head to head · open source
Sa-Token vs pwd.sh
Sa-Token has 19,056 GitHub stars, 2,914 forks, 111 open issues and last shipped yesterday. pwd.sh has 1,563 stars, 136 forks, 0 open issues and last shipped 1 months ago. Sa-Token leads on adoption by 1,119% (19,056 vs 1,563 stars). Sa-Token is written in Java under Apache-2.0; pwd.sh is written in Shell under MIT. Sa-Token has attracted 15% as many forks as stars, pwd.sh 9%. Sa-Token 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
| Sa-Token | pwd.sh | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 19K | ★ 1.6K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Java | Shell |
| Last push | 2026-09-22 | 2026-08-24 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.9K | ⑂ 136 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Sa-Token if
- You weight community size — 19K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick pwd.sh if
- You want the pwd.sh feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Shell
- You evaluated both and pwd.sh fits your workflow better
About Sa-Token
Sa Token is a free, open source, one stop Java authentication and authorization framework, licensed under Apache 2.0, that gives Java and Spring Boot developers login authentication, permission checks, distributed sessions, single sign on, OAuth2.0, gateway authentication, JWT integration, API key authorization and API parameter signing from a single dependency.
read the full Sa-Token overview →
About pwd.sh
pwd.sh is a Bash script that manages text secrets such as passwords by storing each one in a GnuPG symmetric encrypted file, and it is for people who work in a terminal and prefer to keep their own encrypted store rather than hand it to a hosted password service.
read the full pwd.sh overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Sa-Token or pwd.sh more popular?
Sa-Token has 19,056 GitHub stars and pwd.sh has 1,563. Sa-Token has the larger community by that measure.
Are Sa-Token and pwd.sh free?
Both are open source. Sa-Token is licensed under Apache-2.0 and pwd.sh under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Sa-Token and pwd.sh?
Sa-Token is written in Java and pwd.sh in Shell. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Sa-Token or pwd.sh?
Choose Sa-Token if you want the larger community (19,056 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose pwd.sh if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.