head to head · open source
Shelf vs tego
Shelf has 3,014 GitHub stars, 367 forks, 181 open issues and last shipped yesterday. tego has 1,102 stars, 112 forks, 15 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Shelf leads on adoption by 174% (3,014 vs 1,102 stars). Shelf is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0; tego is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0. Shelf has attracted 12% as many forks as stars, tego 10%. 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 | tego | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 3.0K | ★ 1.1K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-16 |
| Forks | ⑂ 367 | ⑂ 112 |
| 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 tego if
- You want the tego feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and tego 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 tego
Tego is a pluggable Node.js framework, written in TypeScript, that developers use to build their own customizable development platforms, no code/low code systems, and event driven applications while the core stays focused on stability and environment adaptability.
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 tego more popular?
Shelf has 3,014 GitHub stars and tego has 1,102. Shelf has the larger community by that measure.
Are Shelf and tego free?
Both are open source. Shelf is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and tego under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Shelf and tego?
Shelf is written in TypeScript and tego in TypeScript. 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 tego?
Choose Shelf if you want the larger community (3,014 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose tego if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.