head to head · open source
tagreader vs libretiny
tagreader has 1,624 GitHub stars, 219 forks, 48 open issues and last shipped 7 months ago. libretiny has 552 stars, 127 forks, 124 open issues and last shipped 19 days ago. tagreader leads on adoption by 194% (1,624 vs 552 stars). tagreader is written in Shell under GPL-3.0; libretiny is written in C under MIT. tagreader has attracted 13% as many forks as stars, libretiny 23%. libretiny was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (esphome), 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
| tagreader | libretiny | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 1.6K | ★ 552 |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Shell | C |
| Last push | 2026-04-27 | 2026-10-22 |
| Forks | ⑂ 219 | ⑂ 127 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick tagreader if
- You weight community size — 1.6K stars and counting
- You want the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Shell
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick libretiny if
- You want the libretiny feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches C
- You evaluated both and libretiny fits your workflow better
About tagreader
Tag Reader for Home Assistant The tag reader is a simple to build/use NFC tag reader, specially created for Home Assistant. It is using a D1 mini ESP 8266 and the PN532 NFC module. The firmware is built using ESPhome. I am selling a pre built version, a DIY version (assembly required), or just the case (use with own components). Check it out on my website. Building the tag reader To build your own tag reader, you need the following components: ESP8266 D1 Mini PN532 NFC Reader WS2812 Buzzer The 3D models for the case are here. WARNING regarding AZdelivery D1. We have had several users contacting us with different…
read the full tagreader overview →
About libretiny
LibreTiny (formerly LibreTuya) PlatformIO development platform for BK7231, RTL8710 and LN882H IoT chips. The main goal of this project is to provide a usable build environment for IoT developers. While also providing vendor SDKs as PlatformIO cores, the project focuses on developing working Arduino compatible cores for supported families. The cores are inspired by Espressif's official core for ESP32, which should make it easier to port/run existing ESP apps on less common, unsupported IoT modules. There's an ESPHome port based on LibreTiny, which supports BK7231 and RTL8710B chips. Note: this project is work in…
read the full libretiny overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is tagreader or libretiny more popular?
tagreader has 1,624 GitHub stars and libretiny has 552. tagreader has the larger community by that measure.
Are tagreader and libretiny free?
Both are open source. tagreader is licensed under GPL-3.0 and libretiny under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between tagreader and libretiny?
tagreader is written in Shell and libretiny 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, tagreader or libretiny?
Choose tagreader if you want the larger community (1,624 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose libretiny if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.