head to head · open source
OpenClaw vs OpenCode
OpenClaw has 393,664 GitHub stars, 82,735 forks, 6,671 open issues and last shipped yesterday. OpenCode has 223,899 stars, 30,104 forks, 5,727 open issues and last shipped yesterday. OpenClaw leads on adoption by 76% (393,664 vs 223,899 stars). OpenClaw is written in TypeScript under MIT; OpenCode is written in TypeScript under MIT. OpenClaw has attracted 21% as many forks as stars, OpenCode 13%. OpenClaw 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
| OpenClaw | OpenCode | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 394K | ★ 224K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 83K | ⑂ 30K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick OpenClaw if
- You weight community size — 394K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick OpenCode if
- You want the OpenCode feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and OpenCode fits your workflow better
About OpenClaw
OpenClaw 🦞 — Your assistant, on your devices, in your chats OpenClaw is an open source AI assistant that runs on your own computer and meets you in the channels you already use: Discord, iMessage, Slack, Teams, Telegram, WhatsApp, and 20+ more, plus native apps for macOS, iOS, Android, Windows, and Linux. One Gateway runs it as a personal assistant on a laptop or as a shared team deployment; configuration is the only difference. Yours, with no catch. State, memory, and credentials live on your hardware. Models and agent harnesses (Claude, Codex, local models) are plugins you can swap without changing anything…
read the full OpenClaw overview →
About OpenCode
The open source AI coding agent. English 简体中文 繁體中文 한국어 Deutsch Español Français Italiano Dansk 日本語 Polski Русский Bosanski العربية Norsk Português (Brasil) ไทย Türkçe Українська বাংলা Ελληνικά Tiếng Việt Installation [!TIP] Remove versions older than 0.1.x before installing. Desktop App (BETA) OpenCode is also available as a desktop application. Download directly from the releases page or opencode.ai/download. Installation Directory The install script respects the following priority order for the installation path: 1. $OPENCODE INSTALL DIR Custom installation directory 2. $XDG BIN DIR XDG Base Directory…
read the full OpenCode overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is OpenClaw or OpenCode more popular?
OpenClaw has 393,664 GitHub stars and OpenCode has 223,899. OpenClaw has the larger community by that measure.
Are OpenClaw and OpenCode free?
Both are open source. OpenClaw is licensed under MIT and OpenCode under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between OpenClaw and OpenCode?
OpenClaw is written in TypeScript and OpenCode 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, OpenClaw or OpenCode?
Choose OpenClaw if you want the larger community (393,664 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose OpenCode if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.