Comparison
CoWork-OS vs agents
Verdict
Pick CoWork-OS if coWork-OS is a local-first personal agentic operating system for coding, knowledge work, web design, automations, integrated directly with AI assistants and automation capabilities; 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 · CoWork-OS alternatives · agents alternatives
GraphCanon updated Sep 20, 2026
12views this month
Trust & integrity
| Signal | CoWork-OS | agents |
|---|---|---|
| Maintenance | Very active (0d since push) As of Sep 11, 2026 · github_public_v1 | Very active (1d since push) As of Sep 20, 2026 · github_public_v1 |
| Provenance | Not a fork · Organization account As of Sep 11, 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 Sep 6, 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
- CoWork-OS
- Local-first personal agentic OS for coding and knowledge work with integrated AI assistants and automation.
- agents
- Multi-harness agentic plugin marketplace for various AI agents
Stars
- CoWork-OS
- 451
- agents
- 40k
Forks
- CoWork-OS
- 77
- agents
- 4.2k
Open issues
- CoWork-OS
- 8
- agents
- 12
Language
- CoWork-OS
- TypeScript
- agents
- Python
Adopt for
- CoWork-OS
- CoWork-OS is a local-first personal agentic operating system for coding, knowledge work, web design, automations, integrated directly with AI assistants and automation capabilities.
- 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
- CoWork-OS
- -
- agents
- -
Runtime
- CoWork-OS
- -
- agents
- -
License
- CoWork-OS
- Released under MIT License permitting free use and modification as long as original licensing is acknowledged.
- agents
- MIT
Last pushed
- CoWork-OS
- Sep 10, 2026
- agents
- Sep 19, 2026
Categories
- CoWork-OS
- AI Agents, Developer Tools, Model Training
- agents
- AI Agents, Developer Tools
Trust and health
Days since push
- CoWork-OS
- 0d
- agents
- 1d
Open issues (now)
- CoWork-OS
- 8
- agents
- 12
Stars delta
- CoWork-OS
- +31 (30d)
- agents
- +895 (30d)
Open issues delta
- CoWork-OS
- 0 (30d)
- agents
- +7 (30d)
Owner type
- CoWork-OS
- Organization
- agents
- User
Full report
- CoWork-OS
- Trust report
- agents
- Trust report
Choose CoWork-OS if…
- CoWork-OS is primarily TypeScript; agents is Python.
- Tags unique to CoWork-OS: ai-assistants, ai-automation, claude, desktop-app.
- Also covers Model Training.
- CoWork-OS ships Docker support for self-hosted deployment.
- You prioritize local operation over cloud dependency
When NOT to use CoWork-OS
- Require extensive collaboration features across multiple environments
- Expecting zero-local configuration, with all setup in the cloud
- Need compatibility only on Windows ARM64 without building native modules
Choose agents if…
- agents is primarily Python; CoWork-OS is TypeScript.
- 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
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 (CoWork-OS/CoWork-OS) · observed Sep 20, 2026
- GitHub forks (CoWork-OS/CoWork-OS) · observed Sep 20, 2026
- Last push (CoWork-OS/CoWork-OS) · observed Sep 10, 2026
- License file (MIT) · observed Sep 20, 2026
- Decision facts (enrichment) · observed Jul 17, 2026
- Trust scan (lockfile / OSV) · observed Sep 6, 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: CoWork-OS 451 · agents 40k (synced Sep 20, 2026).
Common questions
- What is the difference between CoWork-OS and agents?
- CoWork-OS: Local-first personal agentic OS for coding and knowledge work with integrated AI assistants and automation.. 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 CoWork-OS over agents?
- Choose CoWork-OS over agents when CoWork-OS is primarily TypeScript; agents is Python; Tags unique to CoWork-OS: ai-assistants, ai-automation, claude, desktop-app; Also covers Model Training; CoWork-OS ships Docker support for self-hosted deployment; You prioritize local operation over cloud dependency.
- When should I choose agents over CoWork-OS?
- Choose agents over CoWork-OS when agents is primarily Python; CoWork-OS is TypeScript; 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.
- When should I avoid CoWork-OS?
- Require extensive collaboration features across multiple environments Expecting zero-local configuration, with all setup in the cloud Need compatibility only on Windows ARM64 without building native modules
- 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 CoWork-OS or agents more popular on GitHub?
- agents has more GitHub stars (39,823 vs 451). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints.
- Are CoWork-OS and agents open source?
- Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (CoWork-OS: MIT, agents: MIT).
- Where can I find alternatives to CoWork-OS or agents?
- GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at CoWork-OS alternatives and agents alternatives (CoWork-OS 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, CoWork-OS or agents?
- CoWork-OS: 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 CoWork-OS and agents?
- GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: CoWork-OS trust report; agents trust report.