Color Thief vs Mediagoblin
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted photo management options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Color Thief
Library to extract color palettes from photos
VS
Mediagoblin
Media publishing platform that anyone can run (alternative to Flickr,
| Feature | Color Thief | Mediagoblin |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Photo Management | Photo Management |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 13,616 | — |
| First released | 2011 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Commercial color analysis APIs | — |
Why pick each one
Choose Mediagoblin if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- Written in Python
- Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Color Thief or Mediagoblin better?
Color Thief is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Mediagoblin if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Color Thief and Mediagoblin free and open-source?
Yes. Color Thief is licensed under MIT and Mediagoblin under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Color Thief and Mediagoblin with Docker?
Color Thief: check the project docs for container support. Mediagoblin: check the project docs for container support.