head to head · open source
agent-framework vs dbos-transact-py
agent-framework has 13,604 GitHub stars, 2,344 forks, 617 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. dbos-transact-py has 1,579 stars, 95 forks, 4 open issues and last shipped yesterday. agent-framework leads on adoption by 762% (13,604 vs 1,579 stars). agent-framework is written in Python under MIT; dbos-transact-py is written in Python under MIT. agent-framework has attracted 17% as many forks as stars, dbos-transact-py 6%. dbos-transact-py was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 3 topic tags (orchestration, python, workflows), 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
| agent-framework | dbos-transact-py | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 14K | ★ 1.6K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | Python | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-19 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.3K | ⑂ 95 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick agent-framework if
- You weight community size — 14K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick dbos-transact-py if
- You want the dbos-transact-py feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and dbos-transact-py fits your workflow better
About agent-framework
Microsoft Agent Framework is an open, MIT licensed, multi language framework for building, orchestrating and deploying production grade AI agents and multi agent workflows in Python and .NET, aimed at teams moving agents from prototype to production.
read the full agent-framework overview →
About dbos-transact-py
DBOS Transact is an open source Python library for durable workflows backed by Postgres. It lives in the Python infrastructure and operations ecosystem, under orchestration and scheduling, and is distributed as the dbos package on PyPI under the MIT license. The project lets developers annotate ordinary functions as workflows and steps, then checkpoint state in Postgres so interrupted programs resume from completed work instead of starting over.
read the full dbos-transact-py overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is agent-framework or dbos-transact-py more popular?
agent-framework has 13,604 GitHub stars and dbos-transact-py has 1,579. agent-framework has the larger community by that measure.
Are agent-framework and dbos-transact-py free?
Both are open source. agent-framework is licensed under MIT and dbos-transact-py under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between agent-framework and dbos-transact-py?
agent-framework is written in Python and dbos-transact-py in Python. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, agent-framework or dbos-transact-py?
Choose agent-framework if you want the larger community (13,604 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose dbos-transact-py if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.