head to head · open source
Nuclear vs tunarr
Nuclear has 18,865 GitHub stars, 1,357 forks, 7 open issues and last shipped today. tunarr has 2,700 stars, 162 forks, 206 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Nuclear leads on adoption by 599% (18,865 vs 2,700 stars). Nuclear is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0; tunarr is written in TypeScript under Zlib. Nuclear has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, tunarr 6%. Nuclear was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (streaming), 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
| Nuclear | tunarr | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 19K | ★ 2.7K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Zlib |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-04 | 2026-11-03 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.4K | ⑂ 162 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Nuclear if
- You weight community size — 19K 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 tunarr if
- You want the tunarr feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Zlib license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and tunarr fits your workflow better
About Nuclear
Nuclear Nuclear is a free, open source music player without ads or tracking. Search for any song or artist, build playlists, and start listening. Runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux. Screenshots Nuclear comes with multiple built in themes: Download Grab the latest release for your platform from the Releases page. Features Search for music and stream it from any source Browse artist pages with biographies, discographies, and similar artists Browse album pages with track listings Queue management with shuffle, repeat, and drag and drop reordering Favorites (albums, artists, and tracks) Playlists (create, import…
read the full Nuclear overview →
About tunarr
Tunarr Create your own live TV channels from media on Plex, Jellyfin, Emby, or local files. What is Tunarr? Tunarr lets you build custom live TV channels out of your existing media libraries — movies, TV episodes, music videos, or local files — and stream them as if they were real broadcast channels. Tune in by adding Tunarr's spoofed HDHomeRun tuner to Plex, Jellyfin, or Emby, or grab the M3U URL for any IPTV player like Tivimate or UHF. Features Media Sources Connect Plex, Jellyfin, Emby, or local file libraries Advanced search, filter, and sort across all connected libraries Channel Management Drag and drop…
read the full tunarr overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Nuclear or tunarr more popular?
Nuclear has 18,865 GitHub stars and tunarr has 2,700. Nuclear has the larger community by that measure.
Are Nuclear and tunarr free?
Both are open source. Nuclear is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and tunarr under Zlib. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Nuclear and tunarr?
Nuclear is written in TypeScript and tunarr 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, Nuclear or tunarr?
Choose Nuclear if you want the larger community (18,865 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose tunarr if its feature set, stack or Zlib licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.