head to head · open source
OpenClaw vs Swirl Search
OpenClaw has 393,747 GitHub stars, 82,755 forks, 6,671 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Swirl Search has 3,051 stars, 292 forks, 1 open issues and last shipped 7 days ago. OpenClaw leads on adoption by 12,806% (393,747 vs 3,051 stars). OpenClaw is written in TypeScript under MIT; Swirl Search is written in Python under Apache-2.0. OpenClaw has attracted 21% as many forks as stars, Swirl Search 10%. 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 | Swirl Search | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 394K | ★ 3.1K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Python |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-10-27 |
| Forks | ⑂ 83K | ⑂ 292 |
| 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 Swirl Search if
- You want the Swirl Search feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and Swirl Search 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 Swirl Search
SWIRL Community Federated AI search and RAG across your stack, without moving your data Ask a question. SWIRL searches your apps live, ranks the results, and returns an answer with sources you can click through to. Data stays where it lives. No vector database, no ETL, no second copy to govern. Open source, Apache 2.0, running on your machine in about two minutes. ⚡ Quick Start · 🧱 What you get · 🆚 Community vs Enterprise · 🔌 Connectors · 🤝 Contribute This repository is SWIRL Community , Apache 2.0 and free to self host. There is also SWIRL Enterprise , which adds a three pass reranker, canonical answers, an…
read the full Swirl Search overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is OpenClaw or Swirl Search more popular?
OpenClaw has 393,747 GitHub stars and Swirl Search has 3,051. OpenClaw has the larger community by that measure.
Are OpenClaw and Swirl Search free?
Both are open source. OpenClaw is licensed under MIT and Swirl Search under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between OpenClaw and Swirl Search?
OpenClaw is written in TypeScript and Swirl Search 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, OpenClaw or Swirl Search?
Choose OpenClaw if you want the larger community (393,747 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Swirl Search if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.