head to head · open source
JumpServer vs pwd.sh
JumpServer has 31,587 GitHub stars, 5,802 forks, 97 open issues and last shipped today. pwd.sh has 1,563 stars, 136 forks, 0 open issues and last shipped 1 months ago. JumpServer leads on adoption by 1,921% (31,587 vs 1,563 stars). JumpServer is written in Python under GPL-3.0; pwd.sh is written in Shell under MIT. JumpServer has attracted 18% as many forks as stars, pwd.sh 9%. JumpServer 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
| JumpServer | pwd.sh | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 32K | ★ 1.6K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Python | Shell |
| Last push | 2026-09-23 | 2026-08-24 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.8K | ⑂ 136 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick JumpServer if
- You weight community size — 32K stars and counting
- You want the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick pwd.sh if
- You want the pwd.sh feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Shell
- You evaluated both and pwd.sh fits your workflow better
About JumpServer
JumpServer is an open source Privileged Access Management (PAM) platform built for DevOps and IT teams. It functions as a bastion host, enabling secure, on demand access to SSH, RDP, Kubernetes, databases, and RemoteApp endpoints via a web browser. The project lives in the Python/Django ecosystem and is licensed under GPL 3.0, with active community contributions and integrations.
read the full JumpServer overview →
About pwd.sh
pwd.sh is a Bash script that manages text secrets such as passwords by storing each one in a GnuPG symmetric encrypted file, and it is for people who work in a terminal and prefer to keep their own encrypted store rather than hand it to a hosted password service.
read the full pwd.sh overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is JumpServer or pwd.sh more popular?
JumpServer has 31,587 GitHub stars and pwd.sh has 1,563. JumpServer has the larger community by that measure.
Are JumpServer and pwd.sh free?
Both are open source. JumpServer is licensed under GPL-3.0 and pwd.sh under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between JumpServer and pwd.sh?
JumpServer is written in Python and pwd.sh in Shell. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, JumpServer or pwd.sh?
Choose JumpServer if you want the larger community (31,587 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose pwd.sh if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.