head to head · open source
rowboat vs livecontext-ce
rowboat has 17,914 GitHub stars, 1,784 forks, 167 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. livecontext-ce has 502 stars, 59 forks, 0 open issues and last shipped 12 days ago. rowboat leads on adoption by 3,469% (17,914 vs 502 stars). rowboat is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; livecontext-ce is written in Java under AGPL-3.0. rowboat has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, livecontext-ce 12%. rowboat was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 4 topic tags (agents, ai, ai-agents, llm), 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 | livecontext-ce | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 18K | ★ 502 |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Java |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-08 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.8K | ⑂ 59 |
| 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 livecontext-ce if
- You want the livecontext-ce feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You evaluated both and livecontext-ce 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 livecontext-ce
LiveContext CE is the self hosted, AGPL 3.0 Community Edition of the LiveContext AI automation platform, a single Docker deployed service where a team describes a job in chat and gets back a readable workflow, scoped AI agents and a small app the team actually uses.
read the full livecontext-ce overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is rowboat or livecontext-ce more popular?
rowboat has 17,914 GitHub stars and livecontext-ce has 502. rowboat has the larger community by that measure.
Are rowboat and livecontext-ce free?
Both are open source. rowboat is licensed under Apache-2.0 and livecontext-ce under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between rowboat and livecontext-ce?
rowboat is written in TypeScript and livecontext-ce in Java. 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 livecontext-ce?
Choose rowboat if you want the larger community (17,914 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose livecontext-ce if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.