head to head · open source
Hermes Agent vs BotFramework-WebChat
Hermes Agent has 246,618 GitHub stars, 51,659 forks, 41,784 open issues and last shipped yesterday. BotFramework-WebChat has 1,785 stars, 1,601 forks, 523 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. Hermes Agent leads on adoption by 13,716% (246,618 vs 1,785 stars). Hermes Agent is written in Python under MIT; BotFramework-WebChat is written in HTML under MIT. Hermes Agent has attracted 21% as many forks as stars, BotFramework-WebChat 90%. Hermes Agent was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
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 | BotFramework-WebChat | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 247K | ★ 1.8K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | Python | HTML |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-15 |
| Forks | ⑂ 52K | ⑂ 1.6K |
| 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 BotFramework-WebChat if
- You want the BotFramework-WebChat feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches HTML
- You evaluated both and BotFramework-WebChat 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 BotFramework-WebChat
Bot Framework Web Chat is an MIT licensed, highly customizable web based chat client, published on npm as botframework webchat , that lets web developers embed a conversational interface into their own sites and connect it to bots built with the Microsoft Bot Framework v4 SDK.
read the full BotFramework-WebChat overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Hermes Agent or BotFramework-WebChat more popular?
Hermes Agent has 246,618 GitHub stars and BotFramework-WebChat has 1,785. Hermes Agent has the larger community by that measure.
Are Hermes Agent and BotFramework-WebChat free?
Both are open source. Hermes Agent is licensed under MIT and BotFramework-WebChat under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Hermes Agent and BotFramework-WebChat?
Hermes Agent is written in Python and BotFramework-WebChat in HTML. 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 BotFramework-WebChat?
Choose Hermes Agent if you want the larger community (246,618 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose BotFramework-WebChat if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.