ttyd vs WebSSH2
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted remote access & vpn options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | ttyd | WebSSH2 |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 74 · Good | 86 · Excellent |
| Category | Remote Access & VPN | Remote Access & VPN |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | C | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | binary, docker | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 12,411 | ★ 2,773 |
| First released | 2016 | 2017 |
| Replaces | PuTTY | PuTTY |
What are ttyd and WebSSH2?
ttyd
ttyd is a simple command-line tool for sharing a terminal over the web, written in C for speed and low footprint. It supports SSL, basic authentication, and full-color terminals.
- Fast C implementation
- SSL and basic auth
- Full-color terminal
- Tiny footprint
WebSSH2
WebSSH2 is an open-source web SSH client built with xterm.js and WebSockets. It can be self-hosted to provide browser-based terminal access to SSH servers.
- Browser SSH terminal
- xterm.js frontend
- WebSocket transport
- Docker ready
ttyd vs WebSSH2: key differences
Ttyd is written in C, while WebSSH2 is built with TypeScript. Licensing differs — MIT for ttyd versus Apache-2.0 for WebSSH2. Ttyd is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 128 MB for WebSSH2. Ttyd has the considerably larger community, at 12,411 GitHub stars versus 2,773.
Why pick each one
Choose ttyd if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 12.4k GitHub stars
Choose WebSSH2 if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (2.8k GitHub stars)
Frequently asked questions
Is ttyd or WebSSH2 better?
Neither is universally better. ttyd has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are ttyd and WebSSH2 free and open-source?
Yes. ttyd is licensed under MIT and WebSSH2 under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run ttyd and WebSSH2 with Docker?
ttyd: yes. WebSSH2: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, ttyd or WebSSH2?
ttyd has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 128 MB for WebSSH2. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.