--- title: "open-swe vs SWE-agent" type: "comparison" canonical_url: "https://www.graphcanon.com/compare/langchain-ai-open-swe-vs-swe-agent-swe-agent" tools: ["langchain-ai-open-swe", "swe-agent-swe-agent"] --- # open-swe vs SWE-agent *GraphCanon updated Aug 19, 2026* ## Verdict Pick open-swe if open-swe is an open-source asynchronous coding agent that allows customization of components like models, sandboxes, tools, triggers, prompts, and middleware; pick SWE-agent if critical Facts for SWE-agent. [open-swe](https://www.langchain.com/blog/open-swe-an-open-source-framework-for-internal-coding-agents) reports 11k GitHub stars, 1.2k forks, and 28 open issues, last pushed Aug 19, 2026. [SWE-agent](https://swe-agent.com) has 20k stars, 2.2k forks, and 82 open issues, last pushed Aug 17, 2026. Figures are from public GitHub metadata via [open-swe's repository](https://github.com/langchain-ai/open-swe) and [SWE-agent's repository](https://github.com/SWE-agent/SWE-agent). | | [open-swe](/tools/langchain-ai-open-swe.md) | [SWE-agent](/tools/swe-agent-swe-agent.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Tagline | An Open-Source Asynchronous Coding Agent | Automatically fixes GitHub issues using a chosen language model | | Stars | 10,576 | 20,079 | | Forks | 1,228 | 2,201 | | Open issues | 28 | 82 | | Language | Python | Python | | Adopt for | open-swe is an open-source asynchronous coding agent that allows customization of components like models, sandboxes, tools, triggers, prompts, and middleware. | Critical Facts for SWE-agent | | Persona | - | - | | Runtime | - | - | | License | MIT | MIT | | Categories | AI Agents, Evaluation & Observability | AI Agents, Developer Tools | ## Trust and health _Sourced signals - not a safety guarantee. No winner column._ | | [open-swe](/tools/langchain-ai-open-swe.md) | [SWE-agent](/tools/swe-agent-swe-agent.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Days since push | 0d | 1d | | Open issues (now) | 28 | 82 | | Stars delta | +221 (30d) | +227 (30d) | | Open issues delta | +4 (30d) | +39 (30d) | | Full report | [trust report](/tools/langchain-ai-open-swe/trust.md) | [trust report](/tools/swe-agent-swe-agent/trust.md) | ## Decision facts: open-swe - **Adopt for:** open-swe is an open-source asynchronous coding agent that allows customization of components like models, sandboxes, tools, triggers, prompts, and middleware. ## Decision facts: SWE-agent - **Adopt for:** Critical Facts for SWE-agent ## Choose when ### Choose open-swe if… - Tags unique to open-swe: anthropic, claudecode, openai. - Also covers Evaluation & Observability. - open-swe ships Docker support for self-hosted deployment. - If you are integrating with Linear/Slack/GitHub workflows specifically as it seems to support these platforms natively. ### Choose SWE-agent if… - Tags unique to SWE-agent: agent-based-model, cybersecurity, lms. - Also covers Developer Tools. - You need to automatically fix GitHub issues using a selected language model and want the flexibility of defining which model powers the agent's responses. ## When NOT to use open-swe - Not recommended if you require real-time interaction with coding agents instead of asynchronous communication. - Avoid choosing this tool if your project does not align well with customization options provided or if integration complexity outweighs benefits. ## When NOT to use SWE-agent - If you prefer using a single fixed model for all issues without the option to select different language models based on the task's requirements. - For projects that require deep domain-specific knowledge beyond general coding tasks or where human judgment plays an essential role. - In scenarios where security standards are extremely stringent and automated systems, especially those that leverage external data for training like LLMs, may not meet compliance requirements. ## Common questions ### What is the difference between open-swe and SWE-agent? open-swe: An Open-Source Asynchronous Coding Agent. SWE-agent: Automatically fixes GitHub issues using a chosen language model. See the comparison table for live GitHub stats and shared categories. ### When should I choose open-swe over SWE-agent? Choose open-swe over SWE-agent when Tags unique to open-swe: anthropic, claudecode, openai; Also covers Evaluation & Observability; open-swe ships Docker support for self-hosted deployment; If you are integrating with Linear/Slack/GitHub workflows specifically as it seems to support these platforms natively. ### When should I choose SWE-agent over open-swe? Choose SWE-agent over open-swe when Tags unique to SWE-agent: agent-based-model, cybersecurity, lms; Also covers Developer Tools; You need to automatically fix GitHub issues using a selected language model and want the flexibility of defining which model powers the agent's responses. ### When should I avoid open-swe? Not recommended if you require real-time interaction with coding agents instead of asynchronous communication. Avoid choosing this tool if your project does not align well with customization options provided or if integration complexity outweighs benefits. ### When should I avoid SWE-agent? If you prefer using a single fixed model for all issues without the option to select different language models based on the task's requirements. For projects that require deep domain-specific knowledge beyond general coding tasks or where human judgment plays an essential role. In scenarios where security standards are extremely stringent and automated systems, especially those that leverage external data for training like LLMs, may not meet compliance requirements. ### Is open-swe or SWE-agent more popular on GitHub? SWE-agent has more GitHub stars (20,079 vs 10,576). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints. ### Are open-swe and SWE-agent open source? Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (open-swe: MIT, SWE-agent: MIT). ### Where can I find alternatives to open-swe or SWE-agent? GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at [open-swe alternatives](/tools/langchain-ai-open-swe/alternatives) and [SWE-agent alternatives](/tools/swe-agent-swe-agent/alternatives) ([open-swe markdown twin](/tools/langchain-ai-open-swe/alternatives.md), [SWE-agent markdown twin](/tools/swe-agent-swe-agent/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/langchain-ai-open-swe-vs-swe-agent-swe-agent.md) mirrors this page for agents and LLM crawlers, with the same stats table and FAQ answers. ### Which is better maintained, open-swe or SWE-agent? open-swe: Very active. SWE-agent: 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 open-swe and SWE-agent? GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: [open-swe trust report](/tools/langchain-ai-open-swe/trust); [SWE-agent trust report](/tools/swe-agent-swe-agent/trust). --- **Machine-readable endpoints** - JSON: [`/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=langchain-ai-open-swe`](/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=langchain-ai-open-swe) - 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/_