OpenHands

OpenHands is an open-source CLI and terminal that serves as a developer control center for running autonomous coding agents that plan and implement changes across codebases end-to-end. The software is deployed via a CLI and can be run locally on a laptop, within Docker containers, on dedicated hardware like a Mac Mini, or on remote cloud servers.

Users can manage multiple agent backends from a single frontend, allowing them to switch between local and remote environments without losing focus. The platform supports the Agent-Client Protocol (ACP), enabling it to work with various third-party agents and any large language model. It is designed for developers who need an always-on engineering team to automate repetitive coding tasks and maintain codebase updates.

Key features

• Support for any LLM through a bring-your-own-model approach
• Compatibility with various agents
• Integration with Slack, GitHub, Linear, and Notion for workflow automation
• Ability to run agents in Docker sandboxes to isolate filesystem access
• Support for scheduled automations and webhook-triggered events
• Capability to connect to multiple agent servers across different backends
• Deployment options for local, VM, or cloud-based infrastructure
• Automated decomposition of GitHub issues into actionable tasks

The architecture consists of the Agent Canvas frontend and the OpenHands Agent Server, which provides a REST API for managing multiple agents on a single machine. An optional Automation Server allows users to set up agents that run on a schedule or respond to external events, such as publishing reports to Slack. This separation of frontend and backend allows teams to share a centralized Agent Server for code reviews and dependency updates while maintaining personal agents on local machines. The system is built for developers and engineering teams who require a centralized hub to orchestrate AI agents across diverse environments.

OpenHands is a flexible infrastructure layer for AI-driven software development and automation.