head to head · open source
Shelf vs guac
Shelf has 3,049 GitHub stars, 384 forks, 181 open issues and last shipped yesterday. guac has 1,571 stars, 227 forks, 89 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Shelf leads on adoption by 94% (3,049 vs 1,571 stars). Shelf is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; guac is written in Go under Apache-2.0. Shelf has attracted 13% as many forks as stars, guac 14%. guac 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.
← all 20902 open source comparisons
Side by side
| Shelf | guac | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 3.0K | ★ 1.6K |
| License | Custom / other | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Go |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 384 | ⑂ 227 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Shelf if
- You weight community size — 3.0K stars and counting
- You want the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick guac if
- You want the guac feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and guac fits your workflow better
About Shelf
Open source asset management infrastructure for everyone. Website · Documentation · Discord · Twitter Shelf is a platform for tracking physical assets — equipment, devices, tools, vehicles, props, inventory. It's built for teams that need to know what they have, where it is, and who's using it. Organizations use Shelf to manage thousands of assets across locations with role based access for their teams. Features QR asset tags — Generate and print QR codes. Scan with any phone to view, check out, or report an asset. Bookings and reservations — Schedule equipment, prevent double bookings, set…
read the full Shelf overview →
About guac
GUAC: Graph for Understanding Artifact Composition Note: GUAC is under active development if you are interested in contributing, please look at contributor guide. GUAC is an OpenSSF incubating project under the Supply Chain Integrity WG. Graph for Understanding Artifact Composition (GUAC) aggregates software security metadata into a high fidelity graph database—normalizing entity identities and mapping standard relationships between them. Querying this graph can drive higher level organizational outcomes such as audit, policy, risk management, and even developer assistance. Conceptually, GUAC occupies the…
More in Business Software
Related comparisons
More ERP & Operations projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the ERP & Operations field.
Frequently asked questions
Is Shelf or guac more popular?
Shelf has 3,049 GitHub stars and guac has 1,571. Shelf has the larger community by that measure.
Are Shelf and guac free?
Both are open source. Shelf has no licence declared in this registry, and guac is licensed under Apache-2.0. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Shelf and guac?
Shelf is written in TypeScript and guac 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, Shelf or guac?
Choose Shelf if you want the larger community (3,049 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose guac if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.