head to head · open source
rtk vs Synara
rtk has 80,930 GitHub stars, 5,134 forks, 1,642 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Synara has 1,835 stars, 290 forks, 317 open issues and last shipped yesterday. rtk leads on adoption by 4,310% (80,930 vs 1,835 stars). rtk is written in Rust under Apache-2.0; Synara is written in TypeScript under MIT. rtk has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, Synara 16%. Synara 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 | Synara | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 81K | ★ 1.8K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Rust | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.1K | ⑂ 290 |
| 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 Synara if
- You want the Synara feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Synara 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 Synara
Synara local first desktop app for coding agents. TypeScript MIT AI assisted coding developer tools ecosystem. GitHub shows 1801 stars, 287 forks, 317 open issues, zero contributors, repo age 0 years, last push 2026 09 14T22:56:45Z. Project brings projects, provider sessions, execution surfaces, review tools into one workspace.
read the full Synara overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is rtk or Synara more popular?
rtk has 80,930 GitHub stars and Synara has 1,835. rtk has the larger community by that measure.
Are rtk and Synara free?
Both are open source. rtk is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Synara under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between rtk and Synara?
rtk is written in Rust and Synara 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 Synara?
Choose rtk if you want the larger community (80,930 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Synara if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.