head to head · open source
rowboat vs happier
rowboat has 18,142 GitHub stars, 1,818 forks, 167 open issues and last shipped yesterday. happier has 2,163 stars, 218 forks, 160 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. rowboat leads on adoption by 739% (18,142 vs 2,163 stars). rowboat is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; happier is written in TypeScript under MIT. rowboat has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, happier 10%. rowboat was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (ai-agents, claude-code), 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 | happier | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 18K | ★ 2.2K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-07 | 2026-11-06 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.8K | ⑂ 218 |
| 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 happier if
- You want the happier feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and happier 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 happier
One control room for all your coding agents. The way orchestrating agents should feel. From your phone, desktop and browser. Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, Pi and more, working together and in parallel on your own machines. Sessions can spawn subagents across agents: e.g. Claude asking Codex for a review, or Codex delegating to Claude subagents. Switch agents mid session. Approve, steer, review and commit from wherever you are. Open source · Self hostable · End to end encrypted Get started · Downloads · Docs · Self host · Discord Latest Happier project update Happier is free and open source. Your agents keep…
read the full happier overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is rowboat or happier more popular?
rowboat has 18,142 GitHub stars and happier has 2,163. rowboat has the larger community by that measure.
Are rowboat and happier free?
Both are open source. rowboat is licensed under Apache-2.0 and happier under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between rowboat and happier?
rowboat is written in TypeScript and happier 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, rowboat or happier?
Choose rowboat if you want the larger community (18,142 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose happier if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.