head to head · open source
operating-system vs HaCasa
operating-system has 7,634 GitHub stars, 1,335 forks, 95 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. HaCasa has 500 stars, 58 forks, 23 open issues and last shipped 8 days ago. operating-system leads on adoption by 1,427% (7,634 vs 500 stars). operating-system is written in Python under Apache-2.0; HaCasa is written in JavaScript under MIT. operating-system has attracted 17% as many forks as stars, HaCasa 12%. operating-system was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (home-assistant), 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.
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Side by side
| operating-system | HaCasa | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 7.6K | ★ 500 |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Python | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-06 | 2026-11-01 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.3K | ⑂ 58 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick operating-system if
- You weight community size — 7.6K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick HaCasa if
- You want the HaCasa feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and HaCasa fits your workflow better
About operating-system
Home Assistant Operating System Home Assistant Operating System (formerly HassOS) is a Linux based operating system optimized to host Home Assistant and its Apps. Home Assistant Operating System uses Docker as its container engine. By default it deploys the Home Assistant Supervisor as a container. Home Assistant Supervisor in turn uses the Docker container engine to control Home Assistant Core and Apps in separate containers. Home Assistant Operating System is not based on a regular Linux distribution like Ubuntu. It is built using Buildroot and it is optimized to run Home Assistant. It targets single board…
read the full operating-system overview →
About HaCasa
The HaCasa reboot. A room first Home Assistant panel, built on the Homio design by iamtherufus. Documentation · Demo video · Install · Discussions · Discord · Screenshots · HaCasa v2 (legacy) ▶ Watch the 40 second demo ⚠️ HaCasa Nova is a work in progress and needs testing. This first release has only been run on a handful of homes, so expect rough edges: things may break or change between versions. Try it next to your current dashboard rather than replacing it, and please report what you run into. Known issues are tracked in 158. Why a reboot? HaCasa started as a set of button card templates: a calm, good…
read the full HaCasa overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is operating-system or HaCasa more popular?
operating-system has 7,634 GitHub stars and HaCasa has 500. operating-system has the larger community by that measure.
Are operating-system and HaCasa free?
Both are open source. operating-system is licensed under Apache-2.0 and HaCasa under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between operating-system and HaCasa?
operating-system is written in Python and HaCasa in JavaScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, operating-system or HaCasa?
Choose operating-system if you want the larger community (7,634 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose HaCasa if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.