head to head · open source
Hermes Agent vs askimo
Hermes Agent has 248,467 GitHub stars, 52,532 forks, 41,784 open issues and last shipped yesterday. askimo has 500 stars, 103 forks, 15 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Hermes Agent leads on adoption by 49,593% (248,467 vs 500 stars). Hermes Agent is written in Python under MIT; askimo is written in Kotlin under AGPL-3.0. Hermes Agent has attracted 21% as many forks as stars, askimo 21%. Hermes Agent was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 4 topic tags (ai, chatgpt, claude-code, 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 | askimo | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 248K | ★ 500 |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | Kotlin |
| Last push | 2026-09-24 | 2026-09-24 |
| Forks | ⑂ 53K | ⑂ 103 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Hermes Agent if
- You weight community size — 248K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick askimo if
- You want the askimo feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Kotlin
- You evaluated both and askimo 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 askimo
Askimo is an AGPL 3.0, Kotlin built AI desktop application that combines multi provider chat, local RAG over your own files, multi step Plans, reusable Skills, MCP tools, and delegated agent CLIs in one native client, for individuals who want to work with models without their data leaving the machine.
read the full askimo overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Hermes Agent or askimo more popular?
Hermes Agent has 248,467 GitHub stars and askimo has 500. Hermes Agent has the larger community by that measure.
Are Hermes Agent and askimo free?
Both are open source. Hermes Agent is licensed under MIT and askimo under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Hermes Agent and askimo?
Hermes Agent is written in Python and askimo in Kotlin. 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 askimo?
Choose Hermes Agent if you want the larger community (248,467 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose askimo if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.