head to head · open source
Shelf vs ralph
Shelf has 3,014 GitHub stars, 367 forks, 181 open issues and last shipped yesterday. ralph has 2,516 stars, 593 forks, 124 open issues and last shipped 8 days ago. Shelf leads on adoption by 20% (3,014 vs 2,516 stars). Shelf is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0; ralph is written in Python under Apache-2.0. Shelf has attracted 12% as many forks as stars, ralph 24%. Shelf was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (assets-management), 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
| Shelf | ralph | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 3.0K | ★ 2.5K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-10 |
| Forks | ⑂ 367 | ⑂ 593 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Shelf if
- You weight community size — 3.0K 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 ralph if
- You want the ralph feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and ralph fits your workflow better
About Shelf
Shelf is a free, open source platform for tracking physical assets, including equipment, devices, tools, vehicles, props, and inventory. It is built for teams that need to know what they have, where it is, and who is using it. The project sits in the IT asset management, equipment management, scheduling, and operations software ecosystem.
read the full Shelf overview →
About ralph
Ralph is an open source asset management, DCIM, and CMDB system written in Python and built with Django. It is intended for organizations that need to manage data center hardware and back office hardware in one place under the Apache 2.0 license. The project lives in the business software and operations ecosystem.
read the full ralph overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Shelf or ralph more popular?
Shelf has 3,014 GitHub stars and ralph has 2,516. Shelf has the larger community by that measure.
Are Shelf and ralph free?
Both are open source. Shelf is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and ralph under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Shelf and ralph?
Shelf is written in TypeScript and ralph in Python. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Shelf or ralph?
Choose Shelf if you want the larger community (3,014 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose ralph if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.