, a web app, a CLI, or an HTTP API, and extend the tool itself while it runs.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Onlook or bb more popular?
Onlook has 26,814 GitHub stars and bb has 3,946. 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 (26,814 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose bb if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.