Comparison
pentest-ai vs agents
Verdict
Pick pentest-ai if pentest-ai is an offensive-security platform featuring over 200 security tools and agents for various security tasks including exploit chaining and osint, licensed under MIT; pick agents if the agents tool is a marketplace for plugins that enhances multiple AI agents, offering integration and management capabilities across several platforms, including Claude Code, Codex CLI, Cursor, OpenCode, GitHub Copilot.
Markdown twin · pentest-ai alternatives · agents alternatives
GraphCanon updated Sep 30, 2026
16views this month
vs
Trust & integrity
| Signal | pentest-ai | agents |
|---|---|---|
| Maintenance | Very active (6d since push) As of Sep 20, 2026 · github_public_v1 | Very active (1d since push) As of Sep 20, 2026 · github_public_v1 |
| Provenance | Not a fork · Personal account As of Sep 20, 2026 · github_public_v1 | Not a fork · Personal account As of Sep 20, 2026 · github_public_v1 |
| OSV dependency advisories | No lockfile (source not queried) As of Jul 11, 2026 · osv@v1 | No lockfile (source not queried) As of Jul 11, 2026 · osv@v1 |
| deps.dev advisories | Not queried deps.dev@v1 | Not queried deps.dev@v1 |
| OpenSSF Scorecard | Not queried openssf-scorecard@v1 | Not queried openssf-scorecard@v1 |
Tagline
- pentest-ai
- Offensive-security MCP server with security tools and agents
- agents
- Multi-harness agentic plugin marketplace for various AI agents
Stars
- pentest-ai
- 1.7k
- agents
- 40k
Forks
- pentest-ai
- 314
- agents
- 4.2k
Open issues
- pentest-ai
- 2
- agents
- 12
Language
- pentest-ai
- Python
- agents
- Python
Adopt for
- pentest-ai
- Pentest-ai is an offensive-security platform featuring over 200 security tools and agents for various security tasks including exploit chaining and osint, licensed under MIT.
- agents
- The agents tool is a marketplace for plugins that enhances multiple AI agents, offering integration and management capabilities across several platforms, including Claude Code, Codex CLI, Cursor, OpenCode, GitHub Copilot
Persona
- pentest-ai
- -
- agents
- -
Runtime
- pentest-ai
- -
- agents
- -
License
- pentest-ai
- MIT
- agents
- MIT
Last pushed
- pentest-ai
- Sep 13, 2026
- agents
- Sep 19, 2026
Categories
- pentest-ai
- AI Agents, Developer Tools
- agents
- AI Agents, Developer Tools
Trust and health
Days since push
- pentest-ai
- 6d
- agents
- 1d
Open issues (now)
- pentest-ai
- 2
- agents
- 12
Stars delta
- pentest-ai
- +244 (30d)
- agents
- +895 (30d)
Open issues delta
- pentest-ai
- 0 (30d)
- agents
- +7 (30d)
Full report
- pentest-ai
- Trust report
- agents
- Trust report
Choose pentest-ai if…
- Tags unique to pentest-ai: cybersecurity, mcp, pentesting, security.
- pentest-ai ships Docker support for self-hosted deployment.
- When you need a comprehensive suite that includes more than 205 security tools and 17 specialist agents.
When NOT to use pentest-ai
- If your requirements do not include offensive-security capabilities or exploit chaining.
- When you want to avoid MIT-licensed open-source code and prefer proprietary solutions without sharing obligations.
Choose agents if…
- Tags unique to agents: agent-skills, agentic-ai, automation, prompt-engineering.
- You are working specifically within the ecosystems of Claude Code, Codex CLI, Cursor, OpenCode, GitHub Copilot, or Gemini CLI, as it provides tailored plugins for these environments
- More GitHub stars (40k vs 1.7k) - visibility, not fit.
When NOT to use agents
- You are working solely within a niche environment that isn't one of the supported platforms (like Claude Code, Codex CLI, etc.) because it may not offer compatible plugins or extensive support
- Your project requirements do not include interoperability between multiple AI agents and you only need to leverage functionalities from a single AI agent with a robust in-built plugin ecosystem
Explore
Sources
Every stat on this page traces to a dated GitHub sync, license file, enrichment field, or trust scan.
- GitHub stars (0xSteph/pentest-ai) · observed Sep 20, 2026
- GitHub forks (0xSteph/pentest-ai) · observed Sep 20, 2026
- Last push (0xSteph/pentest-ai) · observed Sep 13, 2026
- License file (MIT) · observed Sep 20, 2026
- Decision facts (enrichment) · observed Jul 17, 2026
- Trust scan (lockfile / OSV) · observed Jul 11, 2026
- GitHub stars (wshobson/agents) · observed Sep 20, 2026
- GitHub forks (wshobson/agents) · observed Sep 20, 2026
- Last push (wshobson/agents) · observed Sep 19, 2026
- License file (MIT) · observed Sep 20, 2026
- Decision facts (enrichment) · observed Jul 11, 2026
- Trust scan (lockfile / OSV) · observed Jul 11, 2026
GitHub stars on cards: pentest-ai 1.7k · agents 40k (synced Sep 20, 2026).
Common questions
- What is the difference between pentest-ai and agents?
- pentest-ai: Offensive-security MCP server with security tools and agents. agents: Multi-harness agentic plugin marketplace for various AI agents. See the comparison table for live GitHub stats and shared categories.
- When should I choose pentest-ai over agents?
- Choose pentest-ai over agents when Tags unique to pentest-ai: cybersecurity, mcp, pentesting, security; pentest-ai ships Docker support for self-hosted deployment; When you need a comprehensive suite that includes more than 205 security tools and 17 specialist agents.
- When should I choose agents over pentest-ai?
- Choose agents over pentest-ai when Tags unique to agents: agent-skills, agentic-ai, automation, prompt-engineering; You are working specifically within the ecosystems of Claude Code, Codex CLI, Cursor, OpenCode, GitHub Copilot, or Gemini CLI, as it provides tailored plugins for these environments; More GitHub stars (40k vs 1.7k) - visibility, not fit.
- When should I avoid pentest-ai?
- If your requirements do not include offensive-security capabilities or exploit chaining. When you want to avoid MIT-licensed open-source code and prefer proprietary solutions without sharing obligations.
- When should I avoid agents?
- You are working solely within a niche environment that isn't one of the supported platforms (like Claude Code, Codex CLI, etc.) because it may not offer compatible plugins or extensive support Your project requirements do not include interoperability between multiple AI agents and you only need to leverage functionalities from a single AI agent with a robust in-built plugin ecosystem
- Is pentest-ai or agents more popular on GitHub?
- agents has more GitHub stars (39,823 vs 1,685). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints.
- Are pentest-ai and agents open source?
- Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (pentest-ai: MIT, agents: MIT).
- Where can I find alternatives to pentest-ai or agents?
- GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at pentest-ai alternatives and agents alternatives (pentest-ai markdown twin, agents markdown twin), ranked by typed relationship edges rather than popularity votes.
- Is there a machine-readable version of this comparison?
- Yes. The markdown twin at this comparison mirrors this page for agents and LLM crawlers, with the same stats table and FAQ answers.
- Which is better maintained, pentest-ai or agents?
- pentest-ai: Very active. agents: Very active. Compare maintenance labels, days since push, and release cadence in the trust section below - stars alone do not measure maintenance.
- Where are the full trust reports for pentest-ai and agents?
- GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: pentest-ai trust report; agents trust report.