head to head · open source
tubearchivist vs halcyon-video
tubearchivist has 8,451 GitHub stars, 420 forks, 25 open issues and last shipped 21 days ago. halcyon-video has 869 stars, 39 forks, 80 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. tubearchivist leads on adoption by 872% (8,451 vs 869 stars). tubearchivist is written in Python under GPL-3.0; halcyon-video is written in TypeScript under GPL-3.0. tubearchivist has attracted 5% as many forks as stars, halcyon-video 4%. halcyon-video was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (media-server), 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
| tubearchivist | halcyon-video | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 8.5K | ★ 869 |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-08-28 | 2026-09-16 |
| Forks | ⑂ 420 | ⑂ 39 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick tubearchivist if
- You weight community size — 8.5K stars and counting
- You want the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick halcyon-video if
- You want the halcyon-video feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and halcyon-video fits your workflow better
About tubearchivist
Tube Archivist is a self hosted YouTube media server that downloads videos with yt dlp, indexes them with metadata from YouTube, and serves them back through a searchable web interface, built for people whose personal YouTube archive has grown past the point where folders and filenames still work.
read the full tubearchivist overview →
About halcyon-video
Halcyon Video is a self hosted, GPL 3.0 licensed TypeScript application that turns a Jellyfin, Plex, or Emby library into a walkable 3D 1990s video rental store, built for people who want to browse their own collection from the couch with a keyboard, gamepad, TV remote, or phone.
read the full halcyon-video overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is tubearchivist or halcyon-video more popular?
tubearchivist has 8,451 GitHub stars and halcyon-video has 869. tubearchivist has the larger community by that measure.
Are tubearchivist and halcyon-video free?
Both are open source. tubearchivist is licensed under GPL-3.0 and halcyon-video under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between tubearchivist and halcyon-video?
tubearchivist is written in Python and halcyon-video 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, tubearchivist or halcyon-video?
Choose tubearchivist if you want the larger community (8,451 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose halcyon-video if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.