--- title: "AirSim vs hold" type: "comparison" canonical_url: "https://www.graphcanon.com/compare/microsoft-airsim-vs-zc-alexfan-hold" tools: ["microsoft-airsim", "zc-alexfan-hold"] --- # AirSim vs hold *GraphCanon updated Aug 1, 2026* ## Verdict Pick AirSim if open source simulator for autonomous vehicles using Unreal Engine and Unity from Microsoft AI & Research, focusing on autonomous vehicle behavior with deep reinforcement learning capabilities; pick hold if hOLD for monocular video analysis of hand-object interactions without prior object models. [AirSim](https://microsoft.github.io/AirSim/) reports 18k GitHub stars, 4.9k forks, and 774 open issues, last pushed Jun 30, 2026. [hold](https://zc-alexfan.github.io/hold) has 489 stars, 16 forks, and 9 open issues, last pushed Mar 10, 2026. Figures are from public GitHub metadata via [AirSim's repository](https://github.com/microsoft/AirSim) and [hold's repository](https://github.com/zc-alexfan/hold). | | [AirSim](/tools/microsoft-airsim.md) | [hold](/tools/zc-alexfan-hold.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Tagline | Open source simulator for autonomous vehicles built on Unreal Engine / Unity | Method for joint reconstruction of articulated hands and objects from monocular videos | | Stars | 18,353 | 489 | | Forks | 4,908 | 16 | | Open issues | 774 | 9 | | Language | C++ | Python | | Adopt for | Open source simulator for autonomous vehicles using Unreal Engine and Unity from Microsoft AI & Research, focusing on autonomous vehicle behavior with deep reinforcement learning capabilities. | HOLD for monocular video analysis of hand-object interactions without prior object models. | | Persona | - | - | | Runtime | - | - | | License | AirSim operates under the MIT License, which allows for free use and modification in both open source and proprietary software. | MIT | | Categories | Computer Vision, Model Training | Computer Vision | ## Trust and health _Sourced signals - not a safety guarantee. No winner column._ | | [AirSim](/tools/microsoft-airsim.md) | [hold](/tools/zc-alexfan-hold.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Maintenance | Steady (60%) | Slowing (36%) | | Days since push | 30d | 143d | | Open issues (now) | 774 | 9 | | Owner type | Organization | User | | Full report | [trust report](/tools/microsoft-airsim/trust.md) | [trust report](/tools/zc-alexfan-hold/trust.md) | ## Decision facts: AirSim - **Requirements:** Supports Unreal Engine or Unity for simulation environments. - **Adopt for:** Open source simulator for autonomous vehicles using Unreal Engine and Unity from Microsoft AI & Research, focusing on autonomous vehicle behavior with deep reinforcement learning capabilities. - **License detail:** AirSim operates under the MIT License, which allows for free use and modification in both open source and proprietary software. ## Decision facts: hold - **Adopt for:** HOLD for monocular video analysis of hand-object interactions without prior object models. ## Choose when ### Choose AirSim if… - AirSim is primarily C++; hold is Python. - License: AirSim is Other, hold is MIT. - Requirements: Supports Unreal Engine or Unity for simulation environments.. - Tags unique to AirSim: airsim, autonomous-vehicles, control-systems, cross-platform. - Also covers Model Training. - When you need to simulate environments built specifically within the Unreal Engine or Unity game engines. ### Choose hold if… - hold is primarily Python; AirSim is C++. - License: hold is MIT, AirSim is Other. - Tags unique to hold: 3d-reconstruction, augmented-reality, hand-object-interaction, neural-networks. - When no prior knowledge of object shapes is available but joint 3D reconstruction of hands manipulating objects from single-view videos is needed ## When NOT to use AirSim - If your project requires simulation within a different game engine not supported by AirSim, such as CryEngine or Godot. - When cross-platform flexibility is less of a priority compared to other specific requirements like performance optimization exclusive to one operating system. - In cases where the development environment lacks adequate support for C++, making integration efforts more cumbersome. ## When NOT to use hold - If there are pre-scanned object models that could enhance accuracy beyond self-reconstruction capabilities - In scenarios where the computational resources for preprocessing and training on custom datasets are insufficient ## Common questions ### What is the difference between AirSim and hold? AirSim: Open source simulator for autonomous vehicles built on Unreal Engine / Unity. hold: Method for joint reconstruction of articulated hands and objects from monocular videos. See the comparison table for live GitHub stats and shared categories. ### When should I choose AirSim over hold? Choose AirSim over hold when AirSim is primarily C++; hold is Python; License: AirSim is Other, hold is MIT; Requirements: Supports Unreal Engine or Unity for simulation environments.; Tags unique to AirSim: airsim, autonomous-vehicles, control-systems, cross-platform; Also covers Model Training; When you need to simulate environments built specifically within the Unreal Engine or Unity game engines. ### When should I choose hold over AirSim? Choose hold over AirSim when hold is primarily Python; AirSim is C++; License: hold is MIT, AirSim is Other; Tags unique to hold: 3d-reconstruction, augmented-reality, hand-object-interaction, neural-networks; When no prior knowledge of object shapes is available but joint 3D reconstruction of hands manipulating objects from single-view videos is needed. ### When should I avoid AirSim? If your project requires simulation within a different game engine not supported by AirSim, such as CryEngine or Godot. When cross-platform flexibility is less of a priority compared to other specific requirements like performance optimization exclusive to one operating system. In cases where the development environment lacks adequate support for C++, making integration efforts more cumbersome. ### When should I avoid hold? If there are pre-scanned object models that could enhance accuracy beyond self-reconstruction capabilities In scenarios where the computational resources for preprocessing and training on custom datasets are insufficient ### Is AirSim or hold more popular on GitHub? AirSim has more GitHub stars (18,353 vs 489). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints. ### Are AirSim and hold open source? Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (AirSim: Other, hold: MIT). ### Where can I find alternatives to AirSim or hold? GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at [AirSim alternatives](/tools/microsoft-airsim/alternatives) and [hold alternatives](/tools/zc-alexfan-hold/alternatives) ([AirSim markdown twin](/tools/microsoft-airsim/alternatives.md), [hold markdown twin](/tools/zc-alexfan-hold/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/microsoft-airsim-vs-zc-alexfan-hold.md) mirrors this page for agents and LLM crawlers, with the same stats table and FAQ answers. ### Which is better maintained, AirSim or hold? AirSim: Steady. hold: 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 AirSim and hold? GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: [AirSim trust report](/tools/microsoft-airsim/trust); [hold trust report](/tools/zc-alexfan-hold/trust). --- **Machine-readable endpoints** - JSON: [`/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=microsoft-airsim`](/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=microsoft-airsim) - 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/_