head to head · open source
Hermes Agent vs Leon
Hermes Agent has 246,492 GitHub stars, 51,615 forks, 41,784 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Leon has 17,518 stars, 1,469 forks, 112 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Hermes Agent leads on adoption by 1,307% (246,492 vs 17,518 stars). Hermes Agent is written in Python under MIT; Leon is written in TypeScript under MIT. Hermes Agent has attracted 21% as many forks as stars, Leon 8%. Hermes Agent was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (ai, ai-agent), 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 | Leon | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 246K | ★ 18K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | Python | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 52K | ⑂ 1.5K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Hermes Agent if
- You weight community size — 246K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Leon if
- You want the Leon feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Leon 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 Leon
Leon is open source personal AI assistant. It lives in Node.js and TypeScript ecosystem, under AI Interaction & Interfaces category. Project builds around tools, context, memory, and agentic execution. It aims to stay practical, privacy aware, and grounded in real environment. Leon can operate locally, use dedicated tools instead of relying on free form guessing, and complete tasks from start to finish across deterministic workflows and agent style execution.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Hermes Agent or Leon more popular?
Hermes Agent has 246,492 GitHub stars and Leon has 17,518. Hermes Agent has the larger community by that measure.
Are Hermes Agent and Leon free?
Both are open source. Hermes Agent is licensed under MIT and Leon under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Hermes Agent and Leon?
Hermes Agent is written in Python and Leon 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, Hermes Agent or Leon?
Choose Hermes Agent if you want the larger community (246,492 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Leon if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.