head to head · open source
platformio-core vs fresh
platformio-core has 9,583 GitHub stars, 917 forks, 272 open issues and last shipped 21 days ago. fresh has 9,403 stars, 372 forks, 369 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. platformio-core leads on adoption by 2% (9,583 vs 9,403 stars). platformio-core is written in Python under Apache-2.0; fresh is written in Rust under GPL-3.0. platformio-core has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, fresh 4%. fresh was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (ide), 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
| platformio-core | fresh | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 9.6K | ★ 9.4K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-10-16 | 2026-11-04 |
| Forks | ⑂ 917 | ⑂ 372 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick platformio-core if
- You weight community size — 9.6K 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 fresh if
- You want the fresh feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You evaluated both and fresh fits your workflow better
About platformio-core
PlatformIO Core =============== .. image:: :target: :alt: CI Build for PlatformIO Core .. image:: :target: :alt: CI Build for Docs .. image:: :target: :alt: CI Build for dev platform examples .. image:: :target: :alt: CI Build for the Community Projects .. image:: :target: :alt: Latest Version .. image:: :alt: PlatformIO Labs :target: Quick Links: Homepage PlatformIO IDE Registry Project Examples Docs Donate Contact Us Social: LinkedIn Twitter Facebook Community Forums .. image:: :target: PlatformIO : Your Gateway to Embedded Software Development Excellence. Unlock the true potential of embedded software…
read the full platformio-core overview →
About fresh
Fresh A modern, full featured terminal text editor, with zero configuration . Familiar keybindings, mouse support, and IDE level features — no learning curve required. Official Website · Documentation · Discord · Contributing Quick Install: curl fsSL sh Fresh brings the intuitive UX of VS Code and Sublime Text to the terminal. Standard keybindings, full mouse support, menus, and a command palette — everything works the way you'd expect, right out of the box. No modes, no memorizing shortcuts. Built for real world performance: Fresh handles multi gigabyte files with negligible memory overhead and delivers…
read the full fresh overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is platformio-core or fresh more popular?
platformio-core has 9,583 GitHub stars and fresh has 9,403. platformio-core has the larger community by that measure.
Are platformio-core and fresh free?
Both are open source. platformio-core is licensed under Apache-2.0 and fresh under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between platformio-core and fresh?
platformio-core is written in Python and fresh in Rust. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, platformio-core or fresh?
Choose platformio-core if you want the larger community (9,583 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose fresh if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.