SHSelfHostIndex

Free Programming Books vs RERO ILS

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted e-books & media library options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

Not the right match-up?
FR Free Programming Books Curated catalog of free programming ebooks and resources VS RE RERO ILS Large-scale ILS that can be run as a service with consortial features,
FeatureFree Programming BooksRERO ILS
CategoryE-books & Media LibraryE-books & Media Library
LicenseCC-BY-4.0AGPL-3.0
LanguagePythonPython
Setup difficultyEasyMedium
Min. RAM64 MB512 MB
Deploymentbare-metal, sourcedocker
GitHub stars★ 393,952★ 87
First released20132026
ReplacesPaid technical book subscriptions—

Why pick each one

Choose Free Programming Books if…

  • Enormous free resource
  • Very active
Free Programming Books details

Choose RERO ILS if…

  • Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Written in Python
  • Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
RERO ILS details

Frequently asked questions

Is Free Programming Books or RERO ILS better?

Free Programming Books is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider RERO ILS if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

Are Free Programming Books and RERO ILS free and open-source?

Yes. Free Programming Books is licensed under CC-BY-4.0 and RERO ILS under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Free Programming Books and RERO ILS with Docker?

Free Programming Books: check the project docs for container support. RERO ILS: yes.

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