BackstagevsHiClaw
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| Backstage | HiClaw | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 78/100 | 67/100 |
| Rank in category | #8 of 166 in Developer Tools | #32 of 209 in AI Agents |
| GitHub stars | 34 732 | 5 885 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +50 | +222 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 14 | 15 |
| Latest release | v1.57.0-next.0 · 27 Oct 2026 | v1.2.5 · 16 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Advanced | Easy |
| Official Docker image | No | Yes |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | Typescript | Go |
Which one should you pick?
Backstage scores 78/100 against 67/100 for HiClaw, so it is the safer default.
HiClaw ships more often: 15 stable releases in the past year, against 14 for Backstage.
If you want the quickest setup, HiClaw is easier to run; Backstage needs more configuration.
HiClaw is growing faster right now (+222 stars in 30 days).
Backstage details →HiClaw details →