head to head · open source
nanobot vs LobsterAI
nanobot has 48,372 GitHub stars, 8,548 forks, 775 open issues and last shipped today. LobsterAI has 6,048 stars, 969 forks, 601 open issues and last shipped today. nanobot leads on adoption by 700% (48,372 vs 6,048 stars). nanobot is written in Python under MIT; LobsterAI is written in TypeScript under MIT. nanobot has attracted 18% as many forks as stars, LobsterAI 16%. nanobot was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 3 topic tags (ai-agent, chatbot, mcp), 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
| nanobot | LobsterAI | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 48K | ★ 6.0K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | Python | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-20 | 2026-09-20 |
| Forks | ⑂ 8.5K | ⑂ 969 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick nanobot if
- You weight community size — 48K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick LobsterAI if
- You want the LobsterAI feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and LobsterAI fits your workflow better
About nanobot
nanobot is an ultra lightweight, open source, self hosted personal AI agent framework written in Python, aimed at individual developers and small teams who want to run their own agent through a browser WebUI, a terminal, or chat apps instead of renting a hosted assistant.
read the full nanobot overview →
About LobsterAI
LobsterAI is an MIT licensed, Electron based desktop AI agent from NetEase Youdao that runs tools against your real local files, terminal, and browser and accepts commands from your phone through messaging apps — built for developers, analysts, and office teams who want agent automation to stay on their own machine.
read the full LobsterAI overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is nanobot or LobsterAI more popular?
nanobot has 48,372 GitHub stars and LobsterAI has 6,048. nanobot has the larger community by that measure.
Are nanobot and LobsterAI free?
Both are open source. nanobot is licensed under MIT and LobsterAI under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between nanobot and LobsterAI?
nanobot is written in Python and LobsterAI 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, nanobot or LobsterAI?
Choose nanobot if you want the larger community (48,372 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose LobsterAI if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.