head to head · open source
Hermes Agent vs AnythingLLM
Hermes Agent has 246,492 GitHub stars, 51,615 forks, 41,784 open issues and last shipped yesterday. AnythingLLM has 66,141 stars, 7,347 forks, 311 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Hermes Agent leads on adoption by 273% (246,492 vs 66,141 stars). Hermes Agent is written in Python under MIT; AnythingLLM is written in JavaScript under MIT. Hermes Agent has attracted 21% as many forks as stars, AnythingLLM 11%. Hermes Agent was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 3 topic tags (ai-agents, hermes-agent, llm), 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
| Hermes Agent | AnythingLLM | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 246K | ★ 66K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | Python | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 52K | ⑂ 7.3K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Hermes Agent if
- You weight community size — 246K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick AnythingLLM if
- You want the AnythingLLM feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and AnythingLLM fits your workflow better
About Hermes Agent
Hermes Agent is a desktop AI agent developed by Nous Research that maintains persistent memory and self improving capabilities across sessions and platforms. It operates as a local first, cross platform interface for LLMs, integrating with multiple model providers and deployment environments without vendor lock in. The agent implements a closed learning loop where it curates its own memory, creates and refines skills from experience, and supports cross session recall via full text search and summarization.
read the full Hermes Agent overview →
About AnythingLLM
AnythingLLM is a local first AI application that enables users to chat with their documents using any large language model (LLM), local or cloud hosted. It runs as a self hosted service—by default in Docker—and provides a complete interface for document ingestion, agent orchestration, multi user access, and workflow automation without requiring external cloud dependencies. The project lives in the local AI and AI interaction ecosystem, targeting users who want full control over their data and model selection.
read the full AnythingLLM overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Hermes Agent or AnythingLLM more popular?
Hermes Agent has 246,492 GitHub stars and AnythingLLM has 66,141. Hermes Agent has the larger community by that measure.
Are Hermes Agent and AnythingLLM free?
Both are open source. Hermes Agent is licensed under MIT and AnythingLLM under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Hermes Agent and AnythingLLM?
Hermes Agent is written in Python and AnythingLLM in JavaScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Hermes Agent or AnythingLLM?
Choose Hermes Agent if you want the larger community (246,492 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose AnythingLLM if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.