head to head · open source
serenity vs Screenity
serenity has 33,840 GitHub stars, 3,541 forks, 739 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Screenity has 18,703 stars, 1,521 forks, 8 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. serenity leads on adoption by 81% (33,840 vs 18,703 stars). serenity is written in C++ under BSD-2-Clause; Screenity is written in JavaScript under GPL-3.0. serenity has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, Screenity 8%. serenity 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
| serenity | Screenity | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 34K | ★ 19K |
| License | BSD-2-Clause | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | C++ | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-16 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.5K | ⑂ 1.5K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick serenity if
- You weight community size — 34K stars and counting
- You want the BSD-2-Clause license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Screenity if
- You want the Screenity feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and Screenity fits your workflow better
About serenity
SerenityOS is a graphical Unix like operating system built for 64 bit x86, Arm, and RISC V computers. It is written in C++ and released under the BSD 2 Clause license, and it lives in the open source operating system ecosystem alongside other hobbyist and research kernels. The project describes itself as a love letter to 1990s user interfaces paired with a custom Unix like core, aiming for a marriage between the aesthetic of late 1990s productivity software and the power user accessibility of late 2000s Unix systems.
read the full serenity overview →
About Screenity
Screenity is a JavaScript Chrome extension under the GPL 3.0 license that records the screen and supports annotation in the browser. It lives in the Chrome extension ecosystem and is distributed through the Chrome Web Store, while its source code is available on GitHub.
read the full Screenity overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is serenity or Screenity more popular?
serenity has 33,840 GitHub stars and Screenity has 18,703. serenity has the larger community by that measure.
Are serenity and Screenity free?
Both are open source. serenity is licensed under BSD-2-Clause and Screenity under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between serenity and Screenity?
serenity is written in C++ and Screenity in JavaScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, serenity or Screenity?
Choose serenity if you want the larger community (33,840 stars) or its BSD-2-Clause licence terms. Choose Screenity if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.