head to head · open source
witr vs Checkmate
witr has 22,906 GitHub stars, 808 forks, 17 open issues and last shipped 11 days ago. Checkmate has 11,020 stars, 1,234 forks, 114 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. witr leads on adoption by 108% (22,906 vs 11,020 stars). witr is written in Go under Apache-2.0; Checkmate is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0. witr has attracted 4% as many forks as stars, Checkmate 11%. Checkmate 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
| witr | Checkmate | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 23K | ★ 11K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Go | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-10-23 | 2026-10-31 |
| Forks | ⑂ 808 | ⑂ 1.2K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick witr if
- You weight community size — 23K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Checkmate if
- You want the Checkmate feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Checkmate fits your workflow better
About witr
witr Why is this running? Trace any process, port, container, or file back to the exact chain that started it — one command, machine readable JSON, or an interactive TUI. 🎮 Try witr in your browser → Investigate a simulated Linux box — a guided tutorial and free play sandbox, no install required. Purpose • Installation • TUI • Flags • Core Concept • Examples Output Behavior • Platforms • Success Criteria • Sponsors 1. Purpose witr exists to answer a single question: Why is this running? When something is running on a system, whether it is a process, a service, or something bound to a port, there is always a…
About Checkmate
🇺🇸 English 🇸🇦 العربية 🇪🇸 Català 🇨🇿 Čeština 🇩🇪 Deutsch 🇪🇸 Español 🇫🇮 Suomi 🇫🇷 Français 🇮🇹 Italiano 🇯🇵 日本語 🇧🇷 Português (Brasil) 🇷🇺 Русский 🇹🇭 ไทย 🇹🇷 Türkçe 🇺🇦 Українська 🇻🇳 Tiếng Việt 🇨🇳 简体中文 🇹🇼 繁體中文 Checkmate An open source uptime and infrastructure monitoring application This repository contains both the frontend and the backend of Checkmate, an open source, self hosted monitoring tool for tracking server hardware, uptime, response times, and incidents in real time with beautiful visualizations. Checkmate regularly checks whether a server/website is accessible and performs…
read the full Checkmate overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is witr or Checkmate more popular?
witr has 22,906 GitHub stars and Checkmate has 11,020. witr has the larger community by that measure.
Are witr and Checkmate free?
Both are open source. witr is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Checkmate under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between witr and Checkmate?
witr is written in Go and Checkmate 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, witr or Checkmate?
Choose witr if you want the larger community (22,906 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Checkmate if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.