--- title: "pmb vs honcho" type: "comparison" canonical_url: "https://www.graphcanon.com/compare/oleksiijko-pmb-vs-plastic-labs-honcho" tools: ["oleksiijko-pmb", "plastic-labs-honcho"] --- # pmb vs honcho *GraphCanon updated Aug 23, 2026* ## Verdict Pick pmb if pmb - Local-first persistent memory for AI coding agents; pick honcho if memory Library for Stateful Agents. [pmb](https://pypi.org/project/pmb-ai/) reports 295 GitHub stars, 23 forks, and 9 open issues, last pushed Aug 17, 2026. [honcho](https://docs.honcho.dev) has 6.7k stars, 824 forks, and 163 open issues, last pushed Aug 18, 2026. Figures are from public GitHub metadata via [pmb's repository](https://github.com/oleksiijko/pmb) and [honcho's repository](https://github.com/plastic-labs/honcho). | | [pmb](/tools/oleksiijko-pmb.md) | [honcho](/tools/plastic-labs-honcho.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Tagline | Local-first persistent memory for AI coding agents with offline and multilingual capabilities. | Memory library for building stateful agents | | Stars | 295 | 6,703 | | Forks | 23 | 824 | | Open issues | 9 | 163 | | Language | Python | Python | | Adopt for | pmb - Local-first persistent memory for AI coding agents | Memory Library for Stateful Agents | | Persona | - | - | | Runtime | - | - | | License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 | | Categories | AI Agents, Data & Retrieval | AI Agents, Data & Retrieval | ## Trust and health _Sourced signals - not a safety guarantee. No winner column._ | | [pmb](/tools/oleksiijko-pmb.md) | [honcho](/tools/plastic-labs-honcho.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Days since push | 6d | 0d | | Open issues (now) | 9 | 163 | | Stars delta | +16 (30d) | +659 (30d) | | Open issues delta | +4 (30d) | -3 (30d) | | Owner type | User | Organization | | Full report | [trust report](/tools/oleksiijko-pmb/trust.md) | [trust report](/tools/plastic-labs-honcho/trust.md) | ## Decision facts: pmb - **Requirements:** No explicit requirements listed in repository data, but likely Python and compatible SQL database setup. - **Adopt for:** pmb - Local-first persistent memory for AI coding agents - **License detail:** Apache-2.0 ## Decision facts: honcho - **Adopt for:** Memory Library for Stateful Agents ## Choose when ### Choose pmb if… - License: pmb is Apache-2.0, honcho is AGPL-3.0. - Requirements: No explicit requirements listed in repository data, but likely Python and compatible SQL database setup.. - Tags unique to pmb: ai-memory, bm25, claude-code, codex. - - When you need a solution that integrates directly with popular AI coding agents such as Claude Code, Cursor, and Codex. ### Choose honcho if… - License: honcho is AGPL-3.0, pmb is Apache-2.0. - Tags unique to honcho: agent-memory, embeddings, langchain, long-term-memory. - honcho ships Docker support for self-hosted deployment. - Requires managing long-term and contextual memory in AI agents for statefulness. ## When NOT to use pmb - - In scenarios where real-time data retrieval is essential since pmb focuses on local storage rather than cloud-based synchronization. - - If your project requires heavy reliance on online services or if offline functionality doesn't provide a necessary advantage. - - When the specific use case does not benefit from having multilingual capabilities for AI coding tasks. ## When NOT to use honcho - Do not need complex SDK support or a customizable framework approach. - Not interested in using stateful capabilities leveraging multiple APIs such as Gemini, Anthropic, and OpenAI. ## Common questions ### What is the difference between pmb and honcho? pmb: Local-first persistent memory for AI coding agents with offline and multilingual capabilities.. honcho: Memory library for building stateful agents. See the comparison table for live GitHub stats and shared categories. ### When should I choose pmb over honcho? Choose pmb over honcho when License: pmb is Apache-2.0, honcho is AGPL-3.0; Requirements: No explicit requirements listed in repository data, but likely Python and compatible SQL database setup.; Tags unique to pmb: ai-memory, bm25, claude-code, codex; - When you need a solution that integrates directly with popular AI coding agents such as Claude Code, Cursor, and Codex. ### When should I choose honcho over pmb? Choose honcho over pmb when License: honcho is AGPL-3.0, pmb is Apache-2.0; Tags unique to honcho: agent-memory, embeddings, langchain, long-term-memory; honcho ships Docker support for self-hosted deployment; Requires managing long-term and contextual memory in AI agents for statefulness. ### When should I avoid pmb? - In scenarios where real-time data retrieval is essential since pmb focuses on local storage rather than cloud-based synchronization. - If your project requires heavy reliance on online services or if offline functionality doesn't provide a necessary advantage. - When the specific use case does not benefit from having multilingual capabilities for AI coding tasks. ### When should I avoid honcho? Do not need complex SDK support or a customizable framework approach. Not interested in using stateful capabilities leveraging multiple APIs such as Gemini, Anthropic, and OpenAI. ### Is pmb or honcho more popular on GitHub? honcho has more GitHub stars (6,703 vs 295). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints. ### Are pmb and honcho open source? Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (pmb: Apache-2.0, honcho: AGPL-3.0). ### Where can I find alternatives to pmb or honcho? GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at [pmb alternatives](/tools/oleksiijko-pmb/alternatives) and [honcho alternatives](/tools/plastic-labs-honcho/alternatives) ([pmb markdown twin](/tools/oleksiijko-pmb/alternatives.md), [honcho markdown twin](/tools/plastic-labs-honcho/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/oleksiijko-pmb-vs-plastic-labs-honcho.md) mirrors this page for agents and LLM crawlers, with the same stats table and FAQ answers. ### Which is better maintained, pmb or honcho? pmb: Very active. honcho: 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 pmb and honcho? GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: [pmb trust report](/tools/oleksiijko-pmb/trust); [honcho trust report](/tools/plastic-labs-honcho/trust). --- **Machine-readable endpoints** - JSON: [`/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=oleksiijko-pmb`](/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=oleksiijko-pmb) - 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/_