head to head · open source
operating-system vs tagreader
operating-system has 7,639 GitHub stars, 1,336 forks, 95 open issues and last shipped yesterday. tagreader has 1,624 stars, 219 forks, 48 open issues and last shipped 7 months ago. operating-system leads on adoption by 370% (7,639 vs 1,624 stars). operating-system is written in Python under Apache-2.0; tagreader is written in Shell under GPL-3.0. operating-system has attracted 17% as many forks as stars, tagreader 13%. operating-system 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
| operating-system | tagreader | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 7.6K | ★ 1.6K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | Shell |
| Last push | 2026-11-09 | 2026-04-27 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.3K | ⑂ 219 |
| 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 tagreader if
- You want the tagreader feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Shell
- You evaluated both and tagreader 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…
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About tagreader
Tag Reader for Home Assistant The tag reader is a simple to build/use NFC tag reader, specially created for Home Assistant. It is using a D1 mini ESP 8266 and the PN532 NFC module. The firmware is built using ESPhome. I am selling a pre built version, a DIY version (assembly required), or just the case (use with own components). Check it out on my website. Building the tag reader To build your own tag reader, you need the following components: ESP8266 D1 Mini PN532 NFC Reader WS2812 Buzzer The 3D models for the case are here. WARNING regarding AZdelivery D1. We have had several users contacting us with different…
read the full tagreader overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is operating-system or tagreader more popular?
operating-system has 7,639 GitHub stars and tagreader has 1,624. operating-system has the larger community by that measure.
Are operating-system and tagreader free?
Both are open source. operating-system is licensed under Apache-2.0 and tagreader under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between operating-system and tagreader?
operating-system is written in Python and tagreader in Shell. 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 tagreader?
Choose operating-system if you want the larger community (7,639 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose tagreader if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.