head to head · open source
rowboat vs astron-agent
rowboat has 17,914 GitHub stars, 1,784 forks, 167 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. astron-agent has 9,017 stars, 887 forks, 46 open issues and last shipped 10 days ago. rowboat leads on adoption by 99% (17,914 vs 9,017 stars). rowboat is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; astron-agent is written in Java under Apache-2.0. rowboat has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, astron-agent 10%. rowboat was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (ai, 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
| rowboat | astron-agent | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 18K | ★ 9.0K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Java |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-10 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.8K | ⑂ 887 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick rowboat if
- You weight community size — 18K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick astron-agent if
- You want the astron-agent feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You evaluated both and astron-agent fits your workflow better
About rowboat
Rowboat is an open source desktop AI coworker, licensed Apache 2.0 and written in TypeScript, that maintains a memory of your work as a local Markdown knowledge graph and provides built in surfaces — email, notes, browser, code mode, meeting notes — for acting on that memory.
read the full rowboat overview →
About astron-agent
Astron Agent is an enterprise grade, commercial friendly agentic workflow platform for building next generation SuperAgents, aimed at organizations that need to orchestrate AI workflows, models, tools, and RPA automation in production rather than in a demo.
read the full astron-agent overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is rowboat or astron-agent more popular?
rowboat has 17,914 GitHub stars and astron-agent has 9,017. rowboat has the larger community by that measure.
Are rowboat and astron-agent free?
Both are open source. rowboat is licensed under Apache-2.0 and astron-agent under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between rowboat and astron-agent?
rowboat is written in TypeScript and astron-agent in Java. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, rowboat or astron-agent?
Choose rowboat if you want the larger community (17,914 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose astron-agent if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.