head to head · open source
opcode vs spyder
opcode has 22,404 GitHub stars, 1,721 forks, 332 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. spyder has 9,335 stars, 1,803 forks, 1,353 open issues and last shipped yesterday. opcode leads on adoption by 140% (22,404 vs 9,335 stars). opcode is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0; spyder is written in Python under MIT. opcode has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, spyder 19%. spyder 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
| opcode | spyder | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 22K | ★ 9.3K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-21 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.7K | ⑂ 1.8K |
| 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 spyder if
- You want the spyder feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and spyder 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 spyder
Spyder is a free, MIT licensed development environment for scientific Python, a desktop IDE built in Python on the Qt toolkit, intended for scientists, engineers, analysts and students who write and run Python code.
read the full spyder overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is opcode or spyder more popular?
opcode has 22,404 GitHub stars and spyder has 9,335. opcode has the larger community by that measure.
Are opcode and spyder free?
Both are open source. opcode is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and spyder under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between opcode and spyder?
opcode is written in TypeScript and spyder 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, opcode or spyder?
Choose opcode if you want the larger community (22,404 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose spyder if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.