--- title: "9router vs agents" type: "comparison" canonical_url: "https://www.graphcanon.com/compare/decolua-9router-vs-wshobson-agents" tools: ["decolua-9router", "wshobson-agents"] --- # 9router vs agents *GraphCanon updated Aug 20, 2026* ## Verdict Pick 9router if 9router is a gateway service that connects multiple coding AI agents with free providers, providing token savings through RTK and offering unlimited free access to certain AI models; 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. [9router](https://9router.com) reports 26k GitHub stars, 4.6k forks, and 1.7k open issues, last pushed Aug 14, 2026. [agents](https://sethhobson.com) has 39k stars, 4.1k forks, and 5 open issues, last pushed Aug 18, 2026. Figures are from public GitHub metadata via [9router's repository](https://github.com/decolua/9router) and [agents's repository](https://github.com/wshobson/agents). | | [9router](/tools/decolua-9router.md) | [agents](/tools/wshobson-agents.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Tagline | Unlimited FREE AI coding with auto-fallback and token savings | Multi-harness agentic plugin marketplace for various AI agents | | Stars | 25,841 | 38,928 | | Forks | 4,635 | 4,145 | | Open issues | 1,700 | 5 | | Language | JavaScript | Python | | Adopt for | 9router is a gateway service that connects multiple coding AI agents with free providers, providing token savings through RTK and offering unlimited free access to certain AI models. | 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 | - | - | | Runtime | - | - | | License | MIT | MIT | | Categories | AI Agents, Inference & Serving | AI Agents, Developer Tools | ## Trust and health _Sourced signals - not a safety guarantee. No winner column._ | | [9router](/tools/decolua-9router.md) | [agents](/tools/wshobson-agents.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Days since push | 5d | 1d | | Open issues (now) | 1.7k | 5 | | Stars delta | +3.1k (30d) | +860 (30d) | | Open issues delta | +479 (30d) | +2 (30d) | | Full report | [trust report](/tools/decolua-9router/trust.md) | [trust report](/tools/wshobson-agents/trust.md) | **Typed relationship:** 9router _(integrates with)_ agents 9Router focuses on connecting multiple AI code tools, which could be integrated into a multi-harness marketplace for various AI and coding tools like 'agents', providing users with more options and flexibility. ## Shared compatibility - **Cursor**: [9router](/tools/decolua-9router.md) - Works with Cursor; [agents](/tools/wshobson-agents.md) - Works with Cursor ## Decision facts: 9router - **Pricing:** unknown - Offers a 'TOKEN SAVER' tier with built-in RTK for FREE, which saves up to 40% on tokens. Also supports connections to completely FREE providers like Kiro AI and OpenCode Free without any sign-up or on - **Adopt for:** 9router is a gateway service that connects multiple coding AI agents with free providers, providing token savings through RTK and offering unlimited free access to certain AI models. ## Decision facts: agents - **Adopt for:** 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 ## Choose when ### Choose 9router if… - 9router is primarily JavaScript; agents is Python. - Pricing: Offers a 'TOKEN SAVER' tier with built-in RTK for FREE, which saves up to 40% on tokens. Also supports connections to completely FREE providers like Kiro AI and OpenCode Free without any sign-up or on. - 9Router focuses on connecting multiple AI code tools, which could be integrated into a multi-harness marketplace for various AI and coding tools like 'agents', providing users with more options and flexibility. - Tags unique to 9router: ai-agents, free-ai, openai-proxy, token-saver. - Also covers Inference & Serving. - 9router ships Docker support for self-hosted deployment. - Use when you need to connect to various coding AI agents like Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Cline, Copilot, and others via a unified gateway. ### Choose agents if… - agents is primarily Python; 9router is JavaScript. - 9Router focuses on connecting multiple AI code tools, which could be integrated into a multi-harness marketplace for various AI and coding tools like 'agents', providing users with more options and flexibility. - Tags unique to agents: agent-skills, agentic-ai, automation, prompt-engineering. - Also covers Developer Tools. - 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 9router - Not suitable if you specifically need advanced or high-priority services from premium providers like Claude Code Pro/Max or Codex Plus/Pro, which offer dedicated support and higher limits. - Avoid using this tool if your coding requirements exceed the capabilities of free models connected via 9router's gateway service. ## 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 ## Common questions ### What is the difference between 9router and agents? 9router: Unlimited FREE AI coding with auto-fallback and token savings. 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 9router over agents? Choose 9router over agents when 9router is primarily JavaScript; agents is Python; Pricing: Offers a 'TOKEN SAVER' tier with built-in RTK for FREE, which saves up to 40% on tokens. Also supports connections to completely FREE providers like Kiro AI and OpenCode Free without any sign-up or on; 9Router focuses on connecting multiple AI code tools, which could be integrated into a multi-harness marketplace for various AI and coding tools like 'agents', providing users with more options and flexibility; Tags unique to 9router: ai-agents, free-ai, openai-proxy, token-saver; Also covers Inference & Serving; 9router ships Docker support for self-hosted deployment; Use when you need to connect to various coding AI agents like Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Cline, Copilot, and others via a unified gateway. ### When should I choose agents over 9router? Choose agents over 9router when agents is primarily Python; 9router is JavaScript; 9Router focuses on connecting multiple AI code tools, which could be integrated into a multi-harness marketplace for various AI and coding tools like 'agents', providing users with more options and flexibility; Tags unique to agents: agent-skills, agentic-ai, automation, prompt-engineering; Also covers Developer Tools; 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 9router? Not suitable if you specifically need advanced or high-priority services from premium providers like Claude Code Pro/Max or Codex Plus/Pro, which offer dedicated support and higher limits. Avoid using this tool if your coding requirements exceed the capabilities of free models connected via 9router's gateway service. ### 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 9router or agents more popular on GitHub? agents has more GitHub stars (38,928 vs 25,841). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints. ### Are 9router and agents open source? Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (9router: MIT, agents: MIT). ### Where can I find alternatives to 9router or agents? GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at [9router alternatives](/tools/decolua-9router/alternatives) and [agents alternatives](/tools/wshobson-agents/alternatives) ([9router markdown twin](/tools/decolua-9router/alternatives.md), [agents markdown twin](/tools/wshobson-agents/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/decolua-9router-vs-wshobson-agents.md) mirrors this page for agents and LLM crawlers, with the same stats table and FAQ answers. ### Which is better maintained, 9router or agents? 9router: 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 9router and agents? GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: [9router trust report](/tools/decolua-9router/trust); [agents trust report](/tools/wshobson-agents/trust). --- **Machine-readable endpoints** - JSON: [`/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=decolua-9router`](/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=decolua-9router) - 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/_