head to head · open source
RWKV-Runner vs macai
RWKV-Runner has 6,500 GitHub stars, 594 forks, 178 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. macai has 939 stars, 75 forks, 44 open issues and last shipped 3 months ago. RWKV-Runner leads on adoption by 592% (6,500 vs 939 stars). RWKV-Runner is written in TypeScript under MIT; macai is written in Swift under Apache-2.0. RWKV-Runner has attracted 9% as many forks as stars, macai 8%. RWKV-Runner was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 3 topic tags (api-client, chatgpt, llm), 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
| RWKV-Runner | macai | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 6.5K | ★ 939 |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Swift |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-08-16 |
| Forks | ⑂ 594 | ⑂ 75 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick RWKV-Runner if
- You weight community size — 6.5K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick macai if
- You want the macai feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Swift
- You evaluated both and macai fits your workflow better
About RWKV-Runner
RWKV Runner This project aims to eliminate the barriers of using large language models by automating everything for you. All you need is a lightweight executable program of just a few megabytes. Additionally, this project provides an interface compatible with the OpenAI API, which means that every ChatGPT client is an RWKV client. [![license][license image]][license url] [![release][release image]][release url] [![py version][py version image]][py version url] English 简体中文 日本語 Install [![Windows][Windows image]][Windows url] [![MacOS][MacOS image]][MacOS url] [![Linux][Linux image]][Linux url] FAQs Preview…
read the full RWKV-Runner overview →
About macai
macai macai (macOS AI) is a simple yet powerful native macOS AI chat client that supports most AI providers: ChatGPT, Claude, xAI (Grok), Google Gemini, Perplexity, Ollama, OpenRouter, and almost any OpenAI compatible APIs. Table of Contents Downloads Manual Homebrew Contributions Why macai Run with ChatGPT, Claude, xAI or Google Gemini Run with Ollama System requirements Project status Build from source iCloud Sync Configuration License Downloads Manual Download latest universal binary, notarized by Apple. Homebrew Install macai cask with homebrew: brew install cask macai Contributions Contributions are…
read the full macai overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is RWKV-Runner or macai more popular?
RWKV-Runner has 6,500 GitHub stars and macai has 939. RWKV-Runner has the larger community by that measure.
Are RWKV-Runner and macai free?
Both are open source. RWKV-Runner is licensed under MIT and macai under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between RWKV-Runner and macai?
RWKV-Runner is written in TypeScript and macai in Swift. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, RWKV-Runner or macai?
Choose RWKV-Runner if you want the larger community (6,500 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose macai if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.