head to head · open source
opcode vs metals
opcode has 22,421 GitHub stars, 1,711 forks, 332 open issues and last shipped 21 days ago. metals has 2,333 stars, 445 forks, 282 open issues and last shipped yesterday. opcode leads on adoption by 861% (22,421 vs 2,333 stars). opcode is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0; metals is written in Scala under Apache-2.0. opcode has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, metals 19%. metals 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.
← all 20902 open source comparisons
Side by side
| opcode | metals | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 22K | ★ 2.3K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Scala |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-10-08 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.7K | ⑂ 445 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick opcode if
- You weight community size — 22K stars and counting
- You want the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick metals if
- You want the metals feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Scala
- You evaluated both and metals fits your workflow better
About opcode
opcode is an open source desktop GUI application and toolkit for Claude Code that provides a visual command centre for projects, sessions, custom agents, Model Context Protocol servers, checkpoints, and API usage, aimed at developers who already work with Claude Code from the command line and want a graphical layer over it.
read the full opcode overview →
About metals
Metals is a Scala language server that brings rich IDE features to editors supporting the Language Server Protocol, aimed at Scala developers who want full tooling outside of IntelliJ IDEA.
read the full metals overview →
More in Developer Tools
Related comparisons
More IDEs & Code Editors projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the IDEs & Code Editors field.
Frequently asked questions
Is opcode or metals more popular?
opcode has 22,421 GitHub stars and metals has 2,333. opcode has the larger community by that measure.
Are opcode and metals free?
Both are open source. opcode is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and metals under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between opcode and metals?
opcode is written in TypeScript and metals in Scala. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, opcode or metals?
Choose opcode if you want the larger community (22,421 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose metals if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.