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LLM inference engines: star history compared

Most starred

181k

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 Sep 2026

LLM inference engines — star history
151k STARS3 YR 11 MOollama/ollama151kggml-org/llama.cpp93kvllm-project/vllm59ksgl-project/sglang20ktext-generation-inference10k

ollama/ollama: 150,900 stars on September 15, 2026. ggml-org/llama.cpp: 93,000 stars on September 15, 2026. vllm-project/vllm: 58,942 stars on September 15, 2026. sgl-project/sglang: 19,808 stars on September 15, 2026. huggingface/text-generation-inference: 10,183 stars on May 8, 2026.

Star history for ollama/ollama
DateStars
July 3, 20232
July 26, 20233194
August 9, 20234848
August 23, 20235650
September 6, 20236735
September 20, 20237083
October 4, 20238141
October 18, 20239707
November 1, 202310579
November 15, 202316778
December 1, 202319213
December 15, 202321712
December 29, 202327677
January 12, 202429768
January 26, 202432295
February 9, 202434996
February 23, 202438160
March 8, 202443861
March 22, 202447670
April 5, 202450769
April 20, 202454668
May 4, 202460878
May 18, 202464632
June 1, 202467750
June 15, 202470516
June 29, 202473104
July 13, 202475335
July 27, 202478227
August 10, 202481310
August 24, 202483434
September 9, 202485490
September 23, 202487437
October 7, 202489359
October 21, 202491175
November 4, 202493213
November 18, 202495190
December 2, 202497234
December 16, 202499640
December 30, 2024101600
January 13, 2025104029
January 28, 2025109427
February 11, 2025120306
February 25, 2025124864
March 11, 2025127658
March 25, 2025130030
April 8, 2025131754
April 22, 2025133459
May 6, 2025134900
May 20, 2025136312
June 3, 2025137444
June 19, 2025138462
July 3, 2025139327
July 17, 2025140216
July 31, 2025141149
August 14, 2025142385
August 28, 2025143059
September 11, 2025143717
September 25, 2025144328
October 11, 2025144779
October 27, 2025145157
November 11, 2025145589
November 25, 2025145955
December 9, 2025146312
December 23, 2025146678
January 6, 2026147102
January 20, 2026147559
February 3, 2026148116
February 17, 2026148567
March 3, 2026148958
March 17, 2026149281
April 2, 2026149548
April 16, 2026150074
April 30, 2026150301
May 14, 2026150431
May 28, 2026150537
June 11, 2026150620
June 27, 2026150662
July 22, 2026150681
August 28, 2026150704
September 15, 2026150900
Star history for ggml-org/llama.cpp
DateStars
March 10, 2023255
March 25, 202312611
April 10, 202319801
April 25, 202322717
May 11, 202324698
May 27, 202326389
June 11, 202328760
June 27, 202330529
July 12, 202332214
July 28, 202334477
August 16, 202336065
August 31, 202337553
September 16, 202338702
October 1, 202339576
October 17, 202340550
November 2, 202341538
November 17, 202342513
December 3, 202343733
December 18, 202345022
January 3, 202446294
January 19, 202447618
February 3, 202448690
February 19, 202449649
March 5, 202451090
March 21, 202452275
April 6, 202453534
April 21, 202455151
May 7, 202456795
May 22, 202457932
June 7, 202459161
June 26, 202460287
July 11, 202461129
July 27, 202462331
August 12, 202463270
August 27, 202464107
September 12, 202464890
September 27, 202465708
October 13, 202466472
October 29, 202467397
November 13, 202468214
November 29, 202468966
December 14, 202469737
December 30, 202470539
January 15, 202571404
January 30, 202573046
February 15, 202575125
March 2, 202576451
March 18, 202577605
April 3, 202578469
April 18, 202579230
May 7, 202580300
May 23, 202581713
June 7, 202582231
June 23, 202582708
July 8, 202583151
July 24, 202583636
August 9, 202584324
August 24, 202584925
September 9, 202585463
September 24, 202585870
October 15, 202586214
October 31, 202586522
November 15, 202587144
December 1, 202587483
December 16, 202587834
January 1, 202688275
January 17, 202688654
February 1, 202689070
February 17, 202689442
March 4, 202689871
March 23, 202690418
April 8, 202691020
April 23, 202691621
May 9, 202692058
May 24, 202692379
June 9, 202692562
June 26, 202692640
July 24, 202692680
August 27, 202692704
September 15, 202693000
Star history for vllm-project/vllm
DateStars
June 20, 2023231
July 4, 20232998
July 18, 20233591
August 1, 20234308
August 16, 20235067
August 30, 20235647
September 13, 20236338
September 27, 20237159
October 12, 20237937
October 26, 20238490
November 12, 20239109
November 26, 20239742
December 10, 202310280
December 25, 202311631
January 8, 202412303
January 22, 202413076
February 6, 202413792
February 20, 202414290
March 5, 202414936
March 19, 202415584
April 3, 202416378
April 17, 202417134
May 1, 202417997
May 15, 202418720
May 30, 202419409
June 13, 202420134
June 27, 202420897
July 11, 202421875
July 26, 202422804
August 9, 202423598
August 26, 202424532
September 9, 202425246
September 24, 202426344
October 8, 202427042
October 22, 202427915
November 5, 202428644
November 20, 202429482
December 4, 202430208
December 18, 202430960
January 1, 202531819
January 16, 202532666
January 30, 202534306
February 13, 202536245
February 27, 202538095
March 14, 202539799
March 28, 202541234
April 11, 202542437
April 25, 202543798
May 10, 202544951
May 24, 202545831
June 10, 202546632
June 24, 202547476
July 9, 202548230
July 23, 202548929
August 6, 202549670
August 20, 202550590
September 4, 202551364
September 18, 202552014
October 2, 202552527
October 20, 202552867
November 4, 202553493
November 18, 202554050
December 2, 202554453
December 16, 202554885
December 31, 202555365
January 14, 202655764
January 28, 202656215
February 12, 202656646
February 26, 202656962
March 12, 202657367
March 29, 202657698
April 12, 202658030
April 27, 202658348
May 11, 202658499
May 25, 202658600
June 9, 202658657
June 25, 202658705
July 18, 202658746
August 29, 202658763
September 15, 202658942
Star history for sgl-project/sglang
DateStars
January 16, 202419
January 27, 2024882
February 7, 20241222
February 19, 20241390
March 1, 20241534
March 12, 20241703
March 24, 20241899
April 4, 20242008
April 15, 20242088
April 27, 20242175
May 10, 20242274
May 22, 20242339
June 2, 20242407
June 14, 20242492
June 26, 20242554
July 7, 20242629
July 19, 20242709
July 30, 20243378
August 10, 20243827
August 22, 20244081
September 2, 20244595
September 13, 20244851
September 25, 20245040
October 6, 20245195
October 18, 20245399
October 29, 20245558
November 9, 20245703
November 21, 20245905
December 2, 20246044
December 13, 20246226
December 27, 20246506
January 7, 20256854
January 19, 20257114
January 30, 20257842
February 10, 20258731
February 22, 20259998
March 5, 202510790
March 17, 202511408
March 28, 202511944
April 8, 202512295
April 20, 202512661
May 1, 202513107
May 12, 202513460
May 24, 202513788
June 4, 202513939
June 16, 202514122
June 27, 202514326
July 8, 202514510
July 20, 202514714
July 31, 202514893
August 14, 202515159
August 25, 202515368
September 5, 202515613
September 17, 202515794
September 28, 202516039
October 14, 202516146
October 26, 202516404
November 6, 202516664
November 18, 202516879
November 29, 202516986
December 10, 202517252
December 22, 202517579
January 2, 202617722
January 13, 202617873
January 25, 202618025
February 5, 202618214
February 16, 202618300
February 28, 202618454
March 11, 202618586
March 23, 202618725
April 5, 202618847
April 17, 202618933
April 28, 202619042
May 9, 202619135
May 21, 202619195
June 1, 202619252
June 15, 202619279
July 4, 202619306
September 2, 202619322
September 15, 202619808
Star history for huggingface/text-generation-inference
DateStars
October 18, 20229
November 24, 202242
January 17, 202358
February 4, 202379
February 18, 2023156
March 5, 2023332
March 18, 2023389
April 1, 2023470
April 14, 2023532
April 27, 2023831
May 13, 20231081
May 27, 20231269
June 9, 20231697
June 22, 20232099
July 6, 20232498
July 19, 20232869
August 1, 20233658
August 15, 20234112
August 28, 20234371
September 10, 20234622
September 24, 20234863
October 7, 20235048
October 20, 20235237
November 3, 20235446
November 16, 20235598
November 29, 20235758
December 13, 20235910
December 26, 20236077
January 8, 20246215
January 21, 20246344
February 6, 20246558
February 20, 20246667
March 4, 20246769
March 17, 20246913
March 31, 20247068
April 13, 20247373
April 26, 20247527
May 10, 20247648
May 23, 20247747
June 5, 20247827
June 20, 20247931
July 3, 20248008
July 16, 20248086
July 30, 20248189
August 12, 20248253
August 26, 20248335
September 9, 20248430
September 23, 20248509
October 6, 20248562
October 20, 20248624
November 5, 20248700
November 18, 20248800
December 1, 20248851
December 14, 20249097
December 28, 20249171
January 10, 20259227
January 24, 20259292
February 7, 20259376
February 20, 20259446
March 5, 20259513
March 19, 20259579
April 1, 20259632
April 14, 20259684
April 30, 20259742
May 14, 20259784
May 28, 20259824
June 13, 20259850
June 27, 20259880
July 11, 20259914
July 26, 20259942
August 16, 20259984
September 1, 202510011
September 16, 202510047
October 2, 202510071
October 31, 202510092
November 19, 202510116
December 19, 202510136
January 19, 202610151
February 19, 202610167
May 8, 202610183

How each series was read

  • ollama/ollama

    Historical star data · Covers through September 15, 2026

  • ggml-org/llama.cpp

    Historical star data · Covers through September 15, 2026

  • vllm-project/vllm

    Historical star data · Covers through September 15, 2026

  • sgl-project/sglang

    Historical star data · Covers through September 15, 2026

  • huggingface/text-generation-inference

    Historical star data · Covers through May 8, 2026

Ranking

5 repositories

LLM inference engines ranked by current total GitHub stars
#RepositoryStars+90dFirst starHealth
1ollama/ollama181,012~2572023debt charts
2ggml-org/llama.cpp128,291~4022023debt charts
3vllm-project/vllm91,819~2692023debt charts
4sgl-project/sglang35,951~5292024debt charts
5huggingface/text-generation-inference10,885~222022debt 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: 181,012128,29191,81935,95110,885
Stars gained · trailing 90dChange in the newest 90 days covered by each cached series.+257+402+269Best result in this row: +529+22
ForksCurrent public GitHub metadata total.Not availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot available
Largest package audienceLargest resolved registry total; sources are shown explicitly.No resolved packageNo resolved packageNo resolved packageNo resolved packageNo resolved package
Repository ageElapsed years since the GitHub creation timestamp.3.2 years3.5 years3.6 years2.7 years3.9 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.Not availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot available
Code linesAnalyzed source lines at current HEAD, excluding blanks and comments.Not availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot available
Languages representedLanguages with non-zero files or line counts.Not availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot available

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.Not availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot available
Commits · trailing 90dCommit count in the newest 90 days covered by the repository analysis.Not availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot available

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.Not availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot available
Top contributor concentrationShare of attributed commits carried by the most active contributor.Not availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot available

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.Not availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot available
Recent TODO/FIXME movementLatest cumulative marker count and its change over the trailing 90 days.Not availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot available

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 181,012 GitHub stars as of Sep 2026. It earned its first star in 2023.

Which of these llm inference engines is growing the fastest?

sgl-project/sglang added the most stars over the last 90 days of its cached history — about 529 new stars, compared with about 257 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 either from GitHub's stargazer list or rebuilt from historical star data — 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