head to head · open source
Hermes Agent vs Athena-Public
Hermes Agent has 246,618 GitHub stars, 51,659 forks, 41,784 open issues and last shipped today. Athena-Public has 589 stars, 78 forks, 0 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Hermes Agent leads on adoption by 41,771% (246,618 vs 589 stars). Hermes Agent is written in Python under MIT; Athena-Public is written in Python under MIT. Hermes Agent has attracted 21% as many forks as stars, Athena-Public 13%. 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, ai-agents, chatgpt, 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 | Athena-Public | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 247K | ★ 589 |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | Python | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 52K | ⑂ 78 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Hermes Agent if
- You weight community size — 247K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Athena-Public if
- You want the Athena-Public feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and Athena-Public 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 Athena-Public
Project Athena A local first agentic PKM that helps you make better decisions with your own context. Capture what you learn, retrieve it when relevant, and carry your context between models — a local first memory, reasoning, and governance layer for any LLM, across ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and whatever you switch to next. Own the state. Rent the intelligence. Platforms forget. Athena doesn't. Most assistants remember you so they can agree with you faster. Athena remembers you so it can tell you when you're wrong. Quickstart · How It Works · Scheduled Tasks & Self RSI · llms.txt · Docs · FAQ · Safety · Contributin…
read the full Athena-Public overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Hermes Agent or Athena-Public more popular?
Hermes Agent has 246,618 GitHub stars and Athena-Public has 589. Hermes Agent has the larger community by that measure.
Are Hermes Agent and Athena-Public free?
Both are open source. Hermes Agent is licensed under MIT and Athena-Public under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Hermes Agent and Athena-Public?
Hermes Agent is written in Python and Athena-Public 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, Hermes Agent or Athena-Public?
Choose Hermes Agent if you want the larger community (246,618 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Athena-Public if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.