head to head · open source
rtk vs Grok Build
rtk has 80,883 GitHub stars, 5,130 forks, 1,642 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Grok Build has 26,827 stars, 5,048 forks, 0 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. rtk leads on adoption by 201% (80,883 vs 26,827 stars). rtk is written in Rust under Apache-2.0; Grok Build is written in Rust under Apache-2.0. rtk has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, Grok Build 19%. rtk was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
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 | Grok Build | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 81K | ★ 27K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Rust | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.1K | ⑂ 5.0K |
| 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 Grok Build if
- You want the Grok Build 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 Grok Build 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 Grok Build
Grok Build is a terminal based AI coding agent developed by SpaceXAI, distributed as the grok CLI/TUI. It operates as a fullscreen, mouse interactive interface that integrates with the user’s codebase to perform code editing, command execution, web search, and long running task orchestration. The project lives in the Rust ecosystem and is licensed under Apache 2.0.
read the full Grok Build overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is rtk or Grok Build more popular?
rtk has 80,883 GitHub stars and Grok Build has 26,827. rtk has the larger community by that measure.
Are rtk and Grok Build free?
Both are open source. rtk is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Grok Build under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between rtk and Grok Build?
rtk is written in Rust and Grok Build 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 Grok Build?
Choose rtk if you want the larger community (80,883 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Grok Build if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.