# Self-hosted AI agents

Hosted agents such as Grok Bot, Manus and Genspark run on someone else's computer and are paid by subscription or credits. The projects below browse, research and run multi-step tasks on a machine you control, with your own model keys or a local model.

Agents act on your accounts and files, so check what each one can reach before you connect it to anything important.

> We track 13 open-source general AI agents, each checked for licence, commercial use, hardware, paid services and setup. Openclaw, DeerFlow, Orca and Nanobrowser (and 6 more) run on your own machine, allow commercial use and need no paid service (you still choose a model: a paid API key or a free local one). Easiest to set up: Skyvern and Nanobrowser. Facts checked 2026-10-21.

Give this to your agent: "Help me with this: "Self-hosted AI agents", using the RepoQuarry guide at https://repoquarry.dev/guides/self-hosted-ai-agents.md. Read the whole guide first, including its builds and links. Recommend the option that fits what I am building and why, check each project's official docs (linked there) before installing anything, ask me before spending money or using my accounts, and tell me what you set up when you finish."

## Step-by-step builds
Each build lists the repos, how they connect and the steps, with a prompt for your coding agent.
- [Build an AI agent that wakes up on a webhook, email or chat message](https://repoquarry.dev/builds/webhook-agent.md): When an email arrives, a form is filled or someone posts in chat, an AI agent starts, does the task and reports back.
- [Build a personal AI assistant for email, calendar and Telegram with open-source software](https://repoquarry.dev/builds/personal-ai-assistant.md): Message an assistant on Telegram, by text or voice, and it checks your email, books calendar slots and remembers what you tell it.
- [Build a life admin assistant with open-source AI agents](https://repoquarry.dev/builds/life-admin-autopilot.md): Hand off the dull admin, like cancelling subscriptions, school emails and sorting photos, to agents you run.

## Compared
| Project | Runs locally | Commercial use | Paid services | Setup |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| [Openclaw](https://repoquarry.dev/projects/openclaw.md) | Yes | Yes · MIT | Optional only | See details |
| [DeerFlow](https://repoquarry.dev/projects/deer-flow.md) | Yes | Yes · MIT | Optional only | Medium |
| [Orca](https://repoquarry.dev/projects/orca.md) | Yes | Yes · MIT | Optional only | See details |
| [AgenticSeek](https://repoquarry.dev/projects/agenticseek.md) | Yes | Conditions · GPL-3.0-only | None required | Medium |
| [Skyvern](https://repoquarry.dev/projects/skyvern.md) | Yes | Conditions · AGPL-3.0-only | Optional only | Easy |
| [Nanobrowser](https://repoquarry.dev/projects/nanobrowser.md) | Yes | Yes · Apache-2.0 | Optional only | Easy |
| [OpenManus](https://repoquarry.dev/projects/openmanus.md) | Yes | Yes · MIT | Optional only | Medium |
| [Agent S](https://repoquarry.dev/projects/agent-s.md) | Yes | Yes · Apache-2.0 | Optional only | Medium |
| [Kortix (formerly Suna)](https://repoquarry.dev/projects/kortix.md) | Yes | Conditions · Elastic-2.0 | Required | Medium |
| [OWL](https://repoquarry.dev/projects/owl.md) | Yes | Yes · Apache-2.0 | Optional only | Medium |
| [MagenticLite (Magentic-UI)](https://repoquarry.dev/projects/magentic-ui.md) | Yes | Yes · MIT | Optional only | Medium |
| [Rakazo](https://repoquarry.dev/projects/rakazo.md) | Yes | Yes · Apache-2.0 | Optional only | Medium |
| [II-Agent](https://repoquarry.dev/projects/ii-agent.md) | Yes | Yes · Apache-2.0 | Optional only | Medium |

## Common questions
### What is Grok Bot?
Grok Bot is xAI's hosted agent product. Its docs describe named AI teammates, each working on a persistent cloud computer with a browser, filesystem and terminal. Access comes with paid Cursor plans or a linked SuperGrok subscription, and it has apps for macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android. (source: https://docs.x.ai/grok-bot/overview)

### What are Grok Bot skills, routines and templates?
A skill is a saved set of instructions for a task, a routine tells one Bot when to run a workflow (on a schedule or after an event such as a Slack message or GitHub notification), and a template lets someone else start from a copy of your Bot. The builds on this page do the same jobs with an agent you host. (source: https://docs.x.ai/grok-bot/skills-routines-and-automations)

### Which plans include Grok Bot?
On The X Subscription it is included with Premium, Super and Ultra, not Plus or Free. Legacy paid Cursor plans include it too, and a SuperGrok subscription can be linked to a legacy Cursor account. (source: https://cursor.com/help/grok-bot/plans)

### Is there a free, self-hosted alternative to Grok Bot or Manus?
Yes. AgenticSeek needs no paid service at all. Openclaw, DeerFlow, Orca, Skyvern, Nanobrowser and OpenManus (and 5 more) are free to run, with paid services (usually a hosted model API) optional. The software is free; the AI model is the usual cost. A local model through Ollama or LM Studio costs nothing per request but needs a capable computer.

### Which agents work with a local model?
AgenticSeek, Skyvern, Nanobrowser, OpenManus, Agent S, OWL, MagenticLite (Magentic-UI) and Rakazo document support for a local model (for example Ollama or LM Studio), so you can work without a paid API key. Small local models make more mistakes than the best hosted ones, so expect to check their work more often.

### Which can I use commercially?
Confirmed: Openclaw (MIT), DeerFlow (MIT), Orca (MIT), Nanobrowser (Apache-2.0), OpenManus (MIT), Agent S (Apache-2.0), OWL (Apache-2.0), MagenticLite (Magentic-UI) (MIT), Rakazo (Apache-2.0) and II-Agent (Apache-2.0). With conditions: AgenticSeek, Skyvern and Kortix (formerly Suna). This is not legal advice; read each licence.

### Which is easiest to set up?
Rated easy from their install docs: Skyvern and Nanobrowser. Each page links the exact install step we checked.

## By paid product
- [Open-source alternatives to Grok Bot](https://repoquarry.dev/alternatives/grok-bot.md)
- [Open-source alternatives to Manus](https://repoquarry.dev/alternatives/manus.md)
- [Open-source alternatives to Genspark](https://repoquarry.dev/alternatives/genspark.md)
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Source: RepoQuarry (https://repoquarry.dev/guides/self-hosted-ai-agents). Data licence: CC BY 4.0. Quotes are from project documentation and belong to their authors.