head to head · open source
OpenClaw vs opencode.nvim
OpenClaw has 393,747 GitHub stars, 82,755 forks, 6,671 open issues and last shipped yesterday. opencode.nvim has 3,904 stars, 161 forks, 6 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. OpenClaw leads on adoption by 9,986% (393,747 vs 3,904 stars). OpenClaw is written in TypeScript under MIT; opencode.nvim is written in Lua under MIT. OpenClaw has attracted 21% as many forks as stars, opencode.nvim 4%. OpenClaw was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (ai), 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
| OpenClaw | opencode.nvim | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 394K | ★ 3.9K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | Lua |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-10-30 |
| Forks | ⑂ 83K | ⑂ 161 |
| 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.nvim if
- You want the opencode.nvim feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Lua
- You evaluated both and opencode.nvim 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.nvim
opencode.nvim Neovim plugin that integrates with OpenCode to keep you in the flow that you already know. ⭐ Motivation AI works best at small, focused scopes — as a pair programmer with the human driving. You stay in control, craft the code that matters, and keep your skills sharp. opencode.nvim just provides the context and connection to make that pairing seamless. Rather than introduce yet another interaction model, opencode.nvim leverages OpenCode's existing TUI and API via standard Neovim interfaces. You keep your environment, your config, your flow. For me, the best tools are the ones that "just work."…
read the full opencode.nvim overview →
More in AI & Machine Learning
Related comparisons
More AI Interaction & Interfaces projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the AI Interaction & Interfaces field.
Frequently asked questions
Is OpenClaw or opencode.nvim more popular?
OpenClaw has 393,747 GitHub stars and opencode.nvim has 3,904. OpenClaw has the larger community by that measure.
Are OpenClaw and opencode.nvim free?
Both are open source. OpenClaw is licensed under MIT and opencode.nvim under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between OpenClaw and opencode.nvim?
OpenClaw is written in TypeScript and opencode.nvim in Lua. 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.nvim?
Choose OpenClaw if you want the larger community (393,747 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose opencode.nvim if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.