head to head · open source
Reflex vs Shelve
Reflex has 28,891 GitHub stars, 1,778 forks, 346 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Shelve has 456 stars, 40 forks, 17 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Reflex leads on adoption by 6,236% (28,891 vs 456 stars). Reflex is written in Python under Apache-2.0; Shelve is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0. Reflex has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, Shelve 9%. Reflex was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (developer-tools, open-source), 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
| Reflex | Shelve | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 29K | ★ 456 |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.8K | ⑂ 40 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Reflex if
- You weight community size — 29K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Shelve if
- You want the Shelve feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Shelve fits your workflow better
About Reflex
Reflex is an open source Apache 2.0 Python library for building full stack web apps and internal tools entirely in Python, aimed at Python developers who want a browser based frontend without learning JavaScript.
read the full Reflex overview →
About Shelve
Shelve is an open source, Apache 2.0 licensed secrets and environment variable manager for software teams, distributed as the @shelve/cli package for npm and offered as a hosted application at shelve.cloud, built to replace scattered .env files and manually copied keys with one centralized, encrypted vault.
read the full Shelve overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Reflex or Shelve more popular?
Reflex has 28,891 GitHub stars and Shelve has 456. Reflex has the larger community by that measure.
Are Reflex and Shelve free?
Both are open source. Reflex is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Shelve under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Reflex and Shelve?
Reflex is written in Python and Shelve in TypeScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Reflex or Shelve?
Choose Reflex if you want the larger community (28,891 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Shelve if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.