What it is
OpenHands (formerly OpenDevin) has changed shape. Its main repository now ships Agent Canvas, a self-hosted control centre for coding agents and automations, rather than a single agent app. Canvas runs the open-source OpenHands agent by default but can also drive Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI, Pi, OpenCode or any agent that speaks the Agent Client Protocol (ACP), on local, Docker, VM or cloud back ends. The repo moved from the All-Hands-AI organisation to OpenHands.
The system is split across repositories: Canvas, the TypeScript front end, lives here; the Python SDK and Agent Server live in software-agent-sdk; scheduling and webhooks sit in a separate automation service. Automations run on a schedule or on events from Slack, GitHub, Linear and other services.
Canvas is MIT-licensed and free to self-host. A Teams plan adds multi-user identity, RBAC, SSO and budgets; Enterprise is custom. Version 1.32.0 shipped on 23 October 2026.
Our review
OpenHands is now best understood as infrastructure for running coding agents, not as one more agent. In our reading of the release notes, the main repo has shipped Agent Canvas since the summer of 2026: one interface for the OpenHands agent, Claude Code, Codex and other ACP agents, switching between a laptop, a shared VM and OpenHands' cloud. With about 91,600 GitHub stars it remains one of the largest open-source agent projects, and it releases relentlessly: 1.27.0 to 1.32.0 in the eleven days to 23 October 2026.
The automation layer is where it earns its keep for teams. Agents run on a schedule or on webhook events, post reports to Slack or break a GitHub issue into tasks, and with OH_CONVERSATION_RUNTIME=docker each conversation gets its own container so several can work at once. That is the delegation model the original OpenHands was built for, now extended to other vendors' agents, whose subscription logins or API keys the back end must hold.
Security is the price of that reach, and the docs say so. The quickest install runs the agent server directly on your machine with full filesystem access. The self-hosting guide warns that anyone who can reach the agent server can read files, run commands and use the network, and that the bundled VS Code editor shares the Canvas origin, so script there could read the session API key of every back end saved in the browser (issue #16492). A high-severity command-injection advisory in the Git diff handler was published in March 2026. PostHog analytics stay off until the user consents.
Paying is optional but priced for teams. The free edition is single-user or one shared identity; Teams costs $499 a month for up to 10 users, caps use at 5,000 sessions a month and adds the SSO, RBAC and budgets the free edition lacks. Against Cline or OpenCode, which live in an editor or terminal, OpenHands asks for a server and some hardening, and returns agents that keep working after the laptop lid closes.
Where it earns its place
A platform engineer at a 60-developer company
Run dependency-update and code-review agents on a shared server
Deploy Canvas on a locked-down VM in public mode with LOCAL_BACKEND_API_KEY behind nginx and TLS, as the self-hosting guide describes, and trigger automations from GitHub webhooks. The MIT edition is free with a shared identity; per-user identity, RBAC and SSO mean Teams at $499 a month for 10 users.
A developer paying for both Claude Code and Codex
Drive both agents from one place and compare them on the same task
Add each as an ACP agent in Canvas; the back end launches the vendor's CLI with the existing subscription login or API key. Run each conversation in its own Docker container and give them separate worktrees, since conversations on the same host directory share files.
An engineering manager at a 10-person agency
Get a morning Slack summary of open pull requests and failing builds
A scheduled automation runs an agent against GitHub and posts to Slack. The software is free; running cost is a daily run's model tokens. The risk is an agent holding GitHub and Slack credentials on a machine that must be treated like production.
Before you commit
- Setup
- `npm install -g @openhands/agent-canvas` then `agent-canvas` (Node.js 24+ and uv), or the ghcr.io/openhands/agent-canvas Docker image published on 127.0.0.1:8000. A local first conversation takes minutes; a public VM needs the guide's firewall, API-key and TLS steps first.
- Integrations
- OpenHands agent plus Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI, Pi, OpenCode and other ACP agents; Slack, GitHub, Linear, Notion and Datadog via automations; a Python SDK, a REST Agent Server and a TypeScript client; MCP servers and any LLM with your own key.
- Data and privacy
- Self-hosted by default, so code and keys stay on your back ends and model calls go to the provider you configure. PostHog analytics are off until the user opts in. Without Docker the agent has full filesystem access; advisory GHSA-7h8w-hj9j-8rjw (high, Git diff command injection) was published in March 2026.
- Cost at scale
- Free self-hosted for one user or a shared identity, plus VM and model costs. Teams is $499 a month for up to 10 users, with extra seats listed at $50 a month and a cap of 5,000 sessions a month; Enterprise removes the cap at a custom price.
- Limits
- Over 1,000 open issues and releases almost daily, so pin the Docker tag. Results on large or vague tasks still need human review, and the editor's shared browser origin is an open security issue.
What's good
- Drives OpenHands, Claude Code, Codex and other ACP agents
- Scheduled and webhook-triggered automations
- Optional Docker container per conversation
- MIT licence, any model
What's not
- Quickest install gives the agent full filesystem access
- Bundled editor can expose stored session keys (#16492)
- Multi-user and SSO need Teams at $499/month
- Near-daily releases; pin your version
Best for
Engineering teams that want to run and automate several coding agents on their own infrastructure.
Alternatives
OpenHands: common questions
- Is OpenHands worth it?
- OpenHands has turned from a single autonomous coder into an open-source switchboard for many, which makes it more useful to teams and easier to misconfigure. We rate it 4.4 out of 5.
- How much does OpenHands cost?
- Agent Canvas free to self-host (MIT), with your own model key. Teams $499/month for up to 10 users (extra seats $50/month, 5,000 sessions a month); Enterprise custom.
- What are the downsides of OpenHands?
- Quickest install gives the agent full filesystem access; bundled editor can expose stored session keys (#16492); multi-user and SSO need Teams at $499/month; near-daily releases; pin your version.
- Who is OpenHands best for?
- Engineering teams that want to run and automate several coding agents on their own infrastructure.
- How much does OpenHands cost for a team or in production?
- Free self-hosted for one user or a shared identity, plus VM and model costs. Teams is $499 a month for up to 10 users, with extra seats listed at $50 a month and a cap of 5,000 sessions a month; Enterprise removes the cap at a custom price.
- Is OpenHands safe for company data?
- Self-hosted by default, so code and keys stay on your back ends and model calls go to the provider you configure. PostHog analytics are off until the user opts in. Without Docker the agent has full filesystem access; advisory GHSA-7h8w-hj9j-8rjw (high, Git diff command injection) was published in March 2026.
- What are the best OpenHands alternatives?
- The closest alternatives we have reviewed are mini-swe-agent, goose and Cline.
Answers checked Oct 23, 2026.
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