head to head · open source
refined-github vs HackBrowserData
refined-github has 32,187 GitHub stars, 1,914 forks, 80 open issues and last shipped yesterday. HackBrowserData has 14,540 stars, 1,808 forks, 33 open issues and last shipped 19 days ago. refined-github leads on adoption by 121% (32,187 vs 14,540 stars). refined-github is written in TypeScript under MIT; HackBrowserData is written in Go under MIT. refined-github has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, HackBrowserData 12%. refined-github was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (browser-extension), 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 | HackBrowserData | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 32K | ★ 15K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | Go |
| Last push | 2026-09-19 | 2026-09-01 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.9K | ⑂ 1.8K |
| 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 HackBrowserData if
- You want the HackBrowserData feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and HackBrowserData 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 HackBrowserData
HackBrowserData is an MIT licensed command line tool written in Go that decrypts and exports browser data — passwords, cookies, history, bookmarks, credit cards, downloads, extensions, localStorage and sessionStorage — from Chromium based browsers, Firefox, and Safari for security research on Windows, macOS and Linux.
read the full HackBrowserData overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is refined-github or HackBrowserData more popular?
refined-github has 32,187 GitHub stars and HackBrowserData has 14,540. refined-github has the larger community by that measure.
Are refined-github and HackBrowserData free?
Both are open source. refined-github is licensed under MIT and HackBrowserData under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between refined-github and HackBrowserData?
refined-github is written in TypeScript and HackBrowserData 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, refined-github or HackBrowserData?
Choose refined-github if you want the larger community (32,187 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose HackBrowserData if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.