head to head · open source
nanobot vs Orkas
nanobot has 49,806 GitHub stars, 8,711 forks, 775 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Orkas has 8,991 stars, 515 forks, 12 open issues and last shipped yesterday. nanobot leads on adoption by 454% (49,806 vs 8,991 stars). nanobot is written in Python under MIT; Orkas is written in JavaScript under MIT. nanobot has attracted 17% as many forks as stars, Orkas 6%. Orkas was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
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 | Orkas | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 50K | ★ 9.0K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | Python | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-04 | 2026-11-04 |
| Forks | ⑂ 8.7K | ⑂ 515 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick nanobot if
- You weight community size — 50K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Orkas if
- You want the Orkas feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and Orkas fits your workflow better
About nanobot
English 简体中文 繁體中文 Español Français Bahasa Indonesia 日本語 한국어 Русский Tiếng Việt Discord · X · WeChat / Feishu nanobot 🐈 nanobot is an ultra lightweight, open source, self hosted personal AI agent framework written in Python. It runs in a WebUI, terminal, or chat apps and combines tools, long term memory, MCP integrations, model routing, multi agent delegation, scheduled automation, and an OpenAI compatible API in a small, readable core. Start Here What can nanobot do? nanobot is a self hosted personal AI agent runtime. It can: run in a browser WebUI or terminal connect to Telegram, Discord, Slack, WeChat, Email…
read the full nanobot overview →
About Orkas
Orkas Command a team of AI agents from one desktop chat — not one chatbot. Orkas is an open source, local first multi agent desktop app. Describe a goal; its Commander plans the work, handles the general parts itself, and coordinates specialist agents in parallel or in sequence. Nine specialist agents ship with the app , ready the moment you launch it, out of 30 in the marketplace. Bring your own model keys — Claude · OpenAI · Gemini · DeepSeek · Kimi · GLM · Qwen · MiniMax · Doubao. macOS · Windows · Linux. English · 简体中文 You: "Research the top 5 competitors, write it up, and turn it into a deck." Orkas: the…
read the full Orkas overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is nanobot or Orkas more popular?
nanobot has 49,806 GitHub stars and Orkas has 8,991. nanobot has the larger community by that measure.
Are nanobot and Orkas free?
Both are open source. nanobot is licensed under MIT and Orkas under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between nanobot and Orkas?
nanobot is written in Python and Orkas in JavaScript. 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 Orkas?
Choose nanobot if you want the larger community (49,806 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Orkas if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.