head to head · open source
strix vs pentest-ai-agents
strix has 73,376 GitHub stars, 8,266 forks, 383 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. pentest-ai-agents has 2,400 stars, 452 forks, 1 open issues and last shipped 28 days ago. strix leads on adoption by 2,957% (73,376 vs 2,400 stars). strix is written in Python under Apache-2.0; pentest-ai-agents is written in Shell under MIT. strix has attracted 11% as many forks as stars, pentest-ai-agents 19%. strix was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 4 topic tags (ai-security, bug-bounty, cybersecurity, ethical-hacking), 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
| strix | pentest-ai-agents | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 73K | ★ 2.4K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Python | Shell |
| Last push | 2026-10-30 | 2026-10-06 |
| Forks | ⑂ 8.3K | ⑂ 452 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick strix if
- You weight community size — 73K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick pentest-ai-agents if
- You want the pentest-ai-agents feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Shell
- You evaluated both and pentest-ai-agents fits your workflow better
About strix
Strix The open source AI pentesting tool. Autonomous AI hackers that find and fix your app’s vulnerabilities. [!TIP] New! Strix integrates seamlessly with GitHub Actions and CI/CD pipelines. Automatically scan for vulnerabilities on every pull request and block insecure code before it reaches production Get started with no setup required. Strix Overview Strix are autonomous AI penetration testing agents that act just like real hackers they run your code dynamically, find vulnerabilities, and validate them through actual proofs of concept. Built for developers and security teams who need fast, accurate security…
read the full strix overview →
About pentest-ai-agents
pentest ai agents 50 Claude Code subagents for penetration testing. Quick Start Cheatsheet Coverage Agents Examples Table of Contents What's New in v3.3 What's New in v3.2 Agent Map What's New in v3.1 Quick Start Cheatsheet Coverage Agents Tier 1 vs Tier 2 Examples Running Tools in a Container Findings Database Token Optimization Local Models Documentation MCP Server Prerequisites Legal License pentest ai agents is a collection of 50 Claude Code subagents that turn Claude into an offensive security research assistant. Each agent carries deep domain knowledge in a specific area: recon, web, Active Directory…
read the full pentest-ai-agents overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is strix or pentest-ai-agents more popular?
strix has 73,376 GitHub stars and pentest-ai-agents has 2,400. strix has the larger community by that measure.
Are strix and pentest-ai-agents free?
Both are open source. strix is licensed under Apache-2.0 and pentest-ai-agents under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between strix and pentest-ai-agents?
strix is written in Python and pentest-ai-agents in Shell. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, strix or pentest-ai-agents?
Choose strix if you want the larger community (73,376 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose pentest-ai-agents if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.