head to head · open source
OpenProject vs cairoshell
OpenProject has 16,132 GitHub stars, 3,486 forks, 224 open issues and last shipped yesterday. cairoshell has 3,371 stars, 271 forks, 246 open issues and last shipped 9 days ago. OpenProject leads on adoption by 379% (16,132 vs 3,371 stars). OpenProject is written in Ruby under GPL-3.0; cairoshell is written in C# under Apache-2.0. OpenProject has attracted 22% as many forks as stars, cairoshell 8%. OpenProject 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
| OpenProject | cairoshell | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 16K | ★ 3.4K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Ruby | C# |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-09 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.5K | ⑂ 271 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick OpenProject if
- You weight community size — 16K stars and counting
- You want the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Ruby
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick cairoshell if
- You want the cairoshell feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C#
- You evaluated both and cairoshell fits your workflow better
About OpenProject
OpenProject is a web based open source project management software for teams and organizations that need transparency, flexibility, and data sovereignty. It lives in the open source project management ecosystem, with Ruby as the repository language and Angular as a listed topic. The project is positioned as an open alternative to Asana and Basecamp, and the README also compares it with Jira, MS Project, Monday, and YouTrack.
read the full OpenProject overview →
About cairoshell
Cairo is a customizable, intuitive desktop environment for Windows. It is a C application that provides a shell experience on the Windows desktop, and its listed topics identify it as a launcher, task manager, Windows desktop tool, and WPF project. The repository describes Cairo as a desktop environment whose stated goal is to increase productivity and advance current technology standards, with a focus on stability, performance, and ease of use. It lives in the Windows desktop ecosystem rather than a server or cloud application ecosystem.
read the full cairoshell overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is OpenProject or cairoshell more popular?
OpenProject has 16,132 GitHub stars and cairoshell has 3,371. OpenProject has the larger community by that measure.
Are OpenProject and cairoshell free?
Both are open source. OpenProject is licensed under GPL-3.0 and cairoshell under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between OpenProject and cairoshell?
OpenProject is written in Ruby and cairoshell in C#. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, OpenProject or cairoshell?
Choose OpenProject if you want the larger community (16,132 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose cairoshell if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.