head to head · open source
Hermes Agent vs Pearl
Hermes Agent has 246,492 GitHub stars, 51,615 forks, 41,784 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Pearl has 1,093 stars, 180 forks, 40 open issues and last shipped 5 months ago. Hermes Agent leads on adoption by 22,452% (246,492 vs 1,093 stars). Hermes Agent is written in Python under MIT; Pearl is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0. Hermes Agent has attracted 21% as many forks as stars, Pearl 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, ai-agents), 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 | Pearl | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 246K | ★ 1.1K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-04-30 |
| Forks | ⑂ 52K | ⑂ 180 |
| 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 Pearl if
- You want the Pearl feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Pearl 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 Pearl
Bubble Lab is an open core, TypeScript workflow engine that powers the Slack native Bubble Lab platform and its AI assistant Pearl, and it is aimed at teams that want operational work automated inside Slack as well as at developers and organisations that want to host that same execution engine on their own infrastructure.
read the full Pearl overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Hermes Agent or Pearl more popular?
Hermes Agent has 246,492 GitHub stars and Pearl has 1,093. Hermes Agent has the larger community by that measure.
Are Hermes Agent and Pearl free?
Both are open source. Hermes Agent is licensed under MIT and Pearl under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Hermes Agent and Pearl?
Hermes Agent is written in Python and Pearl 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 Pearl?
Choose Hermes Agent if you want the larger community (246,492 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Pearl if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.