ttyd vs Wetty
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 | Wetty |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 74 · Good | 90 · Excellent |
| Category | Remote Access & VPN | Remote Access & VPN |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | C | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | binary, docker | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 12,411 | ★ 5,448 |
| First released | 2016 | 2014 |
| Replaces | PuTTY | PuTTY |
What are ttyd and Wetty?
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
Wetty
Wetty is a terminal application that runs in the browser and connects to a server over SSH. It uses xterm.js to provide a responsive terminal experience accessible anywhere.
- Terminal in the browser
- xterm.js powered
- SSH connection backend
- Lightweight container
ttyd vs Wetty: key differences
Ttyd is written in C, while Wetty is built with TypeScript. Ttyd is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 128 MB for Wetty. Wetty is the more established project (first released 2014), while ttyd arrived in 2016. Ttyd has the considerably larger community, at 12,411 GitHub stars versus 5,448.
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 Wetty if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 5.4k GitHub stars
Frequently asked questions
Is ttyd or Wetty 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 Wetty free and open-source?
Yes. ttyd is licensed under MIT and Wetty under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run ttyd and Wetty with Docker?
ttyd: yes. Wetty: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, ttyd or Wetty?
ttyd has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 128 MB for Wetty. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.