# headscale vs HiClaw

> Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.

| | headscale | HiClaw |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 82/100 ✓ | 67/100 |
| Rank in category | #1 of 31 in Networking | #31 of 209 in AI Agents |
| GitHub stars | 45 150 ✓ | 5 889 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +1 043 ✓ | +220 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 7 | 15 ✓ |
| Latest release | v0.29.6 · 24 Oct 2026 ✓ | v1.2.5 · 16 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate | Easy ✓ |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | Go | Go |

## Which one should you pick?

headscale scores 82/100 against 67/100 for HiClaw, so it is the safer default.

HiClaw ships more often: 15 stable releases in the past year, against 7 for headscale.

If you want the quickest setup, HiClaw is easier to run; headscale needs more configuration.

headscale is growing faster right now (+1 043 stars in 30 days).

## Details

- [headscale](https://selfhost.directory/project/headscale) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/headscale.md)
- [HiClaw](https://selfhost.directory/project/hiclaw) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/hiclaw.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/headscale-vs-hiclaw