# OpenHands

> 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.

- Repository: https://github.com/OpenHands/OpenHands
- Official docs: https://docs.openhands.dev
- Checked: 2026-10-21

## What it replaces
- Claude Code: Edit code across a repo from the terminal with an AI agent, Run commands and tests, Use the agent inside VS Code or JetBrains, Connect tools and data through MCP, Write commits and pull requests, Run the agent headless in scripts or CI (GitHub Actions) (partial). 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.
  - Use it instead of paying for Claude Code? Personal use: Yes. Business: Yes.
- Cursor: Let an agent plan and edit across many files, Run terminal commands and tests from the agent, Connect tools and data through MCP, Run agents in the cloud in the background (partial). 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.
  - Use it instead of paying for Cursor? Personal use: Yes. Business: Yes.

## Facts, with sources

| Question | Status | Answer | Source | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runs on my machine? | Confirmed | Yes; Agent Canvas and the agent server run on your machine by default, or on your own Docker host, VM or Kubernetes cluster | https://github.com/OpenHands/OpenHands#readme | 2026-10-21 |
| Code licence | Confirmed | MIT | https://github.com/OpenHands/OpenHands/blob/main/LICENSE | 2026-10-21 |
| Model weights licence | Confirmed | No separate model weights | https://github.com/OpenHands/OpenHands#readme | 2026-10-21 |
| Commercial use | Confirmed | Yes, MIT allows commercial use | https://github.com/OpenHands/OpenHands/blob/main/LICENSE | 2026-10-21 |
| Paid services needed? | Partial | Not required with local models (LM Studio, Ollama, vLLM, SGLang); cloud model APIs and OpenHands Cloud are optional | https://docs.openhands.dev/openhands/usage/llms/local-llms | 2026-10-21 |
| Hardware | Partial | No requirements given for Agent Canvas itself; the recommended local model needs a 24GB GPU or an Apple Silicon Mac with 64GB memory | https://docs.openhands.dev/openhands/usage/llms/local-llms | 2026-10-21 |
| Operating systems | Confirmed | macOS, Linux and Windows (PowerShell or WSL2); the CLI and per-conversation Docker sandboxes need WSL on Windows | https://docs.openhands.dev/openhands/usage/agent-canvas/setup | 2026-10-21 |
| Setup effort | Confirmed | Medium; install Node.js 24 and uv then the npm package, or run the Docker image, then add a model | https://docs.openhands.dev/openhands/usage/agent-canvas/setup | 2026-10-21 |

GitHub: 91499 stars, 12145 forks, last push 2026-10-22, archived: no.
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Source: RepoQuarry (https://repoquarry.dev/projects/openhands). Data licence: CC BY 4.0. Quotes are from project documentation and belong to their authors.