mlmym vs Tesseract
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted social networks options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | mlmym | Tesseract |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Status | Actively maintained | Archived |
| Category | Social Networks | Social Networks |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Go | Svelte |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, source | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 287 | ★ 3 |
| First released | 2023 | 2023 |
| Replaces |
What are mlmym and Tesseract?
mlmym
mlmym is a lightweight alternative web interface for Lemmy that mimics the classic old.reddit.com design. It connects to any Lemmy instance and renders a fast, minimal experience.
- Old Reddit style UI
- Works with any Lemmy instance
- Very lightweight
- Fast page loads
Tesseract
Tesseract is an alternative front-end for Lemmy that emphasizes inline media playback and a richer browsing experience. It connects to any existing Lemmy instance via the public API.
- Media-rich Lemmy front-end
- Inline video and image playback
- Works with any instance
- Modern Svelte interface
mlmym vs Tesseract: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: Tesseract's repository is archived and no longer developed, while mlmym is actively maintained. Mlmym is written in Go, while Tesseract is built with Svelte. Licensing differs — MIT for mlmym versus AGPL-3.0 for Tesseract. Mlmym is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Tesseract. Mlmym has the considerably larger community, at 287 GitHub stars versus 3.
Why pick each one
Choose mlmym if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Go
Choose Tesseract if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Svelte
Frequently asked questions
Is mlmym or Tesseract better?
Neither is universally better. mlmym has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are mlmym and Tesseract free and open-source?
Yes. mlmym is licensed under MIT and Tesseract under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run mlmym and Tesseract with Docker?
mlmym: yes. Tesseract: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, mlmym or Tesseract?
mlmym has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Tesseract. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.