--- title: "agent-starter-pack vs RagaAI-Catalyst" type: "comparison" canonical_url: "https://www.graphcanon.com/compare/googlecloudplatform-agent-starter-pack-vs-raga-ai-hub-ragaai-catalyst" tools: ["googlecloudplatform-agent-starter-pack", "raga-ai-hub-ragaai-catalyst"] --- # agent-starter-pack vs RagaAI-Catalyst *GraphCanon updated Aug 20, 2026* ## Verdict Pick agent-starter-pack if agent-starter-pack offers built-in CI/CD, evaluation tools, and observability for deploying generative AI agents on Google Cloud with Python; pick RagaAI-Catalyst if ragaAI-Catalyst emerges as a specialized Python framework designed for monitoring and evaluating AI agents, with unique features around self-hosted dashboards, advanced analytics, and support for tracing and debugging LL. [agent-starter-pack](http://goo.gle/agents-cli) reports 6.5k GitHub stars, 1.5k forks, and 49 open issues, last pushed Jul 21, 2026. [RagaAI-Catalyst](https://catalyst.raga.ai/) has 16k stars, 3.6k forks, and 34 open issues, last pushed Feb 11, 2026. Figures are from public GitHub metadata via [agent-starter-pack's repository](https://github.com/GoogleCloudPlatform/agent-starter-pack) and [RagaAI-Catalyst's repository](https://github.com/raga-ai-hub/RagaAI-Catalyst). | | [agent-starter-pack](/tools/googlecloudplatform-agent-starter-pack.md) | [RagaAI-Catalyst](/tools/raga-ai-hub-ragaai-catalyst.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Tagline | Ship AI Agents to Google Cloud in minutes with built-in CI/CD, evaluation, and observability | Python SDK for AI agent observability and evaluation | | Stars | 6,537 | 16,148 | | Forks | 1,502 | 3,565 | | Open issues | 49 | 34 | | Language | Python | Python | | Adopt for | agent-starter-pack offers built-in CI/CD, evaluation tools, and observability for deploying generative AI agents on Google Cloud with Python. | RagaAI-Catalyst emerges as a specialized Python framework designed for monitoring and evaluating AI agents, with unique features around self-hosted dashboards, advanced analytics, and support for tracing and debugging LL | | Persona | - | - | | Runtime | - | - | | License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 | | Categories | AI Agents, Evaluation & Observability | AI Agents, Evaluation & Observability | ## Trust and health _Sourced signals - not a safety guarantee. No winner column._ | | [agent-starter-pack](/tools/googlecloudplatform-agent-starter-pack.md) | [RagaAI-Catalyst](/tools/raga-ai-hub-ragaai-catalyst.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Maintenance | Active (82%) | Slowing (36%) | | Days since push | 29d | 189d | | Open issues (now) | 49 | 34 | | Stars delta | +18 (30d) | +5 (30d) | | Open issues delta | +1 (30d) | 0 (30d) | | Full report | [trust report](/tools/googlecloudplatform-agent-starter-pack/trust.md) | [trust report](/tools/raga-ai-hub-ragaai-catalyst/trust.md) | ## Shared compatibility - **Python**: [agent-starter-pack](/tools/googlecloudplatform-agent-starter-pack.md) - Python runtime; [RagaAI-Catalyst](/tools/raga-ai-hub-ragaai-catalyst.md) - Python runtime ## Decision facts: agent-starter-pack - **Requirements:** Depends on Python 3.10+.; Requires the Google Cloud SDK for interacting with GCP services.; Terraform is needed for deployment purposes.; Make utility should be installed for development tasks. - **Adopt for:** agent-starter-pack offers built-in CI/CD, evaluation tools, and observability for deploying generative AI agents on Google Cloud with Python. ## Decision facts: RagaAI-Catalyst - **Adopt for:** RagaAI-Catalyst emerges as a specialized Python framework designed for monitoring and evaluating AI agents, with unique features around self-hosted dashboards, advanced analytics, and support for tracing and debugging LL ## Choose when ### Choose agent-starter-pack if… - Requirements: Depends on Python 3.10+.; Requires the Google Cloud SDK for interacting with GCP services.; Terraform is needed for deployment purposes.; Make utility should be installed for development tasks.. - Tags unique to agent-starter-pack: gcp, gemini, genai-agents, generative-ai. - You are working with Google Cloud and wish to deploy generative AI agents quickly using production-ready templates that come with integrated CI/CD pipelines. ### Choose RagaAI-Catalyst if… - Tags unique to RagaAI-Catalyst: agentic-ai, agentic-ai-development, agentneo, ai-agent-monitoring. - When you need comprehensive tools for the observability of complex multi-agentic systems. - More GitHub stars (16k vs 6.5k) - visibility, not fit. ## When NOT to use agent-starter-pack - Your project is hosted on a cloud provider other than Google Cloud, as this tool is optimized for GCP services and uses Terraform specifically configured for deployment with it. - You do not need or want built-in CI/CD pipelines and evaluation tools, preferring to manage these components separately through different tools or self-configured setups. ## When NOT to use RagaAI-Catalyst - When you prefer a language-agnostic solution or require support outside of the Python ecosystem. - If your primary need is focused solely on basic monitoring without advanced debugging and evaluation features. - For projects that do not utilize multi-agentic systems or do not benefit from timeline and execution graph visualizations. - In scenarios where a fully managed service with no self-hosting requirements is preferred. ## Common questions ### What is the difference between agent-starter-pack and RagaAI-Catalyst? agent-starter-pack: Ship AI Agents to Google Cloud in minutes with built-in CI/CD, evaluation, and observability. RagaAI-Catalyst: Python SDK for AI agent observability and evaluation. See the comparison table for live GitHub stats and shared categories. ### When should I choose agent-starter-pack over RagaAI-Catalyst? Choose agent-starter-pack over RagaAI-Catalyst when Requirements: Depends on Python 3.10+.; Requires the Google Cloud SDK for interacting with GCP services.; Terraform is needed for deployment purposes.; Make utility should be installed for development tasks.; Tags unique to agent-starter-pack: gcp, gemini, genai-agents, generative-ai; You are working with Google Cloud and wish to deploy generative AI agents quickly using production-ready templates that come with integrated CI/CD pipelines. ### When should I choose RagaAI-Catalyst over agent-starter-pack? Choose RagaAI-Catalyst over agent-starter-pack when Tags unique to RagaAI-Catalyst: agentic-ai, agentic-ai-development, agentneo, ai-agent-monitoring; When you need comprehensive tools for the observability of complex multi-agentic systems; More GitHub stars (16k vs 6.5k) - visibility, not fit. ### When should I avoid agent-starter-pack? Your project is hosted on a cloud provider other than Google Cloud, as this tool is optimized for GCP services and uses Terraform specifically configured for deployment with it. You do not need or want built-in CI/CD pipelines and evaluation tools, preferring to manage these components separately through different tools or self-configured setups. ### When should I avoid RagaAI-Catalyst? When you prefer a language-agnostic solution or require support outside of the Python ecosystem. If your primary need is focused solely on basic monitoring without advanced debugging and evaluation features. For projects that do not utilize multi-agentic systems or do not benefit from timeline and execution graph visualizations. In scenarios where a fully managed service with no self-hosting requirements is preferred. ### Is agent-starter-pack or RagaAI-Catalyst more popular on GitHub? RagaAI-Catalyst has more GitHub stars (16,148 vs 6,537). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints. ### Are agent-starter-pack and RagaAI-Catalyst open source? Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (agent-starter-pack: Apache-2.0, RagaAI-Catalyst: Apache-2.0). ### Where can I find alternatives to agent-starter-pack or RagaAI-Catalyst? GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at [agent-starter-pack alternatives](/tools/googlecloudplatform-agent-starter-pack/alternatives) and [RagaAI-Catalyst alternatives](/tools/raga-ai-hub-ragaai-catalyst/alternatives) ([agent-starter-pack markdown twin](/tools/googlecloudplatform-agent-starter-pack/alternatives.md), [RagaAI-Catalyst markdown twin](/tools/raga-ai-hub-ragaai-catalyst/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/googlecloudplatform-agent-starter-pack-vs-raga-ai-hub-ragaai-catalyst.md) mirrors this page for agents and LLM crawlers, with the same stats table and FAQ answers. ### Which is better maintained, agent-starter-pack or RagaAI-Catalyst? agent-starter-pack: Active. RagaAI-Catalyst: 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 agent-starter-pack and RagaAI-Catalyst? GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: [agent-starter-pack trust report](/tools/googlecloudplatform-agent-starter-pack/trust); [RagaAI-Catalyst trust report](/tools/raga-ai-hub-ragaai-catalyst/trust). --- **Machine-readable endpoints** - JSON: [`/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=googlecloudplatform-agent-starter-pack`](/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=googlecloudplatform-agent-starter-pack) - 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/_