head to head · open source
ProxmoxVE vs IRremoteESP8266
ProxmoxVE has 29,607 GitHub stars, 2,887 forks, 27 open issues and last shipped yesterday. IRremoteESP8266 has 3,600 stars, 933 forks, 105 open issues and last shipped 26 days ago. ProxmoxVE leads on adoption by 722% (29,607 vs 3,600 stars). ProxmoxVE is written in Shell under MIT; IRremoteESP8266 is written in C++ under LGPL-2.1. ProxmoxVE has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, IRremoteESP8266 26%. ProxmoxVE was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (home-automation), 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
| ProxmoxVE | IRremoteESP8266 | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 30K | ★ 3.6K |
| License | MIT | LGPL-2.1 |
| Written in | Shell | C++ |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-08-23 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.9K | ⑂ 933 |
| 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 IRremoteESP8266 if
- You want the IRremoteESP8266 feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the LGPL-2.1 license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You evaluated both and IRremoteESP8266 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 IRremoteESP8266
IRremoteESP8266 is an open source C++ library for the Arduino framework that lets ESP8266 and ESP32 boards send and receive infrared signals. It lives in the embedded home automation and HVAC control ecosystem and is based on Arduino IRremote. It uses common 940 nm infrared LEDs and common infrared receiver modules, including TSOP{17,22,24,36,38,44,48} demodulators.
read the full IRremoteESP8266 overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is ProxmoxVE or IRremoteESP8266 more popular?
ProxmoxVE has 29,607 GitHub stars and IRremoteESP8266 has 3,600. ProxmoxVE has the larger community by that measure.
Are ProxmoxVE and IRremoteESP8266 free?
Both are open source. ProxmoxVE is licensed under MIT and IRremoteESP8266 under LGPL-2.1. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between ProxmoxVE and IRremoteESP8266?
ProxmoxVE is written in Shell and IRremoteESP8266 in C++. 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 IRremoteESP8266?
Choose ProxmoxVE if you want the larger community (29,607 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose IRremoteESP8266 if its feature set, stack or LGPL-2.1 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.