--- title: "moby vs openlm" type: "comparison" canonical_url: "https://www.graphcanon.com/compare/moby-moby-vs-r2d4-openlm" tools: ["moby-moby", "r2d4-openlm"] --- # moby vs openlm *GraphCanon updated Jul 12, 2026* ## Verdict Pick moby when moby is primarily Go; openlm is Python; pick openlm when openlm is primarily Python; moby is Go. [moby](https://mobyproject.org/) reports 72k GitHub stars, 19k forks, and 3.8k open issues, last pushed Jul 10, 2026. [openlm](https://github.com/r2d4/openlm) has 369 stars, 22 forks, and 1 open issues, last pushed May 19, 2023. Figures are from public GitHub metadata via [moby's repository](https://github.com/moby/moby) and [openlm's repository](https://github.com/r2d4/openlm). | | [moby](/tools/moby-moby.md) | [openlm](/tools/r2d4-openlm.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Tagline | The Moby Project - a collaborative project for the container ecosystem to assemble container-based systems | OpenAI-compatible Python client that can call any LLM | | Stars | 71,899 | 369 | | Forks | 19,126 | 22 | | Open issues | 3,821 | 1 | | Language | Go | Python | | Adopt for | - | - | | Persona | - | - | | Runtime | - | - | | License | Apache-2.0 | MIT | | Categories | LLM Frameworks, Inference & Serving, Developer Tools | LLM Frameworks, Developer Tools | ## Trust and health _Sourced signals - not a safety guarantee. No winner column._ | | [moby](/tools/moby-moby.md) | [openlm](/tools/r2d4-openlm.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Maintenance | Very active (96%) | Dormant (18%) | | Days since push | 1d | 1148d | | Open issues (now) | 3.8k | 1 | | Owner type | Organization | User | | Security scan | No criticals | 31 low (31 low) | | Full report | [trust report](/tools/moby-moby/trust.md) | [trust report](/tools/r2d4-openlm/trust.md) | ## Choose when ### Choose moby if… - moby is primarily Go; openlm is Python. - License: moby is Apache-2.0, openlm is MIT. - Tags unique to moby: go, docker, golang, containers. - Also covers Inference & Serving. - moby ships Docker support for self-hosted deployment. ### Choose openlm if… - openlm is primarily Python; moby is Go. - License: openlm is MIT, moby is Apache-2.0. - Tags unique to openlm: llm, python, openai, huggingface. ## When NOT to use moby - LLM Frameworks: Avoid a framework for a single prompt-and-retrieve call; the abstraction can cost more than it saves. - Inference & Serving: Self-hosting rarely beats a hosted API on cost until you have steady, high-volume traffic. - Developer Tools: A gateway is overkill when you're pinned to a single provider and model. ## When NOT to use openlm - Last GitHub push was 1149 days ago (dormant maintenance, May 19, 2023). Validate activity before betting a new project on openlm. - LLM Frameworks: Avoid a framework for a single prompt-and-retrieve call; the abstraction can cost more than it saves. - Developer Tools: A gateway is overkill when you're pinned to a single provider and model. ## Common questions ### What is the difference between moby and openlm? moby: The Moby Project - a collaborative project for the container ecosystem to assemble container-based systems. openlm: OpenAI-compatible Python client that can call any LLM. See the comparison table for live GitHub stats and shared categories. ### When should I choose moby over openlm? Choose moby over openlm when moby is primarily Go; openlm is Python; License: moby is Apache-2.0, openlm is MIT; Tags unique to moby: go, docker, golang, containers; Also covers Inference & Serving; moby ships Docker support for self-hosted deployment. ### When should I choose openlm over moby? Choose openlm over moby when openlm is primarily Python; moby is Go; License: openlm is MIT, moby is Apache-2.0; Tags unique to openlm: llm, python, openai, huggingface. ### When should I avoid moby? LLM Frameworks: Avoid a framework for a single prompt-and-retrieve call; the abstraction can cost more than it saves. Inference & Serving: Self-hosting rarely beats a hosted API on cost until you have steady, high-volume traffic. Developer Tools: A gateway is overkill when you're pinned to a single provider and model. ### When should I avoid openlm? Last GitHub push was 1149 days ago (dormant maintenance, May 19, 2023). Validate activity before betting a new project on openlm. LLM Frameworks: Avoid a framework for a single prompt-and-retrieve call; the abstraction can cost more than it saves. Developer Tools: A gateway is overkill when you're pinned to a single provider and model. ### Is moby or openlm more popular on GitHub? moby has more GitHub stars (71,899 vs 369). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints. ### Are moby and openlm open source? Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (moby: Apache-2.0, openlm: MIT). ### Where can I find alternatives to moby or openlm? GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at [moby alternatives](/tools/moby-moby/alternatives) and [openlm alternatives](/tools/r2d4-openlm/alternatives) ([moby markdown twin](/tools/moby-moby/alternatives.md), [openlm markdown twin](/tools/r2d4-openlm/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/moby-moby-vs-r2d4-openlm.md) mirrors this page for agents and LLM crawlers, with the same stats table and FAQ answers. ### Which is better maintained, moby or openlm? moby: Very active. openlm: Dormant. 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 moby and openlm? GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: [moby trust report](/tools/moby-moby/trust); [openlm trust report](/tools/r2d4-openlm/trust). --- **Machine-readable endpoints** - JSON: [`/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=moby-moby`](/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=moby-moby) - 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/_