head to head · open source
outlines vs E2B
outlines has 15,998 GitHub stars, 911 forks, 166 open issues and last shipped 1 months ago. E2B has 14,676 stars, 1,148 forks, 59 open issues and last shipped yesterday. outlines leads on adoption by 9% (15,998 vs 14,676 stars). outlines is written in Python under Apache-2.0; E2B is written in Python under Apache-2.0. outlines has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, E2B 8%. E2B 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
| outlines | E2B | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 16K | ★ 15K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-21 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 911 | ⑂ 1.1K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick outlines if
- You weight community size — 16K 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 E2B if
- You want the E2B feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and E2B fits your workflow better
About outlines
🗒️ Structured outputs for LLMs 🗒️ Made with ❤👷️ by the team at .txt Trusted by NVIDIA, Cohere, HuggingFace, vLLM, etc. [![PyPI Version][pypi version badge]][pypi] [![Downloads][downloads badge]][pypistats] [![Stars][stars badge]][stars] [![Discord][discord badge]][discord] [![Blog][dottxt blog badge]][dottxt blog] [![Twitter][twitter badge]][twitter] The .txt API is currently in early access. Request access here → 🚀 Building the future of structured generation We're working with select partners to develop new interfaces to structured generation. Need XML, FHIR, custom schemas or grammars? Let's talk. Audit…
read the full outlines overview →
About E2B
What is E2B? E2B is an open source infrastructure that allows you to run AI generated code in secure isolated sandboxes in the cloud. To start and control sandboxes, use our JavaScript SDK or Python SDK. Run your first Sandbox 1. Install SDK JavaScript / TypeScript Python 2. Get your E2B API key 1. Sign up to E2B here. 2. Get your API key here. 3. Set environment variable with your API key 3. Start a sandbox and run commands JavaScript / TypeScript Python 4. Code execution with Code Interpreter If you need to execute code with runCode() / run code() , install the Code Interpreter SDK (JavaScript / Python): 5…
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Frequently asked questions
Is outlines or E2B more popular?
outlines has 15,998 GitHub stars and E2B has 14,676. outlines has the larger community by that measure.
Are outlines and E2B free?
Both are open source. outlines is licensed under Apache-2.0 and E2B under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between outlines and E2B?
outlines is written in Python and E2B in Python. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, outlines or E2B?
Choose outlines if you want the larger community (15,998 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose E2B if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.