head to head · open source
rtk vs T3 Code
rtk has 80,883 GitHub stars, 5,130 forks, 1,642 open issues and last shipped yesterday. T3 Code has 22,969 stars, 5,824 forks, 1,628 open issues and last shipped yesterday. rtk leads on adoption by 252% (80,883 vs 22,969 stars). rtk is written in Rust under Apache-2.0; T3 Code is written in TypeScript under MIT. rtk has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, T3 Code 25%. T3 Code 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 | T3 Code | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 81K | ★ 23K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Rust | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.1K | ⑂ 5.8K |
| 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 T3 Code if
- You want the T3 Code feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and T3 Code 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 T3 Code
T3 Code is an open source agent harness control surface for AI assisted coding. It lives in the developer tools ecosystem for local coding agents, and it gives users one interface for agents that are already installed and authenticated on their own computer. The project is written in TypeScript and is MIT licensed.
read the full T3 Code overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is rtk or T3 Code more popular?
rtk has 80,883 GitHub stars and T3 Code has 22,969. rtk has the larger community by that measure.
Are rtk and T3 Code free?
Both are open source. rtk is licensed under Apache-2.0 and T3 Code under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between rtk and T3 Code?
rtk is written in Rust and T3 Code 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 T3 Code?
Choose rtk if you want the larger community (80,883 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose T3 Code if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.