head to head · open source
OpenAPI-Specification vs SafeLine
OpenAPI-Specification has 31,215 GitHub stars, 9,156 forks, 80 open issues and last shipped 7 days ago. SafeLine has 22,606 stars, 1,533 forks, 69 open issues and last shipped 8 days ago. OpenAPI-Specification leads on adoption by 38% (31,215 vs 22,606 stars). OpenAPI-Specification is written in Markdown under Apache-2.0; SafeLine is written in Go under GPL-3.0. OpenAPI-Specification has attracted 29% as many forks as stars, SafeLine 7%. OpenAPI-Specification 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
| OpenAPI-Specification | SafeLine | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 31K | ★ 23K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Markdown | Go |
| Last push | 2026-09-11 | 2026-09-10 |
| Forks | ⑂ 9.2K | ⑂ 1.5K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick OpenAPI-Specification if
- You weight community size — 31K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Markdown
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick SafeLine if
- You want the SafeLine feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and SafeLine fits your workflow better
About OpenAPI-Specification
The OpenAPI Specification (OAS) is a community driven open specification hosted within the OpenAPI Initiative, a Linux Foundation Collaborative Project. It defines a standard, programming language agnostic interface description for HTTP APIs, represented in YAML or JSON. The specification lives in the HTTP API tooling ecosystem, alongside the tools, libraries, and implementations listed in the repository's implementations document. The project source is released under the Apache 2.0 license, and its GitHub repository has accumulated roughly 31,000 stars and 9,100 forks across 13 years of activity.…
read the full OpenAPI-Specification overview →
About SafeLine
SafeLine is a self hosted web application firewall and reverse proxy, written in Go and licensed under GPL 3.0, that filters, monitors, and blocks malicious HTTP/S traffic before it reaches a web application — built for developers, AppSec engineers, and blue teams who want to run edge protection on their own infrastructure.
read the full SafeLine overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is OpenAPI-Specification or SafeLine more popular?
OpenAPI-Specification has 31,215 GitHub stars and SafeLine has 22,606. OpenAPI-Specification has the larger community by that measure.
Are OpenAPI-Specification and SafeLine free?
Both are open source. OpenAPI-Specification is licensed under Apache-2.0 and SafeLine under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between OpenAPI-Specification and SafeLine?
OpenAPI-Specification is written in Markdown and SafeLine in Go. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, OpenAPI-Specification or SafeLine?
Choose OpenAPI-Specification if you want the larger community (31,215 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose SafeLine if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.