--- title: "qabot vs agents" type: "comparison" canonical_url: "https://www.graphcanon.com/compare/hardbyte-qabot-vs-wshobson-agents" tools: ["hardbyte-qabot", "wshobson-agents"] --- # qabot vs agents *GraphCanon updated Jul 11, 2026* ## Verdict Pick qabot when license: qabot is Apache-2.0, agents is MIT; pick agents when license: agents is MIT, qabot is Apache-2.0. [qabot](https://github.com/hardbyte/qabot) reports 245 GitHub stars, 20 forks, and 2 open issues, last pushed Mar 5, 2025. [agents](https://sethhobson.com) has 38k stars, 4.0k forks, and 1 open issues, last pushed Jul 8, 2026. Figures are from public GitHub metadata via [qabot's repository](https://github.com/hardbyte/qabot) and [agents's repository](https://github.com/wshobson/agents). | | [qabot](/tools/hardbyte-qabot.md) | [agents](/tools/wshobson-agents.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Tagline | CLI based natural language queries on local or remote data | Multi-harness agentic plugin marketplace for various AI agents | | Stars | 245 | 37,779 | | Forks | 20 | 4,050 | | Open issues | 2 | 1 | | Language | Python | Python | | 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 | | Persona | - | - | | Runtime | - | - | | License | Apache-2.0 | MIT | | Categories | Developer Tools | AI Agents, Developer Tools | ## Trust and health _Sourced signals - not a safety guarantee. No winner column._ | | [qabot](/tools/hardbyte-qabot.md) | [agents](/tools/wshobson-agents.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Maintenance | Dormant (18%) | Very active (96%) | | Days since push | 492d | 2d | | Open issues (now) | 2 | 1 | | Security scan | No lockfile | No MCP manifest | | Full report | [trust report](/tools/hardbyte-qabot/trust.md) | [trust report](/tools/wshobson-agents/trust.md) | ## 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 qabot if… - License: qabot is Apache-2.0, agents is MIT. - Tags unique to qabot: python. - qabot ships Docker support for self-hosted deployment. ### Choose agents if… - License: agents is MIT, qabot is Apache-2.0. - Tags unique to agents: agent-skills, agentic-ai, automation, prompt-engineering. - Also covers AI Agents. - 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 qabot - Last GitHub push was 493 days ago (dormant maintenance, Mar 5, 2025). Validate activity before betting a new project on qabot. - Developer Tools: A gateway is overkill when you're pinned to a single provider and model. ## 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 qabot and agents? qabot: CLI based natural language queries on local or remote data. 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 qabot over agents? Choose qabot over agents when License: qabot is Apache-2.0, agents is MIT; Tags unique to qabot: python; qabot ships Docker support for self-hosted deployment. ### When should I choose agents over qabot? Choose agents over qabot when License: agents is MIT, qabot is Apache-2.0; Tags unique to agents: agent-skills, agentic-ai, automation, prompt-engineering; Also covers AI Agents; 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 qabot? Last GitHub push was 493 days ago (dormant maintenance, Mar 5, 2025). Validate activity before betting a new project on qabot. Developer Tools: A gateway is overkill when you're pinned to a single provider and model. ### 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 qabot or agents more popular on GitHub? agents has more GitHub stars (37,779 vs 245). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints. ### Are qabot and agents open source? Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (qabot: Apache-2.0, agents: MIT). ### Where can I find alternatives to qabot or agents? GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at [qabot alternatives](/tools/hardbyte-qabot/alternatives) and [agents alternatives](/tools/wshobson-agents/alternatives) ([qabot markdown twin](/tools/hardbyte-qabot/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/hardbyte-qabot-vs-wshobson-agents.md) mirrors this page for agents and LLM crawlers, with the same stats table and FAQ answers. ### Which is better maintained, qabot or agents? qabot: Dormant. 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 qabot and agents? GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: [qabot trust report](/tools/hardbyte-qabot/trust); [agents trust report](/tools/wshobson-agents/trust). --- **Machine-readable endpoints** - JSON: [`/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=hardbyte-qabot`](/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=hardbyte-qabot) - 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/_