head to head · open source
ProxmoxVE vs ByteChef
ProxmoxVE has 29,607 GitHub stars, 2,887 forks, 27 open issues and last shipped yesterday. ByteChef has 1,003 stars, 170 forks, 455 open issues and last shipped yesterday. ProxmoxVE leads on adoption by 2,852% (29,607 vs 1,003 stars). ProxmoxVE is written in Shell under MIT; ByteChef is written in Java under a custom or non-standard licence. ProxmoxVE has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, ByteChef 17%. ByteChef 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.
← all 8884 open source comparisons
Side by side
| ProxmoxVE | ByteChef | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 30K | ★ 1.0K |
| License | MIT | Custom / other |
| Written in | Shell | Java |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.9K | ⑂ 170 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick ProxmoxVE if
- You weight community size — 30K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Shell
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick ByteChef if
- You want the ByteChef feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You evaluated both and ByteChef fits your workflow better
About ProxmoxVE
Proxmox VE Helper Scripts (Community Edition) is a collection of Shell scripts that install and configure self hosted services as containers or virtual machines on Proxmox VE. It is a community project built on the foundation of @tteck's original work, distributed under the MIT license, and it lives in the Proxmox VE and homelab ecosystem alongside LXC, Docker, Debian, Ubuntu, and Alpine tooling. The scripts cover hundreds of services across home automation, media, networking, monitoring, databases, security, and developer tooling.
read the full ProxmoxVE overview →
About ByteChef
ByteChef is an open source, Java based platform in the Productivity & Utilities / Automation category that unifies AI agent orchestration and workflow automation for developers, low code builders, and enterprises that need both capabilities in one system.
read the full ByteChef overview →
More in Productivity & Utilities
Related comparisons
More Automation projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Automation field.
Frequently asked questions
Is ProxmoxVE or ByteChef more popular?
ProxmoxVE has 29,607 GitHub stars and ByteChef has 1,003. ProxmoxVE has the larger community by that measure.
Are ProxmoxVE and ByteChef free?
Both are open source. ProxmoxVE is licensed under MIT, and ByteChef has no licence declared in this registry. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between ProxmoxVE and ByteChef?
ProxmoxVE is written in Shell and ByteChef in Java. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, ProxmoxVE or ByteChef?
Choose ProxmoxVE if you want the larger community (29,607 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose ByteChef if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.