head to head · open source
rowboat vs atom
rowboat has 17,914 GitHub stars, 1,784 forks, 167 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. atom has 901 stars, 94 forks, 2 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. rowboat leads on adoption by 1,888% (17,914 vs 901 stars). rowboat is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; atom is written in Python under AGPL-3.0. rowboat has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, atom 10%. rowboat was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (ai), 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
| rowboat | atom | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 18K | ★ 901 |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.8K | ⑂ 94 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick rowboat if
- You weight community size — 18K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick atom if
- You want the atom feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and atom fits your workflow better
About rowboat
Rowboat is an open source desktop AI coworker, licensed Apache 2.0 and written in TypeScript, that maintains a memory of your work as a local Markdown knowledge graph and provides built in surfaces — email, notes, browser, code mode, meeting notes — for acting on that memory.
read the full rowboat overview →
About atom
Atom Agent is an open source, self hosted AI agent workforce platform, licensed AGPL 3.0 and written in Python, that lets teams delegate routine work to specialty agents under default on governance checks — and it is aimed at organisations that want agent accountability, verifiable outcomes, and data ownership on their own hardware.
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Frequently asked questions
Is rowboat or atom more popular?
rowboat has 17,914 GitHub stars and atom has 901. rowboat has the larger community by that measure.
Are rowboat and atom free?
Both are open source. rowboat is licensed under Apache-2.0 and atom under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between rowboat and atom?
rowboat is written in TypeScript and atom in Python. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, rowboat or atom?
Choose rowboat if you want the larger community (17,914 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose atom if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.