--- title: "agent-control vs apm" type: "comparison" canonical_url: "https://www.graphcanon.com/compare/agentcontrol-agent-control-vs-microsoft-apm" tools: ["agentcontrol-agent-control", "microsoft-apm"] --- # agent-control vs apm *GraphCanon updated Aug 9, 2026* ## Verdict Pick agent-control if agent-control is a highly configurable and extensible centralized agent control system that governs runtime behavior of agents at scale via UI or SDK/API; pick apm if agent Package Manager is specialized for managing AI agent packages and their dependencies using Python under MIT license. [agent-control](https://agentcontrol.dev) reports 289 GitHub stars, 44 forks, and 36 open issues, last pushed Aug 6, 2026. [apm](https://microsoft.github.io/apm/) has 3.4k stars, 301 forks, and 164 open issues, last pushed Jul 25, 2026. Figures are from public GitHub metadata via [agent-control's repository](https://github.com/agentcontrol/agent-control) and [apm's repository](https://github.com/microsoft/apm). | | [agent-control](/tools/agentcontrol-agent-control.md) | [apm](/tools/microsoft-apm.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Tagline | Centralized agent control plane for governing runtime agent behavior at scale | Agent Package Manager | | Stars | 289 | 3,385 | | Forks | 44 | 301 | | Open issues | 36 | 164 | | Language | Python | Python | | Adopt for | agent-control is a highly configurable and extensible centralized agent control system that governs runtime behavior of agents at scale via UI or SDK/API. | Agent Package Manager is specialized for managing AI agent packages and their dependencies using Python under MIT license. | | Persona | - | - | | Runtime | - | - | | License | Apache-2.0 | MIT | | Categories | AI Agents | AI Agents | ## Trust and health _Sourced signals - not a safety guarantee. No winner column._ | | [agent-control](/tools/agentcontrol-agent-control.md) | [apm](/tools/microsoft-apm.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Open issues (now) | 36 | 164 | | Full report | [trust report](/tools/agentcontrol-agent-control/trust.md) | [trust report](/tools/microsoft-apm/trust.md) | ## Decision facts: agent-control - **Adopt for:** agent-control is a highly configurable and extensible centralized agent control system that governs runtime behavior of agents at scale via UI or SDK/API. ## Decision facts: apm - **Adopt for:** Agent Package Manager is specialized for managing AI agent packages and their dependencies using Python under MIT license. ## Choose when ### Choose agent-control if… - License: agent-control is Apache-2.0, apm is MIT. - Tags unique to agent-control: agentic-workflow, ai safety, guardrails, llm. - agent-control ships Docker support for self-hosted deployment. - Use agent-control if you need to centrally manage the behavior of multiple AI agents in production environments. ### Choose apm if… - License: apm is MIT, agent-control is Apache-2.0. - Tags unique to apm: ai-agents, claude-code, codex-cli, context-engineering. - You focus on AI agent development with specific package needs ## When NOT to use agent-control - Avoid using agent-control when your project does not require centralized control for large-scale AI agent management. - Not recommended if your setup is simplistic or relies solely on languages other than Python or TypeScript, since the tool primarily supports these two. ## When NOT to use apm - You prefer generic software or non-AI-specific package managers - Requirements include support for languages other than Python ## Common questions ### What is the difference between agent-control and apm? agent-control: Centralized agent control plane for governing runtime agent behavior at scale. apm: Agent Package Manager. See the comparison table for live GitHub stats and shared categories. ### When should I choose agent-control over apm? Choose agent-control over apm when License: agent-control is Apache-2.0, apm is MIT; Tags unique to agent-control: agentic-workflow, ai safety, guardrails, llm; agent-control ships Docker support for self-hosted deployment; Use agent-control if you need to centrally manage the behavior of multiple AI agents in production environments. ### When should I choose apm over agent-control? Choose apm over agent-control when License: apm is MIT, agent-control is Apache-2.0; Tags unique to apm: ai-agents, claude-code, codex-cli, context-engineering; You focus on AI agent development with specific package needs. ### When should I avoid agent-control? Avoid using agent-control when your project does not require centralized control for large-scale AI agent management. Not recommended if your setup is simplistic or relies solely on languages other than Python or TypeScript, since the tool primarily supports these two. ### When should I avoid apm? You prefer generic software or non-AI-specific package managers Requirements include support for languages other than Python ### Is agent-control or apm more popular on GitHub? apm has more GitHub stars (3,385 vs 289). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints. ### Are agent-control and apm open source? Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (agent-control: Apache-2.0, apm: MIT). ### Where can I find alternatives to agent-control or apm? GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at [agent-control alternatives](/tools/agentcontrol-agent-control/alternatives) and [apm alternatives](/tools/microsoft-apm/alternatives) ([agent-control markdown twin](/tools/agentcontrol-agent-control/alternatives.md), [apm markdown twin](/tools/microsoft-apm/alternatives.md)), 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](/compare/agentcontrol-agent-control-vs-microsoft-apm.md) mirrors this page for agents and LLM crawlers, with the same stats table and FAQ answers. ### Which is better maintained, agent-control or apm? agent-control: Very active. apm: 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 agent-control and apm? GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: [agent-control trust report](/tools/agentcontrol-agent-control/trust); [apm trust report](/tools/microsoft-apm/trust). --- **Machine-readable endpoints** - JSON: [`/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=agentcontrol-agent-control`](/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=agentcontrol-agent-control) - LLM index: [/llms.txt](/llms.txt) - Full corpus: [/llms-full.txt](/llms-full.txt) _GraphCanon - The knowledge graph for AI development. https://www.graphcanon.com/_