head to head · open source
OpenCut vs nightingale
OpenCut has 97,156 GitHub stars, 9,671 forks, 378 open issues and last shipped 1 months ago. nightingale has 1,527 stars, 117 forks, 13 open issues and last shipped yesterday. OpenCut leads on adoption by 6,263% (97,156 vs 1,527 stars). OpenCut is written in TypeScript under MIT; nightingale is written in TypeScript under GPL-3.0. OpenCut has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, nightingale 8%. nightingale 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
| OpenCut | nightingale | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 97K | ★ 1.5K |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-24 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 9.7K | ⑂ 117 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick OpenCut if
- You weight community size — 97K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick nightingale if
- You want the nightingale feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and nightingale fits your workflow better
About OpenCut
OpenCut A free and open source video editor for web, desktop, and mobile. Status OpenCut is being rewritten from the ground up. What's coming: An Editor API First class third party plugins (made possible by a plugin first architecture) Desktop, mobile, and browser from one codebase (Rust core) MCP server (for AI agents) Headless mode (automation, batch rendering) A scripting tab directly in the editor You can still find the previous version at opencut app/opencut classic, which is the one to reach for today. opencut.app still runs the classic version. The rewrite will live at new.opencut.app until it's ready to…
read the full OpenCut overview →
About nightingale
Karaoke from any song in your music library, powered by neural networks. Nightingale scans your music folder, Plex Media Server, Jellyfin server, Navidrome server, or self hosted web library; separates lead vocals from instrumentals using the UVR Karaoke model (or Demucs); transcribes lyrics with word level timestamps via WhisperX; and plays it all back with synchronized highlighting, pitch scoring, key/tempo controls, profiles, and dynamic backgrounds. Ships as a single binary. No manual installation of Python, ffmpeg, or ML models required — everything is downloaded and bootstrapped automatically on first…
read the full nightingale overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is OpenCut or nightingale more popular?
OpenCut has 97,156 GitHub stars and nightingale has 1,527. OpenCut has the larger community by that measure.
Are OpenCut and nightingale free?
Both are open source. OpenCut is licensed under MIT and nightingale under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between OpenCut and nightingale?
OpenCut is written in TypeScript and nightingale 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, OpenCut or nightingale?
Choose OpenCut if you want the larger community (97,156 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose nightingale if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.