head to head · open source
jsdoc vs persepolis
jsdoc has 15,465 GitHub stars, 1,492 forks, 459 open issues and last shipped yesterday. persepolis has 7,455 stars, 708 forks, 317 open issues and last shipped 12 months ago. jsdoc leads on adoption by 107% (15,465 vs 7,455 stars). jsdoc is written in JavaScript under Apache-2.0; persepolis is written in Python under GPL-3.0. jsdoc has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, persepolis 9%. jsdoc 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
| jsdoc | persepolis | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 15K | ★ 7.5K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | JavaScript | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-19 | 2025-10-09 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.5K | ⑂ 708 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick jsdoc if
- You weight community size — 15K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick persepolis if
- You want the persepolis feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and persepolis fits your workflow better
About jsdoc
JSDoc is an API documentation generator for JavaScript that reads annotations in source comments and produces a browsable documentation site, aimed at JavaScript developers and library maintainers who need reference documentation to stay in sync with code.
read the full jsdoc overview →
About persepolis
Persepolis is a download manager written in Python and released under the GPL 3.0 license. It ships a graphical interface built with PyQt5 or PySide6 and is developed for GNU/Linux distributions, the BSDs, macOS, and Microsoft Windows. The project has existed for roughly ten years, carries 7,449 stars and 709 forks on GitHub, and uses the Meson build system. It is packaged for Arch Linux through the persepolis git AUR package, and it belongs to the desktop application ecosystem of Python and Qt rather than to any single distribution.
read the full persepolis overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is jsdoc or persepolis more popular?
jsdoc has 15,465 GitHub stars and persepolis has 7,455. jsdoc has the larger community by that measure.
Are jsdoc and persepolis free?
Both are open source. jsdoc is licensed under Apache-2.0 and persepolis under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between jsdoc and persepolis?
jsdoc is written in JavaScript and persepolis 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, jsdoc or persepolis?
Choose jsdoc if you want the larger community (15,465 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose persepolis if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.