head to head · open source
Hermes Agent vs reins
Hermes Agent has 253,856 GitHub stars, 55,086 forks, 41,784 open issues and last shipped today. reins has 550 stars, 91 forks, 19 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Hermes Agent leads on adoption by 46,056% (253,856 vs 550 stars). Hermes Agent is written in Python under MIT; reins is written in Dart under GPL-3.0. Hermes Agent has attracted 22% as many forks as stars, reins 17%. 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 | reins | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 254K | ★ 550 |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | Dart |
| Last push | 2026-10-15 | 2026-10-14 |
| Forks | ⑂ 55K | ⑂ 91 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Hermes Agent if
- You weight community size — 254K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick reins if
- You want the reins feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Dart
- You evaluated both and reins 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 reins
Reins is a private, local AI chat app for iPhone, iPad and Mac that connects to Ollama, LM Studio or any OpenAI compatible server, or runs MLX and Apple Foundation Models on device, and it is built for Apple users who want LLM conversations without an account, without cloud uploads and without data collection.
read the full reins overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Hermes Agent or reins more popular?
Hermes Agent has 253,856 GitHub stars and reins has 550. Hermes Agent has the larger community by that measure.
Are Hermes Agent and reins free?
Both are open source. Hermes Agent is licensed under MIT and reins under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Hermes Agent and reins?
Hermes Agent is written in Python and reins in Dart. 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 reins?
Choose Hermes Agent if you want the larger community (253,856 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose reins if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.