head to head · open source
Hermes Agent vs venom
Hermes Agent has 246,618 GitHub stars, 51,659 forks, 41,784 open issues and last shipped today. venom has 6,580 stars, 1,331 forks, 62 open issues and last shipped 9 days ago. Hermes Agent leads on adoption by 3,648% (246,618 vs 6,580 stars). Hermes Agent is written in Python under MIT; venom is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0. Hermes Agent has attracted 21% as many forks as stars, venom 20%. 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 (ai), 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 | venom | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 247K | ★ 6.6K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-09 |
| Forks | ⑂ 52K | ⑂ 1.3K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Hermes Agent if
- You weight community size — 247K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick venom if
- You want the venom 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 venom 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 venom
Venom is an Apache 2.0 TypeScript framework that drives WhatsApp Web through Puppeteer, giving JavaScript and TypeScript developers a programmatic API for chatbots, customer service flows and message automation.
read the full venom overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Hermes Agent or venom more popular?
Hermes Agent has 246,618 GitHub stars and venom has 6,580. Hermes Agent has the larger community by that measure.
Are Hermes Agent and venom free?
Both are open source. Hermes Agent is licensed under MIT and venom under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Hermes Agent and venom?
Hermes Agent is written in Python and venom 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 venom?
Choose Hermes Agent if you want the larger community (246,618 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose venom if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.