--- title: "go-micro vs agency" type: "comparison" canonical_url: "https://www.graphcanon.com/compare/micro-go-micro-vs-neurocult-agency" tools: ["micro-go-micro", "neurocult-agency"] --- # go-micro vs agency *GraphCanon updated Aug 21, 2026* ## Verdict Pick go-micro if go-micro is a Go-based agent harness and service framework focused on microservices architecture with integrated AI-agent capabilities; pick agency if agency is a Go-idiomatic library aimed at developers looking to work with Large Language Models and generative AI techniques. [go-micro](https://go-micro.dev) reports 23k GitHub stars, 2.4k forks, and 8 open issues, last pushed Aug 19, 2026. [agency](https://github.com/neurocult/agency) has 514 stars, 36 forks, and 4 open issues, last pushed Jan 8, 2025. Figures are from public GitHub metadata via [go-micro's repository](https://github.com/micro/go-micro) and [agency's repository](https://github.com/neurocult/agency). | | [go-micro](/tools/micro-go-micro.md) | [agency](/tools/neurocult-agency.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Tagline | A Go agent harness and service framework | Library for exploring Large Language Models and generative AI in Go | | Stars | 23,024 | 514 | | Forks | 2,416 | 36 | | Open issues | 8 | 4 | | Language | Go | Go | | Adopt for | go-micro is a Go-based agent harness and service framework focused on microservices architecture with integrated AI-agent capabilities. | Agency is a Go-idiomatic library aimed at developers looking to work with Large Language Models and generative AI techniques. | | Persona | - | - | | Runtime | - | - | | License | Apache-2.0 | MIT | | Categories | AI Agents, Developer Tools | AI Agents, LLM Frameworks | ## Trust and health _Sourced signals - not a safety guarantee. No winner column._ | | [go-micro](/tools/micro-go-micro.md) | [agency](/tools/neurocult-agency.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Maintenance | Very active (96%) | Dormant (18%) | | Days since push | 0d | 589d | | Open issues (now) | 8 | 4 | | Stars delta | +55 (30d) | +2 (30d) | | Full report | [trust report](/tools/micro-go-micro/trust.md) | [trust report](/tools/neurocult-agency/trust.md) | ## Decision facts: go-micro - **Adopt for:** go-micro is a Go-based agent harness and service framework focused on microservices architecture with integrated AI-agent capabilities. ## Decision facts: agency - **Pricing:** freemium - Agency is available under MIT license and is free for use, modification, and distribution. Additional services or integrations might involve costs not outlined within the repository. - **Adopt for:** Agency is a Go-idiomatic library aimed at developers looking to work with Large Language Models and generative AI techniques. ## Choose when ### Choose go-micro if… - License: go-micro is Apache-2.0, agency is MIT. - Tags unique to go-micro: ai, ai-agents, distributed-systems, golang. - Also covers Developer Tools. - go-micro ships Docker support for self-hosted deployment. - Use go-micro if you seek to leverage its built-in `plan` and `delegate` capabilities for orchestrating multi-step workflows across microservices. ### Choose agency if… - License: agency is MIT, go-micro is Apache-2.0. - Pricing: Agency is available under MIT license and is free for use, modification, and distribution. Additional services or integrations might involve costs not outlined within the repository.. - Tags unique to agency: agents, generative-ai, language-models, neural-networks. - Also covers LLM Frameworks. - If you're proficient in Go and want to implement LLMs within a familiar ecosystem, consider agency. ## When NOT to use go-micro - Avoid go-micro if you are looking for a tool that supports extensive documentation or examples outside of its inherent capabilities with `plan` and `delegate`; focus is more on agent harness and less. - Steer clear of this framework if your project architecture must be Docker-based, as the deployment methods provided by go-micro rely primarily on SSH and systemd rather than containerization. ## When NOT to use agency - Avoid agency if your primary programming expertise lies outside of the Go ecosystem. - Not recommended if you require real-time performance characteristics that surpass what typical LLM exploration libraries can provide. ## Common questions ### What is the difference between go-micro and agency? go-micro: A Go agent harness and service framework. agency: Library for exploring Large Language Models and generative AI in Go. See the comparison table for live GitHub stats and shared categories. ### When should I choose go-micro over agency? Choose go-micro over agency when License: go-micro is Apache-2.0, agency is MIT; Tags unique to go-micro: ai, ai-agents, distributed-systems, golang; Also covers Developer Tools; go-micro ships Docker support for self-hosted deployment; Use go-micro if you seek to leverage its built-in `plan` and `delegate` capabilities for orchestrating multi-step workflows across microservices. ### When should I choose agency over go-micro? Choose agency over go-micro when License: agency is MIT, go-micro is Apache-2.0; Pricing: Agency is available under MIT license and is free for use, modification, and distribution. Additional services or integrations might involve costs not outlined within the repository.; Tags unique to agency: agents, generative-ai, language-models, neural-networks; Also covers LLM Frameworks; If you're proficient in Go and want to implement LLMs within a familiar ecosystem, consider agency. ### When should I avoid go-micro? Avoid go-micro if you are looking for a tool that supports extensive documentation or examples outside of its inherent capabilities with `plan` and `delegate`; focus is more on agent harness and less. Steer clear of this framework if your project architecture must be Docker-based, as the deployment methods provided by go-micro rely primarily on SSH and systemd rather than containerization. ### When should I avoid agency? Avoid agency if your primary programming expertise lies outside of the Go ecosystem. Not recommended if you require real-time performance characteristics that surpass what typical LLM exploration libraries can provide. ### Is go-micro or agency more popular on GitHub? go-micro has more GitHub stars (23,024 vs 514). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints. ### Are go-micro and agency open source? Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (go-micro: Apache-2.0, agency: MIT). ### Where can I find alternatives to go-micro or agency? GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at [go-micro alternatives](/tools/micro-go-micro/alternatives) and [agency alternatives](/tools/neurocult-agency/alternatives) ([go-micro markdown twin](/tools/micro-go-micro/alternatives.md), [agency markdown twin](/tools/neurocult-agency/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/micro-go-micro-vs-neurocult-agency.md) mirrors this page for agents and LLM crawlers, with the same stats table and FAQ answers. ### Which is better maintained, go-micro or agency? go-micro: Very active. agency: Dormant. 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 go-micro and agency? GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: [go-micro trust report](/tools/micro-go-micro/trust); [agency trust report](/tools/neurocult-agency/trust). --- **Machine-readable endpoints** - JSON: [`/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=micro-go-micro`](/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=micro-go-micro) - 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/_