head to head · open source
rtk vs Jean
rtk has 80,930 GitHub stars, 5,134 forks, 1,642 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Jean has 1,285 stars, 159 forks, 146 open issues and last shipped yesterday. rtk leads on adoption by 6,198% (80,930 vs 1,285 stars). rtk is written in Rust under Apache-2.0; Jean is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0. rtk has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, Jean 12%. Jean was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (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
| rtk | Jean | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 81K | ★ 1.3K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Rust | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.1K | ⑂ 159 |
| 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 Jean if
- You want the Jean feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Jean 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 Jean
Jean is a native desktop application for managing AI assisted software development across multiple projects. It works with Claude CLI, Codex CLI, Cursor CLI, OpenCode, PI, Command Code, Grok, and Kimi Code, and it lives in the developer tools and AI assisted coding ecosystem, where agents are driven through local command line interfaces rather than through a hosted service.
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Frequently asked questions
Is rtk or Jean more popular?
rtk has 80,930 GitHub stars and Jean has 1,285. rtk has the larger community by that measure.
Are rtk and Jean free?
Both are open source. rtk is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Jean under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between rtk and Jean?
rtk is written in Rust and Jean 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, rtk or Jean?
Choose rtk if you want the larger community (80,930 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Jean if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.