# OpenHands - Open Platform for Cloud Coding Agents > OpenHands is an open-source, model-agnostic platform for building and deploying AI coding agents. It provides a composable Python SDK, CLI, and cloud infrastructure for running agents that write... - Skill: `tools-only/openhands-open-platform-for-cloud-coding-agents` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 3 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds add tools-only/openhands-open-platform-for-cloud-coding-agents` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/tools-only/openhands-open-platform-for-cloud-coding-agents/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: DevOps & Infra - License: MIT (core), Source-Available (enterprise) - Author: tools-only (https://skillmd.com/u/tools-only) - Updated: 2026-09-09 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/tools-only/openhands-open-platform-for-cloud-coding-agents --- ## Overview OpenHands is an open-source, model-agnostic platform for building and deploying AI coding agents. It provides a composable Python SDK, CLI, and cloud infrastructure for running agents that write software - from simple tasks like README generation to complex multi-agent refactors. The platform achieves state-of-the-art performance on SWE-bench Verified (77.6%) and serves as the preferred evaluation harness for LLM coding benchmarks. **Core Value Proposition**: Scale from a single task to thousands of parallel agents with full control over model selection, deployment, and security. --- ## Problem Addressed | Problem | How OpenHands Solves It | | --------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Proprietary AI coding tools lock you into specific models | Model-agnostic architecture works with Claude, GPT, Qwen, Devstral, or any LLM | | Scaling from laptop to production requires re-architecture | Single Python API runs locally or scales to 1000s of agents in the cloud | | AI agents lack access to real development environments | Secure, sandboxed Docker/Kubernetes runtime with file system, shell, and browser | | Evaluating and improving AI coding agents is slow and expensive | 30x speedup on SWE-bench evaluation with cloud-based infrastructure | | Integrating AI agents into existing workflows requires custom tooling | Native integrations with GitHub, GitLab, Slack, Jira, Linear, and CI/CD | --- ## Key Statistics (as of January 26, 2026) | Metric | Value | | ------------------------ | ----------------------------------------- | | GitHub Stars | 67,108 | | Forks | 8,347 | | Open Issues | 252 | | Contributors | 30+ | | SWE-Bench Verified Score | 77.6% | | SWE-Bench Lite Score | 41.7% | | Languages Supported | Python (primary), Any (via Docker) | | License | MIT (core), Source-Available (enterprise) | | Created | March 13, 2024 | --- ## Product Offerings ### 1. Software Agent SDK The core Python library powering all OpenHands products. **Features**: - Unified Python API for local and cloud execution - Pre-defined tools for Bash, file editing, web browsing, MCP - REST-based Agent Server for Docker/Kubernetes deployment - Custom agent definition and tool creation - Automatic context compression - Task planning and decomposition **Usage**: ```python from openhands import Agent, Tool # Define custom agent agent = Agent( model="claude-3-5-sonnet", tools=[Tool.bash, Tool.file_edit, Tool.web_browse] ) # Run on code task result = agent.run("Fix the authentication bug in login.py") ``` ### 2. OpenHands CLI Terminal-based interface similar to Claude Code or Codex. **Installation**: ```bash pip install openhands-cli openhands --model claude-3-5-sonnet ``` **Features**: - Works with any LLM (Claude, GPT, open-source models) - Familiar terminal experience - Full file system access within sandbox ### 3. OpenHands Local GUI Desktop application with REST API and React frontend. **Features**: - Similar experience to Devin or Jules - REST API for integration - Single-page React application - Local laptop execution ### 4. OpenHands Cloud Hosted deployment with enterprise features. **Features**: - Free $10 credit to start - GitHub/GitLab/Bitbucket integrations - Slack, Jira, Linear integrations - Multi-user support with RBAC - Conversation sharing and collaboration - Usage reporting and budgeting ### 5. OpenHands Enterprise Self-hosted deployment for VPC/Kubernetes environments. **Features**: - Source-available (enterprise/ directory) - Extended support and research team access - Works with CLI and SDK - Full control over data and infrastructure --- ## Technical Architecture ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ OpenHands Platform │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │ ┌────────────────────┼────────────────────┐ ▼ ▼ ▼ ┌─────────────────┐ ┌─────────────────┐ ┌─────────────────┐ │ Software Agent │ │ Agent Server │ │ Workspace │ │ SDK │ │ (REST API) │ │ (Sandbox) │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ - Agent logic │ │ - Task queue │ │ - Docker/K8s │ │ - Tool registry │ │ - Scaling │ │ - File system │ │ - LLM interface │ │ - Auth/RBAC │ │ - Shell access │ │ - State mgmt │ │ - Integrations │ │ - Browser │ └─────────────────┘ └─────────────────┘ └─────────────────┘ │ │ │ └────────────────────┼────────────────────┘ │ ┌────────────────────┼────────────────────┐ ▼ ▼ ▼ ┌─────────────────┐ ┌─────────────────┐ ┌─────────────────┐ │ CLI Interface │ │ Local GUI │ │ Cloud/Enterprise│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ - Terminal UX │ │ - React SPA │ │ - Multi-tenant │ │ - Any LLM │ │ - REST API │ │ - Integrations │ │ - Local exec │ │ - Devin-like │ │ - Scaling │ └─────────────────┘ └─────────────────┘ └─────────────────┘ --- ## State-of-the-Art Agent: CodeAct 2.1 OpenHands includes CodeAct 2.1, an open-source agent achieving top benchmark performance: **Key Innovations**: - **Inference-Time Scaling**: Multiple solution attempts with critic model selection - **Automatic Context Compression**: Manages long-running tasks - **Security Analysis**: Built-in code safety checks - **Strong Agent-Computer Interfaces**: Reliable tool execution **OpenHands LM 32B**: Open coding model (available on Hugging Face): - 32B parameters (runs on single 3090 GPU) - 37.2% on SWE-Bench Verified - No API calls required --- ## Installation & Usage ### SDK Installation ```bash pip install openhands-sdk ``` ### CLI Installation ```bash pip install openhands-cli ``` ### Local GUI (Docker) ```bash docker pull openhands/openhands:latest docker run -p 3000:3000 openhands/openhands ``` ### Cloud Signup 1. Visit 2. Sign in with GitHub or GitLab 3. Get free $10 credit --- ## Benchmark Performance | Benchmark | Score | Notes | | -------------------- | --------- | --------------------------- | | SWE-Bench Verified | 77.6% | State-of-the-art (Jan 2026) | | SWE-Bench Lite | 41.7% | Open-source leader | | SWE-Bench Full | Top tier | 2,294 instances | | SWE-Bench Multimodal | Supported | 517 instances with visuals | **Evaluation Infrastructure**: --- ## Community & Ecosystem ### Related Projects - **Software Agent SDK**: - **OpenHands CLI**: - **Chrome Extension**: - **Theory-of-Mind Module**: - **Benchmarks**: ### Community Resources - **Slack**: - **Product Roadmap**: - **Research Paper**: --- ## Relevance to Claude Code Development ### Direct Applications 1. **Alternative Agent Framework**: OpenHands SDK provides patterns for agent composition that could inform Claude Code plugin development 2. **Evaluation Infrastructure**: SWE-bench harness could evaluate Claude Code agent performance 3. **Tool Design Patterns**: Pre-built tools for file editing, shell, and web browsing demonstrate effective tool interfaces 4. **Model-Agnostic Architecture**: Patterns for supporting multiple LLM backends ### Patterns Worth Adopting 1. **Workspace Isolation**: Docker/Kubernetes sandboxing for safe code execution 2. **CodeAct Interface**: Combining code and natural language in single turns 3. **Inference-Time Scaling**: Multiple attempts with critic model selection 4. **Context Compression**: Automatic management of long conversations 5. **REST-Based Agent Server**: Scalable deployment pattern ### Integration Opportunities 1. **MCP Integration**: OpenHands supports MCP tools - potential for shared tool ecosystem 2. **Benchmark Suite**: Could evaluate Claude Code agents using OpenHands infrastructure 3. **Open Model Testing**: OpenHands LM 32B provides baseline for local model performance 4. **Enterprise Patterns**: Source-available enterprise features provide deployment blueprints ### Competitive Analysis | Feature | OpenHands | Claude Code | | ---------------------- | ------------------ | ------------------- | | Model Lock-in | None (any LLM) | Claude only | | Open Source | Yes (MIT core) | No | | Cloud Offering | Yes | Yes (via Anthropic) | | Self-Hosted Enterprise | Yes | No | | SWE-Bench Performance | 77.6% | Not published | | MCP Support | Yes | Native | | Local Model Support | Yes (OpenHands LM) | No | --- ## References 1. **Official Website**: (accessed 2026-01-26) 2. **GitHub Repository**: (accessed 2026-01-26) 3. **SDK Documentation**: (accessed 2026-01-26) 4. **SWE-Bench Leaderboard**: (accessed 2026-01-26) 5. **CodeAct 2.1 Announcement**: (accessed 2026-01-26) 6. **OpenHands LM 32B Announcement**: (accessed 2026-01-26) 7. **Research Paper**: (accessed 2026-01-26)