head to head · open source
rowboat vs agent-framework
rowboat has 17,871 GitHub stars, 1,776 forks, 167 open issues and last shipped yesterday. agent-framework has 13,565 stars, 2,333 forks, 617 open issues and last shipped yesterday. rowboat leads on adoption by 32% (17,871 vs 13,565 stars). rowboat is written in TypeScript under Apache-2.0; agent-framework is written in Python under MIT. rowboat has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, agent-framework 17%. agent-framework was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (agents, 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
| rowboat | agent-framework | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 18K | ★ 14K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.8K | ⑂ 2.3K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick rowboat if
- You weight community size — 18K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick agent-framework if
- You want the agent-framework feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and agent-framework fits your workflow better
About rowboat
Rowboat is an open source desktop AI coworker, licensed Apache 2.0 and written in TypeScript, that maintains a memory of your work as a local Markdown knowledge graph and provides built in surfaces — email, notes, browser, code mode, meeting notes — for acting on that memory.
read the full rowboat overview →
About agent-framework
Microsoft Agent Framework is an open, MIT licensed, multi language framework for building, orchestrating and deploying production grade AI agents and multi agent workflows in Python and .NET, aimed at teams moving agents from prototype to production.
read the full agent-framework overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is rowboat or agent-framework more popular?
rowboat has 17,871 GitHub stars and agent-framework has 13,565. rowboat has the larger community by that measure.
Are rowboat and agent-framework free?
Both are open source. rowboat is licensed under Apache-2.0 and agent-framework under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between rowboat and agent-framework?
rowboat is written in TypeScript and agent-framework in Python. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, rowboat or agent-framework?
Choose rowboat if you want the larger community (17,871 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose agent-framework if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.