Comparison
relay vs agent-protocol
Verdict
Pick relay if relay is a hosted messaging store and router designed for seamless communication among AI agents in real-time settings, offering fast retrieval for efficient collaboration; pick agent-protocol if agent-protocol provides a standardized interface for interacting with various AI agents regardless of their underlying tech stack, aiming to ease development, deployment, and benchmarking.
Markdown twin · relay alternatives · agent-protocol alternatives
GraphCanon updated Sep 20, 2026
10views this month
vs
Trust & integrity
| Signal | relay | agent-protocol |
|---|---|---|
| Maintenance | Very active (0d since push) As of Sep 20, 2026 · github_public_v1 | Dormant (515d since push) As of Sep 5, 2026 · github_public_v1 |
| Provenance | Not a fork · Organization account As of Sep 20, 2026 · github_public_v1 | Not a fork · Organization account As of Sep 5, 2026 · github_public_v1 |
| OSV dependency advisories | No lockfile (source not queried) As of Jul 15, 2026 · osv@v1 | Published findings 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
- relay
- A hosted messaging store and router for agent collaboration
- agent-protocol
- Common interface for AI agents
Stars
- relay
- 843
- agent-protocol
- 1.5k
Forks
- relay
- 65
- agent-protocol
- 186
Open issues
- relay
- 290
- agent-protocol
- 49
Language
- relay
- TypeScript
- agent-protocol
- Python
Adopt for
- relay
- relay is a hosted messaging store and router designed for seamless communication among AI agents in real-time settings, offering fast retrieval for efficient collaboration.
- agent-protocol
- agent-protocol provides a standardized interface for interacting with various AI agents regardless of their underlying tech stack, aiming to ease development, deployment, and benchmarking.
Persona
- relay
- -
- agent-protocol
- -
Runtime
- relay
- -
- agent-protocol
- -
License
- relay
- Apache-2.0
- agent-protocol
- MIT
Last pushed
- relay
- Sep 20, 2026
- agent-protocol
- Apr 8, 2025
Categories
- relay
- AI Agents, Evaluation & Observability
- agent-protocol
- AI Agents
Trust and health
Maintenance
- relay
- Very active (96%)
- agent-protocol
- Dormant (18%)
Days since push
- relay
- 0d
- agent-protocol
- 515d
Open issues (now)
- relay
- 290
- agent-protocol
- 49
Stars delta
- relay
- +51 (30d)
- agent-protocol
- -4 (30d)
Open issues delta
- relay
- +113 (30d)
- agent-protocol
- -1 (30d)
OSV dependency advisories
- relay
- No lockfile (source not queried)
- agent-protocol
- Published findings
Full report
- relay
- Trust report
- agent-protocol
- Trust report
Choose relay if…
- relay is primarily TypeScript; agent-protocol is Python.
- License: relay is Apache-2.0, agent-protocol is MIT.
- Tags unique to relay: agent-collaboration, agent-communication, real-time.
- Also covers Evaluation & Observability.
- When your application requires a robust hosted solution for real-time communication and orchestration of multiple AI agents
When NOT to use relay
- If your project mandates an on-premise deployment or strict control over the messaging infrastructure due to regulatory requirements, as relay operates exclusively as a hosted service
- In scenarios where proprietary communication protocols cannot be adapted to work with relay's architecture for seamless integration
Choose agent-protocol if…
- agent-protocol is primarily Python; relay is TypeScript.
- License: agent-protocol is MIT, relay is Apache-2.0.
- Tags unique to agent-protocol: agents, ai-agent, api, auto-gpt.
- When you want to ensure interoperability between different AI agents irrespective of the frameworks used by them.
When NOT to use agent-protocol
- If you are developing an isolated system with no intention to communicate or integrate with other AI agents outside this scope.
- When working in environments where specific, proprietary interfaces provide significantly better performance or features than adhering to a generic protocol could offer.
Explore
Sources
Every stat on this page traces to a dated GitHub sync, license file, enrichment field, or trust scan.
- GitHub stars (AgentWorkforce/relay) · observed Sep 20, 2026
- GitHub forks (AgentWorkforce/relay) · observed Sep 20, 2026
- Last push (AgentWorkforce/relay) · observed Sep 20, 2026
- License file (Apache-2.0) · observed Sep 20, 2026
- Decision facts (enrichment) · observed Jul 17, 2026
- Trust scan (lockfile / OSV) · observed Jul 15, 2026
- GitHub stars (agi-inc/agent-protocol) · observed Sep 20, 2026
- GitHub forks (agi-inc/agent-protocol) · observed Sep 20, 2026
- Last push (agi-inc/agent-protocol) · observed Apr 8, 2025
- License file (MIT) · observed Sep 20, 2026
- Decision facts (enrichment) · observed Jul 16, 2026
- Trust scan (lockfile / OSV) · observed Jul 11, 2026
GitHub stars on cards: relay 843 · agent-protocol 1.5k (synced Sep 20, 2026).
Common questions
- What is the difference between relay and agent-protocol?
- relay: A hosted messaging store and router for agent collaboration. agent-protocol: Common interface for AI agents. See the comparison table for live GitHub stats and shared categories.
- When should I choose relay over agent-protocol?
- Choose relay over agent-protocol when relay is primarily TypeScript; agent-protocol is Python; License: relay is Apache-2.0, agent-protocol is MIT; Tags unique to relay: agent-collaboration, agent-communication, real-time; Also covers Evaluation & Observability; When your application requires a robust hosted solution for real-time communication and orchestration of multiple AI agents.
- When should I choose agent-protocol over relay?
- Choose agent-protocol over relay when agent-protocol is primarily Python; relay is TypeScript; License: agent-protocol is MIT, relay is Apache-2.0; Tags unique to agent-protocol: agents, ai-agent, api, auto-gpt; When you want to ensure interoperability between different AI agents irrespective of the frameworks used by them.
- When should I avoid relay?
- If your project mandates an on-premise deployment or strict control over the messaging infrastructure due to regulatory requirements, as relay operates exclusively as a hosted service In scenarios where proprietary communication protocols cannot be adapted to work with relay's architecture for seamless integration
- When should I avoid agent-protocol?
- If you are developing an isolated system with no intention to communicate or integrate with other AI agents outside this scope. When working in environments where specific, proprietary interfaces provide significantly better performance or features than adhering to a generic protocol could offer.
- Is relay or agent-protocol more popular on GitHub?
- agent-protocol has more GitHub stars (1,454 vs 843). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints.
- Are relay and agent-protocol open source?
- Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (relay: Apache-2.0, agent-protocol: MIT).
- Where can I find alternatives to relay or agent-protocol?
- GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at relay alternatives and agent-protocol alternatives (relay markdown twin, agent-protocol 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, relay or agent-protocol?
- relay: Very active. agent-protocol: Dormant. 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 relay and agent-protocol?
- GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: relay trust report; agent-protocol trust report.