head to head · open source
refined-github vs cookie-editor
refined-github has 32,187 GitHub stars, 1,914 forks, 80 open issues and last shipped yesterday. cookie-editor has 1,706 stars, 489 forks, 69 open issues and last shipped 17 days ago. refined-github leads on adoption by 1,787% (32,187 vs 1,706 stars). refined-github is written in TypeScript under MIT; cookie-editor is written in JavaScript under GPL-3.0. refined-github has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, cookie-editor 29%. refined-github was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 3 topic tags (browser-extension, chrome-extension, firefox-addon), 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
| refined-github | cookie-editor | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 32K | ★ 1.7K |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-19 | 2026-09-03 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.9K | ⑂ 489 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick refined-github if
- You weight community size — 32K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick cookie-editor if
- You want the cookie-editor feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and cookie-editor fits your workflow better
About refined-github
Refined GitHub is an MIT licensed browser extension written in TypeScript that simplifies the GitHub interface and adds useful features, built for developers and teams who spend their working day inside GitHub and want the small missing conveniences fixed without waiting for the platform itself to change.
read the full refined-github overview →
About cookie-editor
Cookie Editor is a free, open source browser extension that lets you create, edit, and delete the cookies of the current tab, aimed at web developers testing pages and privacy conscious users who want manual control over what a site stores.
read the full cookie-editor overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is refined-github or cookie-editor more popular?
refined-github has 32,187 GitHub stars and cookie-editor has 1,706. refined-github has the larger community by that measure.
Are refined-github and cookie-editor free?
Both are open source. refined-github is licensed under MIT and cookie-editor under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between refined-github and cookie-editor?
refined-github is written in TypeScript and cookie-editor in JavaScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, refined-github or cookie-editor?
Choose refined-github if you want the larger community (32,187 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose cookie-editor if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.