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LLM inference engines: star history compared

Most starred

187k

ollama/ollama

Running large language models yourself went from research stunt to commodity in about two years, and these five projects did most of the commoditizing. llama.cpp proved frontier-class models could run on a laptop, Ollama wrapped that power in a one-line install, and vLLM and SGLang turned GPU serving throughput into a public leaderboard of its own. The star histories here are effectively a timeline of the local-AI movement.

Ranked by current GitHub stars · growth = stars gained in the trailing 90 days · data updated Nov 2026

LLM inference engines — star history
187k STARS4 YR 1 MOollama/ollama187kggml-org/llama.cpp135kvllm-project/vllm97ksgl-project/sglang39ktext-generation-inference11k

ollama/ollama: 186,938 stars on November 14, 2026. ggml-org/llama.cpp: 134,940 stars on November 14, 2026. vllm-project/vllm: 96,890 stars on November 13, 2026. sgl-project/sglang: 38,855 stars on November 14, 2026. huggingface/text-generation-inference: 10,878 stars on November 12, 2026.

Star history for ollama/ollama
DateStars
June 30, 20232
July 26, 20232871
August 10, 20234562
August 25, 20235561
September 10, 20236482
September 25, 20236813
October 10, 20238703
October 26, 20239776
November 10, 202315293
November 25, 202317798
December 14, 202321048
December 29, 202326802
January 13, 202428956
January 29, 202431918
February 13, 202434791
February 28, 202440007
March 15, 202444996
March 30, 202448612
April 14, 202451551
April 30, 202459062
May 15, 202463066
May 30, 202466438
June 14, 202469369
June 30, 202472138
July 15, 202474460
July 30, 202478190
August 15, 202480795
August 30, 202482902
September 14, 202484812
September 30, 202487127
October 18, 202489317
November 2, 202491426
November 18, 202493772
December 3, 202496041
December 18, 202498664
January 3, 2025100910
January 18, 2025103428
February 2, 2025112622
February 18, 2025121824
March 5, 2025125518
March 20, 2025128293
April 4, 2025130327
April 20, 2025132395
May 5, 2025134017
May 20, 2025135584
June 5, 2025137389
June 20, 2025138948
July 5, 2025140275
July 21, 2025141822
August 5, 2025143641
August 23, 2025145631
September 8, 2025146865
September 23, 2025148000
October 8, 2025148930
October 24, 2025149967
November 8, 2025150977
November 23, 2025151949
December 9, 2025152976
December 24, 2025153916
January 8, 2026154860
January 23, 2026156272
February 8, 2026158231
February 23, 2026159363
March 10, 2026161009
March 26, 2026162723
April 10, 2026165171
April 25, 2026166945
May 11, 2026168440
May 26, 2026169844
June 10, 2026171505
June 29, 2026173099
July 14, 2026174295
July 29, 2026175620
August 14, 2026177096
August 29, 2026178510
September 13, 2026179736
September 29, 2026180980
October 14, 2026182637
October 29, 2026184946
November 14, 2026186938
Star history for ggml-org/llama.cpp
DateStars
March 10, 2023612
March 26, 202312558
April 12, 202319647
April 29, 202322210
May 16, 202324394
June 2, 202325837
June 19, 202328523
July 5, 202330281
July 22, 202332069
August 8, 202333899
August 28, 202335627
September 14, 202336933
October 1, 202337828
October 18, 202338817
November 4, 202339781
November 21, 202340833
December 8, 202342162
December 24, 202343560
January 10, 202444843
January 27, 202445915
February 13, 202446943
March 1, 202448380
March 18, 202449528
April 4, 202450780
April 20, 202452273
May 7, 202454011
May 24, 202455183
June 10, 202456374
June 27, 202457317
July 14, 202458145
August 3, 202459504
August 20, 202460391
September 6, 202461194
September 22, 202461952
October 9, 202462741
October 26, 202463620
November 12, 202464507
November 29, 202465303
December 16, 202466143
January 2, 202566937
January 18, 202567761
February 4, 202569843
February 21, 202571762
March 10, 202573056
March 27, 202574172
April 13, 202575004
April 30, 202576051
May 16, 202577406
June 2, 202578389
June 19, 202579167
July 9, 202580043
July 26, 202580823
August 12, 202582038
August 29, 202583123
September 15, 202583964
October 2, 202584667
October 18, 202585547
November 4, 202586546
November 21, 202587889
December 8, 202588756
December 25, 202589864
January 11, 202690770
January 28, 202691940
February 13, 202693084
March 2, 202694489
March 19, 202696819
April 5, 202699900
April 22, 2026104104
May 9, 2026107571
May 26, 2026111594
June 15, 2026115224
July 2, 2026117669
July 19, 2026119700
August 4, 2026121580
August 21, 2026124070
September 7, 2026126541
September 24, 2026128652
October 11, 2026130461
October 28, 2026132471
November 14, 2026134940
Star history for vllm-project/vllm
DateStars
May 22, 20231
July 3, 20232914
July 19, 20233579
August 3, 20234349
August 19, 20235138
September 3, 20235743
September 19, 20236703
October 5, 20237521
October 20, 20238191
November 5, 20238783
November 24, 20239623
December 9, 202310258
December 25, 202311644
January 9, 202412396
January 25, 202413257
February 9, 202413922
February 25, 202414551
March 12, 202415316
March 27, 202416106
April 12, 202416964
April 27, 202417883
May 13, 202418747
May 29, 202419521
June 13, 202420287
June 29, 202421120
July 14, 202422145
July 30, 202423169
August 15, 202424054
August 30, 202424888
September 15, 202425964
October 3, 202426976
October 19, 202427932
November 4, 202428775
November 19, 202429643
December 5, 202430525
December 20, 202431362
January 5, 202532309
January 21, 202533468
February 5, 202535524
February 21, 202537878
March 8, 202539806
March 24, 202541543
April 8, 202542830
April 24, 202544669
May 10, 202545957
May 25, 202546969
June 10, 202548229
June 25, 202549660
July 11, 202550942
July 27, 202552244
August 14, 202554164
August 30, 202555615
September 14, 202556926
September 30, 202558165
October 16, 202559230
October 31, 202560524
November 16, 202562136
December 1, 202563330
December 17, 202564617
January 2, 202665680
January 17, 202666721
February 2, 202668342
February 17, 202669572
March 5, 202671156
March 21, 202672922
April 5, 202674539
April 21, 202676781
May 6, 202678441
May 22, 202680003
June 6, 202681417
June 25, 202683742
July 11, 202685422
July 26, 202686739
August 11, 202688362
August 27, 202689890
September 11, 202691217
September 27, 202692524
October 12, 202693493
October 28, 202695724
November 13, 202696890
Star history for sgl-project/sglang
DateStars
January 16, 202436
January 28, 2024900
February 10, 20241272
February 23, 20241477
March 7, 20241662
March 20, 20241908
April 2, 20242039
April 15, 20242135
April 28, 20242238
May 11, 20242334
May 27, 20242421
June 8, 20242513
June 21, 20242581
July 4, 20242671
July 17, 20242757
July 30, 20243475
August 12, 20243931
August 25, 20244372
September 7, 20244782
September 20, 20244999
October 3, 20245208
October 16, 20245421
October 29, 20245600
November 11, 20245787
November 24, 20245999
December 7, 20246193
December 20, 20246390
January 2, 20256796
January 15, 20257120
January 27, 20257748
February 12, 20259155
February 25, 202510551
March 10, 202511402
March 23, 202512015
April 5, 202512548
April 18, 202513006
May 1, 202513548
May 14, 202514002
May 27, 202514339
June 9, 202514667
June 21, 202515009
July 4, 202515381
July 17, 202515761
July 30, 202516089
August 12, 202516510
August 25, 202516922
September 7, 202517360
September 20, 202517730
October 3, 202518184
October 16, 202518544
November 1, 202519019
November 13, 202519516
November 26, 202519904
December 9, 202520455
December 22, 202521084
January 4, 202621415
January 17, 202621824
January 30, 202622325
February 12, 202622769
February 25, 202623164
March 10, 202623777
March 23, 202624354
April 5, 202624933
April 18, 202625549
May 1, 202626291
May 14, 202627193
May 27, 202627770
June 9, 202628360
June 22, 202629004
July 4, 202629477
July 20, 202630172
August 2, 202630761
August 15, 202631569
August 28, 202632360
September 10, 202635458
September 23, 202636107
October 6, 202636591
October 19, 202637262
November 1, 202638299
November 14, 202638855
Star history for huggingface/text-generation-inference
DateStars
October 18, 202211
November 24, 202247
January 28, 202371
February 13, 2023144
March 4, 2023333
March 19, 2023407
April 5, 2023503
April 20, 2023749
May 6, 2023962
May 21, 20231245
June 9, 20231762
June 25, 20232263
July 10, 20232654
July 26, 20233231
August 10, 20234023
August 26, 20234378
September 10, 20234679
September 26, 20234955
October 12, 20235197
October 27, 20235401
November 12, 20235578
November 27, 20235770
December 13, 20235982
December 28, 20236166
January 13, 20246332
January 28, 20246502
February 13, 20246664
February 28, 20246785
March 15, 20246943
March 31, 20247115
April 18, 20247484
May 4, 20247645
May 19, 20247767
June 4, 20247880
June 19, 20247981
July 5, 20248066
July 21, 20248159
August 5, 20248255
August 21, 20248355
September 6, 20248461
September 23, 20248547
October 8, 20248620
October 25, 20248695
November 9, 20248772
November 25, 20248900
December 12, 20249140
December 28, 20249266
January 15, 20259333
January 30, 20259422
February 15, 20259519
March 5, 20259625
March 21, 20259698
April 6, 20259763
April 22, 20259839
May 8, 20259894
May 23, 20259952
June 8, 20259995
June 23, 202510055
July 9, 202510121
July 24, 202510167
August 9, 202510230
August 27, 202510279
September 12, 202510335
September 29, 202510380
October 16, 202510424
November 3, 202510472
November 18, 202510514
December 5, 202510546
December 24, 202510575
January 18, 202610610
February 12, 202610652
March 1, 202610678
March 19, 202610708
April 7, 202610735
May 6, 202610771
June 1, 202610792
July 3, 202610815
July 27, 202610843
September 24, 202610860
November 12, 202610878

How each series was read

  • ollama/ollama

    GitHub star history · Covers through November 14, 2026

  • ggml-org/llama.cpp

    GitHub star history · Covers through November 14, 2026

  • vllm-project/vllm

    GitHub star history · Covers through November 14, 2026

  • sgl-project/sglang

    GitHub star history · Covers through November 14, 2026

  • huggingface/text-generation-inference

    GitHub star history · Covers through November 14, 2026

Ranking

5 repositories

LLM inference engines ranked by current total GitHub stars
#RepositoryStars+90dFirst starHealth
1ollama/ollama186,942~9.8k2023debt charts
2ggml-org/llama.cpp134,989~12k2023debt charts
3vllm-project/vllm96,915~8.3k2023debt charts
4sgl-project/sglang38,862~7.3k2024debt charts
5huggingface/text-generation-inference10,878~312022debt charts

Repository health compared

Live analysis · unavailable data stays labelled

Popularity is only one axis. Compare technical scale, maintenance cadence, ownership resilience and change pressure against the same completed analysis that sits behind each report.

Reach

Popularity and real-world adoption

Signalollama/ollamaggml-org/llama.cppvllm-project/vllmsgl-project/sglanghuggingface/text-generation-inference
GitHub starsCurrent public GitHub metadata total.Best result in this row: 186,942134,98996,91538,86210,878
Stars gained · trailing 90dChange in the newest 90 days covered by each cached series.+9,842Best result in this row: +12,075+8,261+7,286+31
ForksCurrent public GitHub metadata total.Reading…Reading…Reading…Reading…Reading…
Largest package audienceLargest resolved registry total; sources are shown explicitly.Reading…Reading…Reading…Reading…Reading…
Repository ageElapsed years since the GitHub creation timestamp.3.4 years3.7 years3.8 years2.9 years4.1 years

Codebase

Size and technical center of gravity

Signalollama/ollamaggml-org/llama.cppvllm-project/vllmsgl-project/sglanghuggingface/text-generation-inference
Dominant languageLargest share of analyzed code lines at current HEAD.Reading…Reading…Reading…Reading…Reading…
Code linesAnalyzed source lines at current HEAD, excluding blanks and comments.Reading…Reading…Reading…Reading…Reading…
Languages representedLanguages with non-zero files or line counts.Reading…Reading…Reading…Reading…Reading…

Maintenance

Commit volume and recent operating cadence

Signalollama/ollamaggml-org/llama.cppvllm-project/vllmsgl-project/sglanghuggingface/text-generation-inference
Repository commitsFull repository commit total reported by the analysis.Reading…Reading…Reading…Reading…Reading…
Commits · trailing 90dCommit count in the newest 90 days covered by the repository analysis.Reading…Reading…Reading…Reading…Reading…

Ownership

How broadly maintenance responsibility is distributed

Signalollama/ollamaggml-org/llama.cppvllm-project/vllmsgl-project/sglanghuggingface/text-generation-inference
Bus factorFewest analyzed contributors carrying at least half the commits.Reading…Reading…Reading…Reading…Reading…
Top contributor concentrationShare of attributed commits carried by the most active contributor.Reading…Reading…Reading…Reading…Reading…

Change signals

Debt markers and fix pressure in frequently changed files

Signalollama/ollamaggml-org/llama.cppvllm-project/vllmsgl-project/sglanghuggingface/text-generation-inference
Fix-labelled share · frequently changed filesFix-labelled commits divided by commits across the analyzed high-frequency file set.Reading…Reading…Reading…Reading…Reading…
Recent TODO/FIXME movementLatest cumulative marker count and its change over the trailing 90 days.Reading…Reading…Reading…Reading…Reading…

Head to head

open in the builder

Frequently asked

Which of these llm inference engines has the most GitHub stars?

ollama/ollama is the most-starred of the llm inference engines gitdebt compares, with 186,942 GitHub stars as of Nov 2026. It earned its first star in 2023.

Which of these llm inference engines is growing the fastest?

ggml-org/llama.cpp added the most stars over the last 90 days of its cached history — about 12,075 new stars, compared with about 9,842 for the category leader ollama/ollama. 90-day figures are approximate for older repos, whose history is downsampled.

How is this comparison computed?

The table ranks public repository metadata by current total stars. Each curve is that repository's stored star series — read from GitHub's own star history, or from an older stargazer-list or historical-data read until gitdebt reads it again — drawn on shared axes, with trailing 90-day growth estimated from it. The legend under the chart names each series' own source and coverage date. Repo-health charts come independently from each repository's commit history.

Related categories

all categories

Fastest-growing repos across all of gitdebt