head to head · open source
rowboat vs atom
rowboat has 18,131 GitHub stars, 1,817 forks, 167 open issues and last shipped yesterday. atom has 911 stars, 93 forks, 2 open issues and last shipped yesterday. rowboat leads on adoption by 1,890% (18,131 vs 911 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%. atom 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 | ★ 911 |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Python |
| Last push | 2026-11-04 | 2026-11-04 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.8K | ⑂ 93 |
| 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 A desktop AI coworker with a memory of your work and built in surfaces to act on it. 简体中文 · 日本語 · 한국어 · Español · Français · Português Rowboat indexes your work into a living knowledge graph and uses that to get work done on your machine. It includes work surfaces for collaborating with AI: email client, notes, browser, code mode, meeting note taker, and workspaces for different projects. Download latest for Mac/Windows/Linux: Download Demo apps to code · Demo knowledge graph ⭐ If you find Rowboat useful, please star the repo. It helps more people find it. Overview Brain Rowboat indexes email, meetings…
read the full rowboat overview →
About atom
ATOM Platform The governed agent platform — autonomy, earned. 88% of AI agent pilots never reach production. Atom is built for the other path. Industry figure (Turion 2026). Atom makes no claims about its own deployments. What is Atom? Atom is an open source, self hosted AI agent workforce — a team of specialty agents (sales, support, finance, engineering) that your people delegate to in plain language. Where other platforms sell agent capability , Atom sells agent accountability : autonomy that is earned through verified outcomes, executed inside a deterministic safety net, on your hardware. Agents that earn…
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Frequently asked questions
Is rowboat or atom more popular?
rowboat has 18,131 GitHub stars and atom has 911. 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 (18,131 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.