--- title: "HLCE vs FastChat" type: "comparison" canonical_url: "https://www.graphcanon.com/compare/humanity-s-last-code-exam-hlce-vs-lm-sys-fastchat" tools: ["humanity-s-last-code-exam-hlce", "lm-sys-fastchat"] --- # HLCE vs FastChat *GraphCanon updated Jul 15, 2026* ## Verdict Pick HLCE when tags unique to HLCE: benchmark, codegen, codellm, llm; pick FastChat when tags unique to FastChat: chatbots, distributed-serving, evaluation system, large-language-models. [HLCE](https://humanity-s-last-code-exam.github.io/website/) reports 96 GitHub stars, 8 forks, and 1 open issues, last pushed Aug 21, 2025. [FastChat](https://github.com/lm-sys/FastChat) has 39k stars, 4.8k forks, and 1.0k open issues, last pushed May 1, 2026. Figures are from public GitHub metadata via [HLCE's repository](https://github.com/Humanity-s-Last-Code-Exam/HLCE) and [FastChat's repository](https://github.com/lm-sys/FastChat). | | [HLCE](/tools/humanity-s-last-code-exam-hlce.md) | [FastChat](/tools/lm-sys-fastchat.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Tagline | (EMNLP 2025 Findings) Source Evaluation scripts for Humanity's Last Code Exam | An open platform for training, serving, and evaluating large language models | | Stars | 96 | 39,494 | | Forks | 8 | 4,786 | | Open issues | 1 | 1,027 | | Language | Python | Python | | Adopt for | - | FastChat is a comprehensive open platform for managing large language models (LLMs) that includes capabilities for training, serving, evaluating, and comparing chatbot models via web UIs and RESTful APIs. It powers ChatB | | Persona | - | - | | Runtime | - | - | | License | - | Apache-2.0 | | Categories | Evaluation & Observability, LLM Frameworks | Evaluation & Observability, Inference & Serving, LLM Frameworks, Model Training | ## Trust and health _Sourced signals - not a safety guarantee. No winner column._ | | [HLCE](/tools/humanity-s-last-code-exam-hlce.md) | [FastChat](/tools/lm-sys-fastchat.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Maintenance | Slowing (36%) | Steady (60%) | | Days since push | 328d | 74d | | Open issues (now) | 1 | 1.0k | | Full report | [trust report](/tools/humanity-s-last-code-exam-hlce/trust.md) | [trust report](/tools/lm-sys-fastchat/trust.md) | ## Decision facts: FastChat - **Adopt for:** FastChat is a comprehensive open platform for managing large language models (LLMs) that includes capabilities for training, serving, evaluating, and comparing chatbot models via web UIs and RESTful APIs. It powers ChatB ## Choose when ### Choose HLCE if… - Tags unique to HLCE: benchmark, codegen, codellm, llm. - Leaner open-issue backlog (1). ### Choose FastChat if… - Tags unique to FastChat: chatbots, distributed-serving, evaluation system, large-language-models. - Also covers Inference & Serving, Model Training. - - You are looking to train and evaluate state-of-the-art models such as Vicuna or MT-Bench. ## When NOT to use HLCE - Last GitHub push was 328 days ago (slowing maintenance, Aug 21, 2025). Validate activity before betting a new project on HLCE. - Evaluation & Observability: Defer heavyweight eval infra only until you have real traffic - never skip it once users depend on answers. - LLM Frameworks: Avoid a framework for a single prompt-and-retrieve call; the abstraction can cost more than it saves. ## When NOT to use FastChat - - You require a proprietary or closed-source framework; FastChat is open-source under Apache-2.0 license and its use might be unsuitable for environments requiring proprietary solutions. - - Your chatbot evaluation needs do not align with the types of data used in FastChat's datasets (e.g., human votes, MT-Bench evaluations). - - You prefer a more user-friendly setup without the need to clone a repository and manually install dependencies; FastChat requires installation from source with additional steps for Rust and CMake on - + Mac. ## Common questions ### What is the difference between HLCE and FastChat? HLCE: (EMNLP 2025 Findings) Source Evaluation scripts for Humanity's Last Code Exam. FastChat: An open platform for training, serving, and evaluating large language models. See the comparison table for live GitHub stats and shared categories. ### When should I choose HLCE over FastChat? Choose HLCE over FastChat when Tags unique to HLCE: benchmark, codegen, codellm, llm; Leaner open-issue backlog (1). ### When should I choose FastChat over HLCE? Choose FastChat over HLCE when Tags unique to FastChat: chatbots, distributed-serving, evaluation system, large-language-models; Also covers Inference & Serving, Model Training; - You are looking to train and evaluate state-of-the-art models such as Vicuna or MT-Bench. ### When should I avoid HLCE? Last GitHub push was 328 days ago (slowing maintenance, Aug 21, 2025). Validate activity before betting a new project on HLCE. Evaluation & Observability: Defer heavyweight eval infra only until you have real traffic - never skip it once users depend on answers. LLM Frameworks: Avoid a framework for a single prompt-and-retrieve call; the abstraction can cost more than it saves. ### When should I avoid FastChat? - You require a proprietary or closed-source framework; FastChat is open-source under Apache-2.0 license and its use might be unsuitable for environments requiring proprietary solutions. - Your chatbot evaluation needs do not align with the types of data used in FastChat's datasets (e.g., human votes, MT-Bench evaluations). - You prefer a more user-friendly setup without the need to clone a repository and manually install dependencies; FastChat requires installation from source with additional steps for Rust and CMake on + Mac. ### Is HLCE or FastChat more popular on GitHub? FastChat has more GitHub stars (39,494 vs 96). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints. ### Are HLCE and FastChat open source? Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub. ### Where can I find alternatives to HLCE or FastChat? GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at [HLCE alternatives](/tools/humanity-s-last-code-exam-hlce/alternatives) and [FastChat alternatives](/tools/lm-sys-fastchat/alternatives) ([HLCE markdown twin](/tools/humanity-s-last-code-exam-hlce/alternatives.md), [FastChat markdown twin](/tools/lm-sys-fastchat/alternatives.md)), ranked by typed relationship edges rather than popularity votes. ### Is there a machine-readable version of this comparison? Yes. The markdown twin at [this comparison](/compare/humanity-s-last-code-exam-hlce-vs-lm-sys-fastchat.md) mirrors this page for agents and LLM crawlers, with the same stats table and FAQ answers. ### Which is better maintained, HLCE or FastChat? HLCE: Slowing. FastChat: Steady. Compare maintenance labels, days since push, and release cadence in the trust section below - stars alone do not measure maintenance. ### Where are the full trust reports for HLCE and FastChat? GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: [HLCE trust report](/tools/humanity-s-last-code-exam-hlce/trust); [FastChat trust report](/tools/lm-sys-fastchat/trust). --- **Machine-readable endpoints** - JSON: [`/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=humanity-s-last-code-exam-hlce`](/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=humanity-s-last-code-exam-hlce) - LLM index: [/llms.txt](/llms.txt) - Full corpus: [/llms-full.txt](/llms-full.txt) _GraphCanon - The knowledge graph for AI development. https://www.graphcanon.com/_