--- title: "lingua vs 12-factor-agents" type: "comparison" canonical_url: "https://www.graphcanon.com/compare/facebookresearch-lingua-vs-humanlayer-12-factor-agents" tools: ["facebookresearch-lingua", "humanlayer-12-factor-agents"] --- # lingua vs 12-factor-agents *GraphCanon updated Jul 11, 2026* ## Verdict Pick lingua when lingua is primarily Python; 12-factor-agents is TypeScript; pick 12-factor-agents when 12-factor-agents is primarily TypeScript; lingua is Python. [lingua](https://github.com/facebookresearch/lingua) reports 4.8k GitHub stars, 272 forks, and 13 open issues, last pushed Jul 18, 2025. [12-factor-agents](https://github.com/humanlayer/12-factor-agents) has 24k stars, 1.8k forks, and 26 open issues, last pushed Sep 21, 2025. Figures are from public GitHub metadata via [lingua's repository](https://github.com/facebookresearch/lingua) and [12-factor-agents's repository](https://github.com/humanlayer/12-factor-agents). | | [lingua](/tools/facebookresearch-lingua.md) | [12-factor-agents](/tools/humanlayer-12-factor-agents.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Tagline | Meta Lingua: a lean, efficient, and easy-to-hack codebase to research LLMs. | Principles for building production-ready LLM-powered software | | Stars | 4,759 | 24,036 | | Forks | 272 | 1,834 | | Open issues | 13 | 26 | | Language | Python | TypeScript | | Adopt for | - | A TypeScript-based framework focused on applying 12-factor principles to build production-ready software with large language models. | | Persona | - | - | | Runtime | - | - | | License | BSD-3-Clause | The content and images are licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, while the code is covered by the Apache 2.0 License. | | Categories | LLM Frameworks | AI Agents, LLM Frameworks | ## Trust and health _Sourced signals - not a safety guarantee. No winner column._ | | [lingua](/tools/facebookresearch-lingua.md) | [12-factor-agents](/tools/humanlayer-12-factor-agents.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Days since push | 358d | 292d | | Open issues (now) | 13 | 26 | | Security scan | No criticals | No lockfile | | Full report | [trust report](/tools/facebookresearch-lingua/trust.md) | [trust report](/tools/humanlayer-12-factor-agents/trust.md) | ## Decision facts: 12-factor-agents - **Pricing:** freemium - Free to use with open-source licenses - **Requirements:** Min 4 GB RAM; Requires Docker; Requires a solid understanding of TypeScript and familiarity with concepts like prompt engineering and context window management. - **Adopt for:** A TypeScript-based framework focused on applying 12-factor principles to build production-ready software with large language models. - **License detail:** The content and images are licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, while the code is covered by the Apache 2.0 License. ## Choose when ### Choose lingua if… - lingua is primarily Python; 12-factor-agents is TypeScript. - License: lingua is BSD-3-Clause, 12-factor-agents is Other. - Tags unique to lingua: python. ### Choose 12-factor-agents if… - 12-factor-agents is primarily TypeScript; lingua is Python. - License: 12-factor-agents is Other, lingua is BSD-3-Clause. - Pricing: Free to use with open-source licenses. - Requirements: Min 4 GB RAM; Requires Docker; Requires a solid understanding of TypeScript and familiarity with concepts like prompt engineering and context window management.. - Tags unique to 12-factor-agents: 12-factor, agents, ai, context-window. - Also covers AI Agents. - You are specifically developing AI agents or LLM-powered applications in TypeScript and need a structured guideline grounded in the 12-factor app principles. ## When NOT to use lingua - Last GitHub push was 359 days ago (slowing maintenance, Jul 18, 2025). Validate activity before betting a new project on lingua. - LLM Frameworks: Avoid a framework for a single prompt-and-retrieve call; the abstraction can cost more than it saves. ## When NOT to use 12-factor-agents - If your project requires languages other than TypeScript or if your application already has a strong foundation not necessarily aligning with the 12-factor app principles. - When you’re looking for comprehensive deployment automation tools rather than guidance on building LLM-powered agents and ensuring their reliability in production environments. ## Common questions ### What is the difference between lingua and 12-factor-agents? lingua: Meta Lingua: a lean, efficient, and easy-to-hack codebase to research LLMs.. 12-factor-agents: Principles for building production-ready LLM-powered software. See the comparison table for live GitHub stats and shared categories. ### When should I choose lingua over 12-factor-agents? Choose lingua over 12-factor-agents when lingua is primarily Python; 12-factor-agents is TypeScript; License: lingua is BSD-3-Clause, 12-factor-agents is Other; Tags unique to lingua: python. ### When should I choose 12-factor-agents over lingua? Choose 12-factor-agents over lingua when 12-factor-agents is primarily TypeScript; lingua is Python; License: 12-factor-agents is Other, lingua is BSD-3-Clause; Pricing: Free to use with open-source licenses; Requirements: Min 4 GB RAM; Requires Docker; Requires a solid understanding of TypeScript and familiarity with concepts like prompt engineering and context window management.; Tags unique to 12-factor-agents: 12-factor, agents, ai, context-window; Also covers AI Agents; You are specifically developing AI agents or LLM-powered applications in TypeScript and need a structured guideline grounded in the 12-factor app principles. ### When should I avoid lingua? Last GitHub push was 359 days ago (slowing maintenance, Jul 18, 2025). Validate activity before betting a new project on lingua. LLM Frameworks: Avoid a framework for a single prompt-and-retrieve call; the abstraction can cost more than it saves. ### When should I avoid 12-factor-agents? If your project requires languages other than TypeScript or if your application already has a strong foundation not necessarily aligning with the 12-factor app principles. When you’re looking for comprehensive deployment automation tools rather than guidance on building LLM-powered agents and ensuring their reliability in production environments. ### Is lingua or 12-factor-agents more popular on GitHub? 12-factor-agents has more GitHub stars (24,036 vs 4,759). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints. ### Are lingua and 12-factor-agents open source? Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (lingua: BSD-3-Clause, 12-factor-agents: Other). ### Where can I find alternatives to lingua or 12-factor-agents? GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at [lingua alternatives](/tools/facebookresearch-lingua/alternatives) and [12-factor-agents alternatives](/tools/humanlayer-12-factor-agents/alternatives) ([lingua markdown twin](/tools/facebookresearch-lingua/alternatives.md), [12-factor-agents markdown twin](/tools/humanlayer-12-factor-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/facebookresearch-lingua-vs-humanlayer-12-factor-agents.md) mirrors this page for agents and LLM crawlers, with the same stats table and FAQ answers. ### Which is better maintained, lingua or 12-factor-agents? lingua: Slowing. 12-factor-agents: Slowing. 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 lingua and 12-factor-agents? GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: [lingua trust report](/tools/facebookresearch-lingua/trust); [12-factor-agents trust report](/tools/humanlayer-12-factor-agents/trust). --- **Machine-readable endpoints** - JSON: [`/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=facebookresearch-lingua`](/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=facebookresearch-lingua) - 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/_