head to head · open source
Hermes Agent vs rikkahub
Hermes Agent has 246,492 GitHub stars, 51,615 forks, 41,784 open issues and last shipped yesterday. rikkahub has 7,686 stars, 683 forks, 282 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Hermes Agent leads on adoption by 3,107% (246,492 vs 7,686 stars). Hermes Agent is written in Python under MIT; rikkahub is written in Kotlin under AGPL-3.0. Hermes Agent has attracted 21% as many forks as stars, rikkahub 9%. 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 (chatgpt), 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 | rikkahub | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 246K | ★ 7.7K |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | Kotlin |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 52K | ⑂ 683 |
| 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 rikkahub if
- You want the rikkahub feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Kotlin
- You evaluated both and rikkahub 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 rikkahub
RikkaHub is a native Android LLM chat client, written in Kotlin and released under the AGPL 3.0 licence, that lets a single user switch between different AI providers inside the same conversation.
read the full rikkahub overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Hermes Agent or rikkahub more popular?
Hermes Agent has 246,492 GitHub stars and rikkahub has 7,686. Hermes Agent has the larger community by that measure.
Are Hermes Agent and rikkahub free?
Both are open source. Hermes Agent is licensed under MIT and rikkahub under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Hermes Agent and rikkahub?
Hermes Agent is written in Python and rikkahub in Kotlin. 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 rikkahub?
Choose Hermes Agent if you want the larger community (246,492 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose rikkahub if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.