head to head · open source
rtk vs Forgecode
rtk has 80,930 GitHub stars, 5,134 forks, 1,642 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Forgecode has 7,634 stars, 1,466 forks, 45 open issues and last shipped yesterday. rtk leads on adoption by 960% (80,930 vs 7,634 stars). rtk is written in Rust under Apache-2.0; Forgecode is written in Rust under Apache-2.0. rtk has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, Forgecode 19%. Forgecode was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (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
| rtk | Forgecode | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 81K | ★ 7.6K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Rust | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.1K | ⑂ 1.5K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick rtk if
- You weight community size — 81K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Forgecode if
- You want the Forgecode feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You evaluated both and Forgecode fits your workflow better
About rtk
rtk is an Apache 2.0 Rust CLI proxy that sits between an AI coding agent and the shell, filtering and compressing command output so 60 90% fewer tokens reach the model, and it is built for developers running agentic coding tools such as Claude Code, Cursor, or Codex against real repositories.
About Forgecode
Forgecode is a terminal native AI coding agent written in Rust and built on ZSH that drives Claude, GPT, the O series, Grok, Deepseek, Gemini and more than 300 models through one command line interface, aimed at developers who want an AI pair programmer without leaving the shell.
read the full Forgecode overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is rtk or Forgecode more popular?
rtk has 80,930 GitHub stars and Forgecode has 7,634. rtk has the larger community by that measure.
Are rtk and Forgecode free?
Both are open source. rtk is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Forgecode under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between rtk and Forgecode?
rtk is written in Rust and Forgecode in Rust. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, rtk or Forgecode?
Choose rtk if you want the larger community (80,930 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Forgecode if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.