head to head · open source

ralph vs guac

ralph has 2,531 GitHub stars, 593 forks, 124 open issues and last shipped yesterday. guac has 1,571 stars, 227 forks, 89 open issues and last shipped yesterday. ralph leads on adoption by 61% (2,531 vs 1,571 stars). ralph is written in Python under Apache-2.0; guac is written in Go under Apache-2.0. ralph has attracted 23% as many forks as stars, guac 14%. guac 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.

ralph ★ 2.5K guac ★ 1.6K category Business Software

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Side by side

ralph guac
GitHub stars ★ 2.5K ★ 1.6K
License Apache-2.0 Apache-2.0
Written in Python Go
Last push 2026-11-02 2026-11-02
Forks ⑂ 593 ⑂ 227
Self-hosting Yes Yes
Data ownership Your server Your server

pick ralph if

  • You weight community size — 2.5K stars and counting
  • You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
  • Your stack matches Python
  • You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance

full ralph profile →

pick guac if

  • You want the guac 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 guac fits your workflow better

full guac profile →

About ralph

Ralph Update 2025/02 As Allegro, we continue to publish Ralph's source code and will maintain its development under a "Sources only" model, without guarantees. We believe this approach will be beneficial, allowing everyone to use and build upon the software. Our current goal is to modernize the software and ensure its long term maintainability, and we're investing into it in 2025. However, we are not operating under a contribution based model. While we welcome discussions, we do not guarantee responses to issues or support for pull requests. If you require commercial support, please visit We sincerely appreciate…

read the full ralph overview →

About guac

GUAC: Graph for Understanding Artifact Composition Note: GUAC is under active development if you are interested in contributing, please look at contributor guide. GUAC is an OpenSSF incubating project under the Supply Chain Integrity WG. Graph for Understanding Artifact Composition (GUAC) aggregates software security metadata into a high fidelity graph database—normalizing entity identities and mapping standard relationships between them. Querying this graph can drive higher level organizational outcomes such as audit, policy, risk management, and even developer assistance. Conceptually, GUAC occupies the…

read the full guac overview →

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Frequently asked questions

Is ralph or guac more popular?

ralph has 2,531 GitHub stars and guac has 1,571. ralph has the larger community by that measure.

Are ralph and guac free?

Both are open source. ralph is licensed under Apache-2.0 and guac under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.

What is the difference between ralph and guac?

ralph is written in Python and guac 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, ralph or guac?

Choose ralph if you want the larger community (2,531 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose guac if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.