head to head · open source
ADR vs hol-guard
ADR has 2,096 GitHub stars, 225 forks, 6 open issues and last shipped 5 days ago. hol-guard has 1,062 stars, 239 forks, 94 open issues and last shipped yesterday. ADR leads on adoption by 97% (2,096 vs 1,062 stars). ADR is written in Python under Apache-2.0; hol-guard is written in Rust under Apache-2.0. ADR has attracted 11% as many forks as stars, hol-guard 23%. hol-guard was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 6 topic tags (agent-security, ai-agents, ai-security, claude-code), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| ADR | hol-guard | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 2.1K | ★ 1.1K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-10-31 | 2026-11-04 |
| Forks | ⑂ 225 | ⑂ 239 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick ADR if
- You weight community size — 2.1K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick hol-guard if
- You want the hol-guard feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You evaluated both and hol-guard fits your workflow better
About ADR
ADR: Agentic AI Detection and Response ADR (Agentic AI Detection and Response) is an enterprise security system for AI agents. It helps organizations secure employee facing agents such as Cursor, Claude Code, Codex, GitHub Copilot CLI, and DeepSeek Harness, as well as customer facing agents such as AI support agents. ADR is deployed in production at Uber , and the accompanying paper was accepted to MLSys 2026 : Paper PDF · Slides PDF How ADR secures enterprise AI agents ADR secures enterprise AI agents through five complementary capabilities: discovering unsanctioned AI tools, observing agent activity…
About hol-guard
HOL Guard: Open Source Antivirus for AI Agents HOL Guard reviews agent actions before they run: shell commands, file access, package installs, and MCP tool calls. It detects secret exposure, destructive operations, prompt injection, and supply chain risks, then allows, blocks, or requests approval according to your policy. Run it locally without an account. Use the CLI and local dashboard to manage protection, resolve approvals, and inspect decision history. Optional Guard Cloud adds shared history, team policy, and fleet management. Get started · Supported agents · Plugin scanner · Documentation · Contribute an…
read the full hol-guard overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is ADR or hol-guard more popular?
ADR has 2,096 GitHub stars and hol-guard has 1,062. ADR has the larger community by that measure.
Are ADR and hol-guard free?
Both are open source. ADR is licensed under Apache-2.0 and hol-guard under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between ADR and hol-guard?
ADR is written in Python and hol-guard in Rust. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, ADR or hol-guard?
Choose ADR if you want the larger community (2,096 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose hol-guard if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.