head to head · open source
OpenClaw vs Harness
OpenClaw has 390,029 GitHub stars, 81,995 forks, 6,671 open issues and last shipped today. Harness has 38,384 stars, 3,398 forks, 106 open issues and last shipped yesterday. OpenClaw leads on adoption by 916% (390,029 vs 38,384 stars). OpenClaw is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence; Harness is written in Go under Apache-2.0. OpenClaw has attracted 21% as many forks as stars, Harness 9%. OpenClaw 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
| OpenClaw | Harness | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 390K | ★ 38K |
| License | Custom / other | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Go |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 82K | ⑂ 3.4K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick OpenClaw if
- You weight community size — 390K stars and counting
- You want the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Harness if
- You want the Harness feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and Harness fits your workflow better
About OpenClaw
OpenClaw is an open source, self hosted AI assistant in the AI & Machine Learning / AI Interaction & Interfaces category that runs on hardware the user controls and meets them inside the messaging channels they already use, for individuals who want a personal assistant on a laptop and teams that want a shared deployment.
read the full OpenClaw overview →
About Harness
Harness Open Source is an Apache 2.0, Go based developer platform that combines Git source control management, CI/CD pipelines, Gitspaces hosted development environments and artifact registries into one self hostable system for engineering teams that want end to end software delivery without stitching four separate products together.
read the full Harness overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is OpenClaw or Harness more popular?
OpenClaw has 390,029 GitHub stars and Harness has 38,384. OpenClaw has the larger community by that measure.
Are OpenClaw and Harness free?
Both are open source. OpenClaw has no licence declared in this registry, and Harness is licensed under Apache-2.0. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between OpenClaw and Harness?
OpenClaw is written in TypeScript and Harness in Go. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, OpenClaw or Harness?
Choose OpenClaw if you want the larger community (390,029 stars) or its Custom / other licence terms. Choose Harness if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.