head to head · open source
rtk vs prettier
rtk has 85,327 GitHub stars, 5,462 forks, 1,642 open issues and last shipped yesterday. prettier has 52,405 stars, 5,023 forks, 1,462 open issues and last shipped yesterday. rtk leads on adoption by 63% (85,327 vs 52,405 stars). rtk is written in Rust under Apache-2.0; prettier is written in JavaScript under MIT. rtk has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, prettier 10%. prettier 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
| rtk | prettier | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 85K | ★ 52K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Rust | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.5K | ⑂ 5.0K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick rtk if
- You weight community size — 85K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick prettier if
- You want the prettier feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and prettier fits your workflow better
About rtk
High performance CLI proxy that cuts up to 90% of the bash output your agent reads Website • Install • Troubleshooting • Architecture • Discord English • Francais • 中文 • 日本語 • 한국어 • Espanol • Português rtk filters and compresses command outputs before they reach your LLM context. Single Rust binary, 100+ supported commands, Full explanation: How RTK Savings Work Installation Homebrew (recommended) winget (Windows) Easiest way to install on Windows — one command, no PATH setup needed: Quick Install (Linux/macOS) Installs to /.local/bin . Add to PATH if needed…
About prettier
Opinionated Code Formatter JavaScript · TypeScript · Flow · JSX · JSON CSS · SCSS · Less HTML · Vue · Angular GraphQL · Markdown · YAML Your favorite language? Intro Prettier is an opinionated code formatter. It enforces a consistent style by parsing your code and re printing it with its own rules that take the maximum line length into account, wrapping code when necessary. Input Output Prettier can be run in your editor on save, in a pre commit hook, or in CI environments to ensure your codebase has a consistent style without devs ever having to post a nit picky comment on a code review ever again!…
read the full prettier overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is rtk or prettier more popular?
rtk has 85,327 GitHub stars and prettier has 52,405. rtk has the larger community by that measure.
Are rtk and prettier free?
Both are open source. rtk is licensed under Apache-2.0 and prettier under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between rtk and prettier?
rtk is written in Rust and prettier in JavaScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, rtk or prettier?
Choose rtk if you want the larger community (85,327 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose prettier if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.