head to head · open source
refined-github vs hermes-browser-extension
refined-github has 32,187 GitHub stars, 1,914 forks, 80 open issues and last shipped yesterday. hermes-browser-extension has 1,542 stars, 147 forks, 15 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. refined-github leads on adoption by 1,987% (32,187 vs 1,542 stars). refined-github is written in TypeScript under MIT; hermes-browser-extension is written in JavaScript under MIT. refined-github has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, hermes-browser-extension 10%. refined-github was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (browser-extension, chrome-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.
← all 20902 open source comparisons
Side by side
| refined-github | hermes-browser-extension | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 32K | ★ 1.5K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-19 | 2026-09-16 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.9K | ⑂ 147 |
| 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 hermes-browser-extension if
- You want the hermes-browser-extension feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and hermes-browser-extension 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 hermes-browser-extension
Hermes Browser Extension is a Chrome, Edge, and Chromium side panel that connects the web page a user is viewing to a real Hermes Agent runtime, whether that runtime runs locally or on a gateway the user controls.
read the full hermes-browser-extension overview →
More in Productivity & Utilities
Related comparisons
More Browsers & Extensions projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Browsers & Extensions field.
Frequently asked questions
Is refined-github or hermes-browser-extension more popular?
refined-github has 32,187 GitHub stars and hermes-browser-extension has 1,542. refined-github has the larger community by that measure.
Are refined-github and hermes-browser-extension free?
Both are open source. refined-github is licensed under MIT and hermes-browser-extension under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between refined-github and hermes-browser-extension?
refined-github is written in TypeScript and hermes-browser-extension 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 hermes-browser-extension?
Choose refined-github if you want the larger community (32,187 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose hermes-browser-extension if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.