JBake vs Poole
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted blogging platforms options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | JBake | Poole |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 54 · Fair | 0 · At risk |
| Status | Actively maintained | Archived |
| Category | Blogging Platforms | Blogging Platforms |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | Java | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | source, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,159 | ★ 31 |
| First released | 2013 | 2009 |
| Replaces | Jekyll, WordPress | Jekyll |
What are JBake and Poole?
JBake
JBake is a static site and blog generator written in Java that is geared towards developers wanting to produce documentation, websites, and blogs. It supports multiple markup and template engines.
- JVM-based generation
- Multiple template engines
- Markdown and AsciiDoc support
- Static output
Poole
Poole is a markup-agnostic, single-file static website generator written in Python that keeps the build process deliberately tiny. It is suited for small personal sites and blogs where minimalism is preferred.
- Single-file generator
- Markup-agnostic
- Embedded Python in pages
- Tiny footprint
JBake vs Poole: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: Poole's repository is archived and no longer developed, while JBake is actively maintained. JBake is written in Java, while Poole is built with Python. Poole is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 256 MB for JBake. Poole is the more established project (first released 2009), while JBake arrived in 2013. JBake has the considerably larger community, at 1,159 GitHub stars versus 31.
Why pick each one
Choose JBake if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Active community (1.2k GitHub stars)
- Written in Java
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Choose Poole if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Written in Python
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is JBake or Poole better?
Neither is universally better. JBake has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are JBake and Poole free and open-source?
Yes. JBake is licensed under MIT and Poole under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run JBake and Poole with Docker?
JBake: check the project docs for container support. Poole: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, JBake or Poole?
Poole has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for JBake. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.