head to head · open source
Shelf vs server-tools
Shelf has 3,014 GitHub stars, 367 forks, 181 open issues and last shipped yesterday. server-tools has 930 stars, 1,697 forks, 286 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. Shelf leads on adoption by 224% (3,014 vs 930 stars). Shelf is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0; server-tools is written in Python under AGPL-3.0. Shelf has attracted 12% as many forks as stars, server-tools 182%. Shelf 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 8884 open source comparisons
Side by side
| Shelf | server-tools | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 3.0K | ★ 930 |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-15 |
| Forks | ⑂ 367 | ⑂ 1.7K |
| 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 AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick server-tools if
- You want the server-tools feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and server-tools fits your workflow better
About Shelf
Shelf is a free, open source platform for tracking physical assets, including equipment, devices, tools, vehicles, props, and inventory. It is built for teams that need to know what they have, where it is, and who is using it. The project sits in the IT asset management, equipment management, scheduling, and operations software ecosystem.
read the full Shelf overview →
About server-tools
server tools is a collection of Odoo addons maintained by the Odoo Community Association (OCA) that gives administrators and technical staff finer control over an Odoo server, and it is written for people who run, host, or extend Odoo rather than for end users of the ERP itself.
read the full server-tools overview →
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 server-tools more popular?
Shelf has 3,014 GitHub stars and server-tools has 930. Shelf has the larger community by that measure.
Are Shelf and server-tools free?
Both are open source. Shelf is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and server-tools under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Shelf and server-tools?
Shelf is written in TypeScript and server-tools 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, Shelf or server-tools?
Choose Shelf if you want the larger community (3,014 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose server-tools if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.