head to head · open source
Puter vs certstrap
Puter has 43,550 GitHub stars, 4,064 forks, 19 open issues and last shipped yesterday. certstrap has 2,454 stars, 212 forks, 32 open issues and last shipped 8 months ago. Puter leads on adoption by 1,675% (43,550 vs 2,454 stars). Puter is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0; certstrap is written in Go under Apache-2.0. Puter has attracted 9% as many forks as stars, certstrap 9%. Puter 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
| Puter | certstrap | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 44K | ★ 2.5K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Go |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-02-03 |
| Forks | ⑂ 4.1K | ⑂ 212 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Puter if
- You weight community size — 44K stars and counting
- You want the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick certstrap if
- You want the certstrap feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and certstrap fits your workflow better
About Puter
Puter is an open source, self hostable internet computer that delivers a full desktop environment running directly in a web browser. It functions as a cloud based operating system, integrating file storage, applications, and developer tooling into a single cohesive platform. The project lives in the browser based desktop and cloud infrastructure ecosystem, positioning itself as a free and open alternative to proprietary cloud desktop services.
read the full Puter overview →
About certstrap
certstrap is a simple certificate manager written in Go that bootstraps a private certificate authority and public key infrastructure, aimed at operators and developers who need to issue TLS certificates without wrestling with openssl.
read the full certstrap overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Puter or certstrap more popular?
Puter has 43,550 GitHub stars and certstrap has 2,454. Puter has the larger community by that measure.
Are Puter and certstrap free?
Both are open source. Puter is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and certstrap under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Puter and certstrap?
Puter is written in TypeScript and certstrap in Go. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Puter or certstrap?
Choose Puter if you want the larger community (43,550 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose certstrap if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.