head to head · open source
herdr vs Hexabot
herdr has 47,557 GitHub stars, 3,813 forks, 337 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Hexabot has 1,152 stars, 235 forks, 26 open issues and last shipped yesterday. herdr leads on adoption by 4,028% (47,557 vs 1,152 stars). herdr is written in Rust under Apache-2.0; Hexabot is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence. herdr has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, Hexabot 20%. Hexabot was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (agent, ai), 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
| herdr | Hexabot | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 48K | ★ 1.2K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Custom / other |
| Written in | Rust | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.8K | ⑂ 235 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick herdr if
- You weight community size — 48K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Hexabot if
- You want the Hexabot feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Hexabot fits your workflow better
About herdr
herdr herdr.dev · install · quick start · docs English · 简体中文 the runtime your coding agents live on. detach without stopping work — herdr keeps terminals running in a background server when you close the client or lose your SSH connection. after a server or machine restart, herdr restores the saved layout and can resume supported agent sessions; the original processes do not survive. session state → several machines, one window — keep local work and saved ssh machines together, with a combined agent list and independent reconnects. remote machines → never hunt for the stuck one — every pane is marked working…
read the full herdr overview →
About Hexabot
Automate the Boring, Keep the Magic Build and run agentic workflows across channels with YAML, tools, MCP, memory and RAG. Website · Documentation · Extensions · Discord Hexabot v3 is an automation platform with first class AI capabilities, combining workflows, actions, and conversational channels in one runtime. Quick Start Prerequisites Node.js ^24.17.0 One package manager ( npm , pnpm , yarn , or bun ) Docker (optional, for Docker based services) This Quick Start targets projects generated with the CLI. If you are contributing to the Hexabot monorepo itself, use PNPM (see CONTRIBUTING.md). 1) Install the CLI…
read the full Hexabot overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is herdr or Hexabot more popular?
herdr has 47,557 GitHub stars and Hexabot has 1,152. herdr has the larger community by that measure.
Are herdr and Hexabot free?
Both are open source. herdr is licensed under Apache-2.0, and Hexabot has no licence declared in this registry. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between herdr and Hexabot?
herdr is written in Rust and Hexabot in TypeScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, herdr or Hexabot?
Choose herdr if you want the larger community (47,557 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose Hexabot if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.