head to head · open source
Hermes Agent vs MaxKB
Hermes Agent has 246,492 GitHub stars, 51,615 forks, 41,784 open issues and last shipped yesterday. MaxKB has 22,824 stars, 3,156 forks, 18 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Hermes Agent leads on adoption by 980% (246,492 vs 22,824 stars). Hermes Agent is written in Python under MIT; MaxKB is written in Python under GPL-3.0. Hermes Agent has attracted 21% as many forks as stars, MaxKB 14%. Hermes Agent was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (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 | MaxKB | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 246K | ★ 23K |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 52K | ⑂ 3.2K |
| 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 MaxKB if
- You want the MaxKB feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and MaxKB 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 MaxKB
MaxKB is an open source Python platform for building enterprise grade agents in the AI and machine learning ecosystem. It combines a web interface, LangChain based retrieval augmented generation, workflow orchestration, and MCP tool use so organizations can connect large language models to their own documents, systems, and business processes. The project is positioned as a knowledge brain deployed under the GNU General Public License version 3.
read the full MaxKB overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Hermes Agent or MaxKB more popular?
Hermes Agent has 246,492 GitHub stars and MaxKB has 22,824. Hermes Agent has the larger community by that measure.
Are Hermes Agent and MaxKB free?
Both are open source. Hermes Agent is licensed under MIT and MaxKB under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Hermes Agent and MaxKB?
Hermes Agent is written in Python and MaxKB 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 MaxKB?
Choose Hermes Agent if you want the larger community (246,492 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose MaxKB if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.