The open-source OpenHands alternative
OpenHands is an open-source coding agent, and Kortix is the open-source AI Operating System: your agents, skills, company memory and connectors live in one git repo you own, and each session runs on its own cloud computer. The comparison table on this page sets the two side by side.
Open source · Any model, your keys · Self-host, VPC, or on-prem
The open-source AI Operating System
A project is a git repo with kortix.yaml at its root.A session runs one agent in its own sandbox.The agent commits, pushes the session branch, and opens a change request.A person with the project.gitops.merge permission reviews the change request and merges it.Session work reaches main through a change request.
Kortix and OpenHands, side by side
Kortix is the recommendation on every row, and each OpenHands cell states what OpenHands documents on its own pages.
Kortix vs OpenHands
github.com- What it is
- The open-source AI Operating System: agents, skills, memory, connectors in git.
- A self-hosted developer control center for coding agents and automations.
- What one unit of work is
- A session: one agent run in its own sandbox and branch.
- A conversation: one agent run against a project workspace.
- Where the agents run
- One isolated machine per session: Kortix Cloud, your VPC, or on-prem.
- Locally by default, in Docker, on VMs, or in your company infrastructure.
- Who reviews and approves what changes
- A person merges the change request; agents merge only when granted.
- Engineers keep review, approval and merge; agents open pull requests.
- Where config, skills and memory live
- Files in the project repo:
kortix.yaml, agents, skills, memory, tools, triggers, connectors. - Repository files:
AGENTS.mdand.agents/skills/; user skills per person. - Channels (web, Slack, Teams)
- Web, desktop, mobile, CLI, TUI, Slack, Teams and email.
- Web GUI, terminal UI, CLI, Slack, GitHub, Jira, Linear.
- Deployment
- Kortix Cloud, your VPC, or on-prem. Self-host is free.
- Local, Docker, VMs, Kubernetes in your VPC, or OpenHands Cloud.
- Pricing
- Free $0 with 200 credits a month; Team $40 per seat.
- Free tier for local use; paid cloud and Enterprise pricing on request.
- Is it open source
- Yes. Open source. Read it, fork it, audit it.
- Yes: the agent and SDK are public; Enterprise is described as source-available.
OpenHands details are what its own pages state, October 2026. Check the vendor before you buy.
An operating system, layer by layer
Every part of an operating system maps to one Kortix feature, and each one is a file or a command.
- 01
Processes
One process per session
One isolated sandbox per session. Each session has its own isolated machine and branch.
ProcessestextSessions: one sandbox and one branch per sessionA session runs one agent in its own sandbox.The sandbox clones the repo and works on a new branch.https://kortix.com/docs - 02
File system
One git repo you own
A project is a git repo with
kortix.yamlat its root, and Kortix hosts that repo or you connect your own.File systemtextThe project repoA project is a git repo with kortix.yaml at its root.Kortix hosts the repo, or you connect your own.https://kortix.com/docs - 03
Programs
Agents and skills are files
An agent is
agents/<name>.md(behavior) plus anagents.<name>block inkortix.yaml(governance).ProgramstextAgents and skillsAgents, skills, memory, tools, triggers and connectors are files in it.https://kortix.com/docs - 04
Drivers
Connectors are the drivers
3,000+ apps in a click, plus MCP, OpenAPI, Postman, GraphQL and raw HTTP.
DriverstextConnectorsConnector credentials are brokered server-side and never enter the machine.https://kortix.com/docs - 05
Scheduler
Triggers are the scheduler
Exactly two types:
cronandwebhook.SchedulertextTriggershttps://kortix.com/docs - 06
Permissions
Roles, grants and policies
Per-resource permissions for people and agents. Roles, groups, and an audit trail.
PermissionstextRoles, grants and connector policieshttps://kortix.com/docs - 07
Shell
Web, CLI, Slack and Teams
Slack and Microsoft Teams are live. Email is experimental, per project.
ShelltextWeb, desktop, mobile, CLI, TUI, Slack, Teams, email and the MCP serverhttps://kortix.com/docs - 08
Updates
Change requests are updates
Session work reaches
mainthrough a change request. Merge is default-deny for agents.UpdatestextChange requestsA person with the project.gitops.merge permission reviews the change request and merges it into the default branch.https://kortix.com/docs
20,000+
GitHub stars, checked October 2026
Open source. Read it, fork it, audit it. Your agents, skills, company memory, and connectors live in one git repo you own.
Which OpenHands alternative fits your team?
Five questions buyers ask while comparing OpenHands alternatives.
Q01
What is Kortix, and how does it differ from a coding agent?
Kortix is the open-source AI Operating System: agents, skills, memory and connectors live in one git repo you own, and each session runs on its own cloud computer. A coding agent works on the code in front of it; Kortix carries the company memory, the connectors and the review path around the work, which is why a session’s work reaches main through a change request a person approves.
Q02
Is Kortix open source?
Yes. Open source. Read it, fork it, audit it. The agents, skills, memory, tools, triggers and connectors are files in the project repo, and the code is at Kortix on GitHub. The self-hosting guide covers running it yourself.
Q03
Can I self-host Kortix or keep it in my own VPC?
Run it on Kortix Cloud, in your VPC, or on your own on-prem network. Self-host is free, and the kortix self-host commands install and run the full stack on your own infrastructure.
Q04
What does Kortix cost?
Free is $0 with 200 credits per month and 1 project. The team plan is $40 per seat per month with 2,500 credits per month per seat, pooled, and Enterprise adds SAML 2.0 SSO, SCIM directory sync, advanced RBAC and audit logs. Agent Computer compute is billed per second, per resource: about $0.20/hour for the default 2 vCPU / 4 GiB / 20 GiB machine, and $0 while stopped.
Q05
Does Kortix run in Slack and Microsoft Teams?
Slack and Microsoft Teams are live. Email is experimental, per project. Mention the bot in either channel with a task and it starts a session. OpenHands compared with Kortix covers the rest of the differences.
Agents that do finished work, reviewed by people.
Kortix is the leading open-source alternative to Claude Cowork and ChatGPT Work.