head to head · open source
rtk vs Kodus
rtk has 85,327 GitHub stars, 5,462 forks, 1,642 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Kodus has 1,556 stars, 186 forks, 100 open issues and last shipped yesterday. rtk leads on adoption by 5,384% (85,327 vs 1,556 stars). rtk is written in Rust under Apache-2.0; Kodus is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence. rtk has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, Kodus 12%. Kodus 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 | Kodus | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 85K | ★ 1.6K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Custom / other |
| Written in | Rust | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.5K | ⑂ 186 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick rtk if
- You weight community size — 85K 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 Kodus if
- You want the Kodus feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Kodus fits your workflow better
About rtk
High performance CLI proxy that cuts up to 90% of the bash output your agent reads Website • Install • Troubleshooting • Architecture • Discord English • Francais • 中文 • 日本語 • 한국어 • Espanol • Português rtk filters and compresses command outputs before they reach your LLM context. Single Rust binary, 100+ supported commands, Full explanation: How RTK Savings Work Installation Homebrew (recommended) winget (Windows) Easiest way to install on Windows — one command, no PATH setup needed: Quick Install (Linux/macOS) Installs to /.local/bin . Add to PATH if needed…
About Kodus
Website · Community · Docs · CLI Docs · Try Kodus Cloud · Self Host Guide 🌐 English · Português (BR) · Español · 日本語 · 简体中文 · Français Why Teams Choose Kodus Model Agnostic : Use Claude, GPT 5, Gemini, Llama, GLM, Kimi or any OpenAI compatible endpoint. Zero Markup on LLM Costs : You pay model providers directly. No hidden multipliers. Learns from Your Context : Kody adapts to your architecture, standards, and workflow. You Set the Rules : Define custom review rules in plain language. Privacy & Security : Source code is not used to train models, data is encrypted in transit and at rest, and self hosted runners…
read the full Kodus overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is rtk or Kodus more popular?
rtk has 85,327 GitHub stars and Kodus has 1,556. rtk has the larger community by that measure.
Are rtk and Kodus free?
Both are open source. rtk is licensed under Apache-2.0, and Kodus has no licence declared in this registry. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between rtk and Kodus?
rtk is written in Rust and Kodus 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 Kodus?
Choose rtk if you want the larger community (85,327 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Kodus if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.