head to head · open source
qinglong vs Backlog.md
qinglong has 19,887 GitHub stars, 3,232 forks, 108 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Backlog.md has 6,762 stars, 420 forks, 55 open issues and last shipped yesterday. qinglong leads on adoption by 194% (19,887 vs 6,762 stars). qinglong is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; Backlog.md is written in TypeScript under MIT. qinglong has attracted 16% as many forks as stars, Backlog.md 6%. qinglong was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (task-manager), 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
| qinglong | Backlog.md | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 20K | ★ 6.8K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.2K | ⑂ 420 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick qinglong if
- You weight community size — 20K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Backlog.md if
- You want the Backlog.md feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Backlog.md fits your workflow better
About qinglong
Qinglong is a self hosted timed task management platform that schedules and runs Python 3, JavaScript, Shell, and TypeScript scripts from a web interface, built for developers and operators who want central control over scheduled jobs instead of hand editing crontab on every machine.
read the full qinglong overview →
About Backlog.md
Backlog.md is a Markdown native task manager and Kanban visualizer that turns any folder into a self contained project board. It lives in the Git ecosystem, written in TypeScript and released under the MIT license, and it is distributed as a zero config CLI alongside a terminal board and a local web interface. Every task is stored as a plain .md file inside the repository, so the project ledger travels with the code and remains readable to humans, teams, and AI agents alike.
read the full Backlog.md overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is qinglong or Backlog.md more popular?
qinglong has 19,887 GitHub stars and Backlog.md has 6,762. qinglong has the larger community by that measure.
Are qinglong and Backlog.md free?
Both are open source. qinglong is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Backlog.md under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between qinglong and Backlog.md?
qinglong is written in TypeScript and Backlog.md in TypeScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, qinglong or Backlog.md?
Choose qinglong if you want the larger community (19,887 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Backlog.md if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.