head to head · open source
Supabase vs ctags
Supabase has 111,569 GitHub stars, 16,841 forks, 1,128 open issues and last shipped today. ctags has 7,296 stars, 671 forks, 269 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. Supabase leads on adoption by 1,429% (111,569 vs 7,296 stars). Supabase is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; ctags is written in C under GPL-2.0. Supabase has attracted 15% as many forks as stars, ctags 9%. Supabase 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
| Supabase | ctags | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 112K | ★ 7.3K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | C |
| Last push | 2026-10-15 | 2026-10-11 |
| Forks | ⑂ 17K | ⑂ 671 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Supabase if
- You weight community size — 112K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick ctags if
- You want the ctags feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C
- You evaluated both and ctags fits your workflow better
About Supabase
Supabase is an open source, Apache 2.0 licensed Postgres development platform that bundles a dedicated Postgres database with authentication, auto generated APIs, realtime subscriptions, file storage, and edge functions for developers building web, mobile, and AI applications.
read the full Supabase overview →
About ctags
Universal Ctags is a maintained implementation of ctags that generates an index, or tag file, of the language objects found in source files, and it is aimed at developers and at the authors of text editors and other tools that need to locate those indexed items across many programming languages.
read the full ctags overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Supabase or ctags more popular?
Supabase has 111,569 GitHub stars and ctags has 7,296. Supabase has the larger community by that measure.
Are Supabase and ctags free?
Both are open source. Supabase is licensed under Apache-2.0 and ctags under GPL-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Supabase and ctags?
Supabase is written in TypeScript and ctags in C. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Supabase or ctags?
Choose Supabase if you want the larger community (111,569 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose ctags if its feature set, stack or GPL-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.