head to head · open source
Hermes Agent vs LobsterAI
Hermes Agent has 246,492 GitHub stars, 51,615 forks, 41,784 open issues and last shipped yesterday. LobsterAI has 6,046 stars, 968 forks, 601 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Hermes Agent leads on adoption by 3,977% (246,492 vs 6,046 stars). Hermes Agent is written in Python under MIT; LobsterAI is written in TypeScript under MIT. Hermes Agent has attracted 21% as many forks as stars, LobsterAI 16%. 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-agent, 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.
← all 8884 open source comparisons
Side by side
| Hermes Agent | LobsterAI | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 246K | ★ 6.0K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | Python | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 52K | ⑂ 968 |
| 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 LobsterAI if
- You want the LobsterAI feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and LobsterAI 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 LobsterAI
LobsterAI is an MIT licensed, Electron based desktop AI agent from NetEase Youdao that runs tools against your real local files, terminal, and browser and accepts commands from your phone through messaging apps — built for developers, analysts, and office teams who want agent automation to stay on their own machine.
read the full LobsterAI overview →
More in AI & Machine Learning
Related comparisons
More AI Interaction & Interfaces projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the AI Interaction & Interfaces field.
Frequently asked questions
Is Hermes Agent or LobsterAI more popular?
Hermes Agent has 246,492 GitHub stars and LobsterAI has 6,046. Hermes Agent has the larger community by that measure.
Are Hermes Agent and LobsterAI free?
Both are open source. Hermes Agent is licensed under MIT and LobsterAI under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Hermes Agent and LobsterAI?
Hermes Agent is written in Python and LobsterAI 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 LobsterAI?
Choose Hermes Agent if you want the larger community (246,492 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose LobsterAI if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.