OpenHands

Self-hosted control center and CLI for AI coding agents, running OpenHands or Claude Code and Codex with any model, including local LLMs.

Open-source alternative toClaude Code Cursor

Install guide (official) ↗ GitHub ↗ Creator kit →

OpenHands at a glance

Checked 21 Oct 2026

The OpenHands repo now holds Agent Canvas (v1.29.0, October 2026), a self-hosted control center that runs the open-source OpenHands agent, or Claude Code, Codex and other ACP agents, on your machine, in Docker, on a VM or in OpenHands Cloud. It adds automations such as issue-to-pull-request and PR review. A separate OpenHands CLI has a headless mode for CI and connects to VS Code, JetBrains and Zed over ACP. Bring any model, including local ones via LM Studio, Ollama, vLLM or SGLang. MIT licence; OpenHands Cloud is the optional paid service.

Cite this pageRepoQuarry. “OpenHands.” Checked 21 Oct 2026. https://repoquarry.dev/projects/openhands

How much of Claude Code does it replace?

Use it instead of paying for Claude Code?

Personal use: Confirmed: Yes
For a business: Confirmed: Yes

6 of 6 jobs. CLI, headless mode, MCP and issue-to-PR automations; VS Code support is through a community ACP extension, and results depend on the model you pick.

Edit code across a repo from the terminal with an AI agent Partial replacement

Run commands and tests Partial replacement

Use the agent inside VS Code or JetBrains Partial replacement

Connect tools and data through MCP Partial replacement

Write commits and pull requests Partial replacement

Run the agent headless in scripts or CI (GitHub Actions) Partial replacement

How much of Cursor does it replace?

Use it instead of paying for Cursor?

Personal use: Confirmed: Yes
For a business: Confirmed: Yes

4 of 7 jobs. Agents run in a browser control center or terminal, not an AI editor; no tab completion. Always-on agents need your own server or OpenHands Cloud.

Code in an AI-first editor Not covered

Multi-line tab completion and next-edit prediction Not covered

Let an agent plan and edit across many files Partial replacement

Run terminal commands and tests from the agent Partial replacement

Ask questions about your whole codebase Not covered

Connect tools and data through MCP Partial replacement

Run agents in the cloud in the background Partial replacement

For code in an AI-first editor, multi-line tab completion and next-edit prediction, ask questions about your whole codebase, see other Cursor alternatives. You may also need to build an interface, an API server and hosting yourself.

Facts, with sources

Every answer links to where we found it. We read the documentation; we did not install it.

Report a correction

QuestionAnswerSourceChecked

Runs on my machine? Yes; Agent Canvas and the agent server run on your machine by default, or on your own Docker host, VM or Kubernetes cluster It runs locally on your machine by default github.com · OpenHands#readme ↗ today

Code licence MIT Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy github.com · LICENSE ↗ today

Model weights licence No separate model weights github.com · OpenHands#readme ↗ today

Commercial use Yes, MIT allows commercial use to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell github.com · LICENSE ↗ today

Paid services needed? Not required with local models (LM Studio, Ollama, vLLM, SGLang); cloud model APIs and OpenHands Cloud are optional Connect OpenHands to local LLM servers such as LM Studio, Ollama, vLLM, and SGLang. docs.openhands.dev · local-llms ↗ today

Hardware No requirements given for Agent Canvas itself; the recommended local model needs a 24GB GPU or an Apple Silicon Mac with 64GB memory A recent GPU with at least 24GB of VRAM for quantized variants docs.openhands.dev · local-llms ↗ today

Operating systems macOS, Linux and Windows (PowerShell or WSL2); the CLI and per-conversation Docker sandboxes need WSL on Windows For the most reliable local setup, use macOS, Linux, Windows with PowerShell, or Windows with WSL2. docs.openhands.dev · setup ↗ today

Setup effort Medium; install Node.js 24 and uv then the npm package, or run the Docker image, then add a model Install Node.js 24 or later and uv, then verify both tools are available docs.openhands.dev · setup ↗ today

No licence changes since we started watching. Licence watch: follow OpenHands and we email you if its licence terms change.

Growth and activity in detail

Is it popular, and is anyone still working on it? From GitHub.

Numbers appear after the first nightly fetch from GitHub.

GitHub numbers appear after the first nightly fetch.

What it costs to run

Software$0

Required paid servicesnone

Optional paid servicesCloud model API keys, OpenHands Cloud

Your hardwareNo requirements given for Agent Canvas itself; the recommended local model needs a 24GB GPU or an Apple Silicon Mac with 64GB memory

Claude Code: Included with Claude Pro ($20/month, or $17/month billed annually), Max (from $100/month), Team and Enterprise; not on the free plan (source, checked 21 Oct 2026). Running it yourself costs your hardware, electricity and setup time.

Using an AI agent?

The same record, as JSON or through MCP.

get_project("openhands")
GET /api/v1/projects/openhands.json

API and MCP docs →

OpenHands

OpenHands at a glance

How much of Claude Code does it replace?

How much of Cursor does it replace?

Facts, with sources

Growth and activity in detail

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