head to head · open source
react vs d2
react has 250,709 GitHub stars, 51,413 forks, 1,377 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. d2 has 25,506 stars, 752 forks, 530 open issues and last shipped 5 days ago. react leads on adoption by 883% (250,709 vs 25,506 stars). react is written in JavaScript under MIT; d2 is written in Go under MPL-2.0. react has attracted 21% as many forks as stars, d2 3%. react 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
| react | d2 | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 251K | ★ 26K |
| License | MIT | MPL-2.0 |
| Written in | JavaScript | Go |
| Last push | 2026-09-22 | 2026-09-20 |
| Forks | ⑂ 51K | ⑂ 752 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick react if
- You weight community size — 251K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick d2 if
- You want the d2 feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MPL-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and d2 fits your workflow better
About react
React is a JavaScript library under the MIT licence for building user interfaces, using a declarative, component based model that renders both on the web and, through React Native, on mobile.
read the full react overview →
About d2
D2 is a modern diagram scripting language, written in Go and released under the MPL 2.0 licence, that turns plain text .d2 files into rendered diagrams such as SVGs, aimed at developers and teams who want their architecture and system diagrams kept as reviewable source rather than as opaque image files.
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Frequently asked questions
Is react or d2 more popular?
react has 250,709 GitHub stars and d2 has 25,506. react has the larger community by that measure.
Are react and d2 free?
Both are open source. react is licensed under MIT and d2 under MPL-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between react and d2?
react is written in JavaScript and d2 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, react or d2?
Choose react if you want the larger community (250,709 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose d2 if its feature set, stack or MPL-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.