OpenHands

What it does

Runs OpenHands' own agent out of the box but also drives Claude Code, Codex, Gemini or anything ACP-compatible from one canvas, with backends spanning your laptop, Docker containers, VMs or company infrastructure. Beyond ad-hoc conversations it automates recurring work — publishing reports into Slack, decomposing GitHub issues into tasks. Note the project's own warning: the simplest install runs the agent server directly on your machine with full filesystem access, so the Docker sandbox route is the safer starting point. Node 22.12+, npm and uv required. MIT.

Summary based on the project's own description. The Japanese page has a fuller beginner guide: setup difficulty, what to prepare, and a step-by-step start.

Screenshots & visuals

Before you start

• Setup difficultySome setup needed
• Command lineRequired
• API keyRequired
• Sends data onlineYes

Judged automatically from the project's own metadata. Always confirm on the official page.

OpenHands FAQ

Is OpenHands free?

OpenHands itself is free, but it needs an API key for an external AI service. That service charges separately, though some have a free tier.

Do I need to install anything or write code to use OpenHands?

It needs the command line. If you are not comfortable typing commands, expect to get stuck during setup.

Does OpenHands work on a phone?

No. It needs a computer.

Can I use OpenHands commercially?

The licence is MIT, which permits commercial use. Conditions such as keeping the copyright notice still apply, so read the licence text before shipping it inside something.

How it compares

The conditions that decide whether you can actually use it, side by side.

"Sends data out" means your input is uploaded to someone's server. Pick "No" when the material cannot leave your organisation.

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