head to head · open source
open-design vs partmode
open-design has 96,938 GitHub stars, 11,262 forks, 1,090 open issues and last shipped yesterday. partmode has 509 stars, 24 forks, 11 open issues and last shipped 1 months ago. open-design leads on adoption by 18,945% (96,938 vs 509 stars). open-design is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; partmode is written in JavaScript under AGPL-3.0. open-design has attracted 12% as many forks as stars, partmode 5%. open-design 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
| open-design | partmode | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 97K | ★ 509 |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-08-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 11K | ⑂ 24 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick open-design if
- You weight community size — 97K 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 partmode if
- You want the partmode feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and partmode fits your workflow better
About open-design
OpenDesign is an open source, local first desktop design application for macOS and Windows that turns the coding agent already installed on a developer's machine into the design engine, producing prototypes, dashboards, decks, images, and motion graphics as real files exported to HTML, PDF, PPTX, and MP4.
read the full open-design overview →
About partmode
PartMode is an open source, local first 3D parametric CAD application that runs in the browser for people and for permissioned typed agents, built on OpenCascade WebAssembly, and it is aimed at mechanical designers, engineers, and agent developers who want exact parametric modelling without a desktop CAD installation.
read the full partmode overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is open-design or partmode more popular?
open-design has 96,938 GitHub stars and partmode has 509. open-design has the larger community by that measure.
Are open-design and partmode free?
Both are open source. open-design is licensed under Apache-2.0 and partmode under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between open-design and partmode?
open-design is written in TypeScript and partmode in JavaScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, open-design or partmode?
Choose open-design if you want the larger community (96,938 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose partmode if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.