--- title: "open-connector vs agents" type: "comparison" canonical_url: "https://www.graphcanon.com/compare/oomol-lab-open-connector-vs-wshobson-agents" tools: ["oomol-lab-open-connector", "wshobson-agents"] --- # open-connector vs agents *GraphCanon updated Aug 23, 2026* ## Verdict Pick open-connector if open-connector is an open-source auth gateway that connects more than 1000 SaaS providers to AI agents through multiple protocols including SDK and CLI; pick agents if 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. [open-connector](https://oomol.com) reports 3.4k GitHub stars, 261 forks, and 3 open issues, last pushed Jul 25, 2026. [agents](https://sethhobson.com) has 39k stars, 4.1k forks, and 5 open issues, last pushed Aug 18, 2026. Figures are from public GitHub metadata via [open-connector's repository](https://github.com/oomol-lab/open-connector) and [agents's repository](https://github.com/wshobson/agents). | | [open-connector](/tools/oomol-lab-open-connector.md) | [agents](/tools/wshobson-agents.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Tagline | Open-source auth gateway connecting SaaS providers to AI agents via SDK, CLI, MCP, HTTP, and OpenAPI. | Multi-harness agentic plugin marketplace for various AI agents | | Stars | 3,362 | 38,928 | | Forks | 261 | 4,145 | | Open issues | 3 | 5 | | Language | TypeScript | Python | | Adopt for | open-connector is an open-source auth gateway that connects more than 1000 SaaS providers to AI agents through multiple protocols including SDK and CLI. | 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, allowing redistribution and modification under the terms of the license | MIT | | Categories | AI Agents, Developer Tools | AI Agents, Developer Tools | ## Trust and health _Sourced signals - not a safety guarantee. No winner column._ | | [open-connector](/tools/oomol-lab-open-connector.md) | [agents](/tools/wshobson-agents.md) | | --- | --- | --- | | Open issues (now) | 3 | 5 | | Stars delta | Unknown | +860 (30d) | | Open issues delta | Unknown | +2 (30d) | | Owner type | Organization | User | | Full report | [trust report](/tools/oomol-lab-open-connector/trust.md) | [trust report](/tools/wshobson-agents/trust.md) | ## Decision facts: open-connector - **Adopt for:** open-connector is an open-source auth gateway that connects more than 1000 SaaS providers to AI agents through multiple protocols including SDK and CLI. - **License detail:** Apache-2.0, allowing redistribution and modification under the terms of the license - **Runtime:** unknown ## 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 open-connector if… - open-connector is primarily TypeScript; agents is Python. - License: open-connector is Apache-2.0, agents is MIT. - Tags unique to open-connector: agent-tools, api-gateway, cli, integration-platform. - open-connector ships Docker support for self-hosted deployment. - open-connector ships an MCP server manifest. - When you need integration with over a thousand SaaS platforms, offering broad compatibility across various services and industries. ### Choose agents if… - agents is primarily Python; open-connector is TypeScript. - License: agents is MIT, open-connector is Apache-2.0. - Tags unique to agents: agent-skills, agentic-ai, prompt-engineering, workflows. - 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 open-connector - For scenarios where a proprietary license is necessary as open-connector operates under Apache-2.0. - In cases requiring an auth gateway that does not include support for OpenAPI or MCP (Model Context Protocol), distinguishing it from competitors who may offer exclusive support in these areas. ## 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 open-connector and agents? open-connector: Open-source auth gateway connecting SaaS providers to AI agents via SDK, CLI, MCP, HTTP, and OpenAPI.. 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 open-connector over agents? Choose open-connector over agents when open-connector is primarily TypeScript; agents is Python; License: open-connector is Apache-2.0, agents is MIT; Tags unique to open-connector: agent-tools, api-gateway, cli, integration-platform; open-connector ships Docker support for self-hosted deployment; open-connector ships an MCP server manifest; When you need integration with over a thousand SaaS platforms, offering broad compatibility across various services and industries. ### When should I choose agents over open-connector? Choose agents over open-connector when agents is primarily Python; open-connector is TypeScript; License: agents is MIT, open-connector is Apache-2.0; Tags unique to agents: agent-skills, agentic-ai, prompt-engineering, workflows; 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 open-connector? For scenarios where a proprietary license is necessary as open-connector operates under Apache-2.0. In cases requiring an auth gateway that does not include support for OpenAPI or MCP (Model Context Protocol), distinguishing it from competitors who may offer exclusive support in these areas. ### 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 open-connector or agents more popular on GitHub? agents has more GitHub stars (38,928 vs 3,362). Stars measure visibility, not whether either tool fits your constraints. ### Are open-connector and agents open source? Yes - both are open-source projects on GitHub (open-connector: Apache-2.0, agents: MIT). ### Where can I find alternatives to open-connector or agents? GraphCanon lists graph-backed alternatives at [open-connector alternatives](/tools/oomol-lab-open-connector/alternatives) and [agents alternatives](/tools/wshobson-agents/alternatives) ([open-connector markdown twin](/tools/oomol-lab-open-connector/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/oomol-lab-open-connector-vs-wshobson-agents.md) mirrors this page for agents and LLM crawlers, with the same stats table and FAQ answers. ### Which is better maintained, open-connector or agents? open-connector: Very active. 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 open-connector and agents? GraphCanon publishes per-repo trust reports with dated maintenance, provenance, and scan summaries: [open-connector trust report](/tools/oomol-lab-open-connector/trust); [agents trust report](/tools/wshobson-agents/trust). --- **Machine-readable endpoints** - JSON: [`/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=oomol-lab-open-connector`](/api/graphcanon/graph?tool=oomol-lab-open-connector) - 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/_