head to head · open source
terax-ai vs lite-xl
terax-ai has 9,437 GitHub stars, 1,049 forks, 449 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. lite-xl has 6,506 stars, 328 forks, 330 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. terax-ai leads on adoption by 45% (9,437 vs 6,506 stars). terax-ai is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; lite-xl is written in Lua under MIT. terax-ai has attracted 11% as many forks as stars, lite-xl 5%. lite-xl was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (code-editor), 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
| terax-ai | lite-xl | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 9.4K | ★ 6.5K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | Lua |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-03 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.0K | ⑂ 328 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick terax-ai if
- You weight community size — 9.4K 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 lite-xl if
- You want the lite-xl feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Lua
- You evaluated both and lite-xl fits your workflow better
About terax-ai
Terax Lightweight Terminal first AI native dev workspace. Website · Docs · Website's source code 简体中文 Español Deutsch Français 日本語 한국어 Português Polski Русский Bahasa Indonesia हिन्दी Terax is a lightweight open source terminal first AI native development environment (ADE) built on Tauri 2 + Rust and React 19. A native PTY backend with a WebGL renderer, an agentic AI side panel that runs against your own keys or fully local models, plus a code editor, file explorer, source control with a git graph, and a web preview pane built in. About 7 8 MB on disk. No telemetry. No account. Screenshots Web preview of local…
read the full terax-ai overview →
About lite-xl
Lite XL [![CI]]( [![Discord Badge Image]]( ![screenshot dark] A lightweight text editor written in Lua, adapted from [lite]. [Get Lite XL] — Download for Windows, Linux and Mac OS. [Get plugins] — Add additional functionality, adapted for Lite XL. [Get color themes] — Add additional colors themes. Please refer to our [website] for the user and developer documentation, including [build] instructions details. A quick build guide is described below. Lite XL has support for high DPI display on Windows and Linux and, since 1.16.7 release, it supports retina displays on macOS. Please note that Lite XL is compatible…
read the full lite-xl overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is terax-ai or lite-xl more popular?
terax-ai has 9,437 GitHub stars and lite-xl has 6,506. terax-ai has the larger community by that measure.
Are terax-ai and lite-xl free?
Both are open source. terax-ai is licensed under Apache-2.0 and lite-xl under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between terax-ai and lite-xl?
terax-ai is written in TypeScript and lite-xl in Lua. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, terax-ai or lite-xl?
Choose terax-ai if you want the larger community (9,437 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose lite-xl if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.