head to head · open source
OpenCode vs caveman
OpenCode has 211,202 GitHub stars, 27,988 forks, 5,727 open issues and last shipped today. caveman has 108,615 stars, 6,296 forks, 155 open issues and last shipped today. OpenCode leads on adoption by 94% (211,202 vs 108,615 stars). OpenCode is written in TypeScript under MIT; caveman is written in Go under Apache-2.0. OpenCode has attracted 13% as many forks as stars, caveman 6%. OpenCode 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
| OpenCode | caveman | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 211K | ★ 109K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Go |
| Last push | 2026-10-01 | 2026-10-01 |
| Forks | ⑂ 28K | ⑂ 6.3K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick OpenCode if
- You weight community size — 211K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick caveman if
- You want the caveman feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and caveman fits your workflow better
About OpenCode
OpenCode is an open source AI coding agent designed to operate across terminal, IDE, and desktop environments. It integrates directly into developer workflows to assist with writing, editing, and understanding code using natural language prompts. Built in TypeScript and licensed under MIT, it runs locally or via a desktop app and supports multiple languages and platforms.
read the full OpenCode overview →
About caveman
why use many token when few do trick Your AI coding agent bills by the word and writes like it knows that. Caveman make it stop. ▶️ ThePrimeagen reacts: "No way this actually works" 🏆 1 on GitHub Trending · July 2026 · 🥇 1 Repository of the Day on Trendshift · April 2026 1 on Hacker News · 904 points · 366 comments · 8 Product of the Day on Product Hunt 📄 Cited in CAVEWOMAN , an Adobe Research paper that measured caveman style output cutting cost 1.4 to 2.4×, up to 3× · 🧪 Tested by JetBrains on 86 real coding tasks: "costs you nothing measurable in quality" ⚡ One command, no account, no API key. npx skills…
read the full caveman overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is OpenCode or caveman more popular?
OpenCode has 211,202 GitHub stars and caveman has 108,615. OpenCode has the larger community by that measure.
Are OpenCode and caveman free?
Both are open source. OpenCode is licensed under MIT and caveman under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between OpenCode and caveman?
OpenCode is written in TypeScript and caveman in Go. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, OpenCode or caveman?
Choose OpenCode if you want the larger community (211,202 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose caveman if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.