head to head · open source
odysseus vs LobsterAI
odysseus has 94,935 GitHub stars, 1,862 forks, 1,233 open issues and last shipped yesterday. LobsterAI has 6,162 stars, 978 forks, 601 open issues and last shipped yesterday. odysseus leads on adoption by 1,441% (94,935 vs 6,162 stars). odysseus is written in Python under AGPL-3.0; LobsterAI is written in TypeScript under MIT. odysseus has attracted 2% as many forks as stars, LobsterAI 16%. LobsterAI 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
| odysseus | LobsterAI | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 95K | ★ 6.2K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Python | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.9K | ⑂ 978 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick odysseus if
- You weight community size — 95K stars and counting
- You want the AGPL-3.0 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 odysseus
A self hosted AI workspace for chat, agents, research, documents, email, notes, calendar, and local model workflows. Quick Start · Setup Guide · Contributing · Roadmap Quick Start dev is the default branch and gets the newest changes first. Use main if you want the more curated branch. Open when the containers are healthy. The first admin password is printed in docker compose logs odysseus . Native installs, GPU notes, Windows/macOS instructions, HTTPS, and configuration live in the setup guide. Features Chat + Agents — local/API models, tools, MCP, files, shell, skills, and memory. Cookbook — hardware aware…
read the full odysseus overview →
About LobsterAI
LobsterAI English · 中文 All scenario office assistant Agent. The first open source desktop grade Agent among major Chinese tech companies, built by NetEase Youdao. Features · Developing · Community Download LobsterAI LobsterAI is a desktop Agent that can operate in your real working environment: local files, terminal commands, browser workflows, documents, spreadsheets, slides, IM channels, scheduled jobs, and project workspaces. Cowork is the LobsterAI product/session layer. OpenClaw is the runtime and gateway underneath it. That split lets LobsterAI keep local persistence, permissions, UI state, artifacts…
read the full LobsterAI overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is odysseus or LobsterAI more popular?
odysseus has 94,935 GitHub stars and LobsterAI has 6,162. odysseus has the larger community by that measure.
Are odysseus and LobsterAI free?
Both are open source. odysseus is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and LobsterAI under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between odysseus and LobsterAI?
odysseus 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, odysseus or LobsterAI?
Choose odysseus if you want the larger community (94,935 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose LobsterAI if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.