head to head · open source
operating-system vs room-assistant
operating-system has 7,495 GitHub stars, 1,294 forks, 95 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. room-assistant has 1,350 stars, 125 forks, 76 open issues and last shipped 5 days ago. operating-system leads on adoption by 455% (7,495 vs 1,350 stars). operating-system is written in Python under Apache-2.0; room-assistant is written in TypeScript under MIT. operating-system has attracted 17% as many forks as stars, room-assistant 9%. operating-system was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 3 topic tags (docker, hacktoberfest, 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 | room-assistant | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 7.5K | ★ 1.4K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Python | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-24 | 2026-09-22 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.3K | ⑂ 125 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick operating-system if
- You weight community size — 7.5K 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 room-assistant if
- You want the room-assistant feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and room-assistant fits your workflow better
About operating-system
The Home Assistant Operating System is a Linux based operating system built specifically to host Home Assistant and its Apps, intended for people running Home Assistant on a single board computer such as a Raspberry Pi or ODROID, or on an x86 64 machine with UEFI firmware.
read the full operating-system overview →
About room-assistant
room assistant is an MIT licensed, TypeScript based tool that brings presence detection and room level occupancy tracking to home automation, aimed at self hosters and smart home tinkerers who want automations keyed to which room a person is actually in.
read the full room-assistant overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is operating-system or room-assistant more popular?
operating-system has 7,495 GitHub stars and room-assistant has 1,350. operating-system has the larger community by that measure.
Are operating-system and room-assistant free?
Both are open source. operating-system is licensed under Apache-2.0 and room-assistant under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between operating-system and room-assistant?
operating-system is written in Python and room-assistant 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, operating-system or room-assistant?
Choose operating-system if you want the larger community (7,495 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose room-assistant if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.