head to head · open source
shannon vs hacktheweb
shannon has 51,901 GitHub stars, 6,068 forks, 18 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. hacktheweb has 1,311 stars, 286 forks, 0 open issues and last shipped yesterday. shannon leads on adoption by 3,859% (51,901 vs 1,311 stars). shannon is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0; hacktheweb is written in Python under MIT. shannon has attracted 12% as many forks as stars, hacktheweb 22%. hacktheweb was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 5 topic tags (ai-security, cybersecurity, ethical-hacking, owasp), 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
| shannon | hacktheweb | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 52K | ★ 1.3K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | Python |
| Last push | 2026-11-13 | 2026-11-14 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.1K | ⑂ 286 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick shannon if
- You weight community size — 52K stars and counting
- You want the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick hacktheweb if
- You want the hacktheweb feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and hacktheweb fits your workflow better
About shannon
[!NOTE] Shannon 3.0 is live: deeper security code analysis, more thoroughly vetted findings, a rebuilt CLI, native CI/CD, professional PDF reports, and SARIF. Shannon is an autonomous, AI pentester for web applications and APIs. It analyzes your source code, identifies attack paths, and executes real exploits to prove vulnerabilities before they reach production. No exploit, no report. This repository is Shannon Open Source: the full agent, run locally from your command line. Launch Shannon The interactive launcher will guide you through setup and your first pentest. [!TIP] AI agents and LLMs: start with…
read the full shannon overview →
About hacktheweb
HackTheWeb AI Powered Web Application Penetration Testing Framework Automated security testing with intelligent decision making Website • Features • Installation • Usage • Documentation 🪙 Official Token Contract Address (CA) [!IMPORTANT] Official Contract Address (Solana): • Network: Solana (pump.fun) • Security Notice: Always verify the contract address matches this official repository. Never trust unverified third parties. 🎯 Overview HackTheWeb is a production ready, AI powered web application penetration testing tool designed for security professionals and ethical hackers. It uses rule based artificial…
read the full hacktheweb overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is shannon or hacktheweb more popular?
shannon has 51,901 GitHub stars and hacktheweb has 1,311. shannon has the larger community by that measure.
Are shannon and hacktheweb free?
Both are open source. shannon is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and hacktheweb under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between shannon and hacktheweb?
shannon is written in TypeScript and hacktheweb in Python. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, shannon or hacktheweb?
Choose shannon if you want the larger community (51,901 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose hacktheweb if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.