Open-source alternatives to OpenManus, and what each one leaves you owning
OpenManus gets one agent working; the open-source alternatives divide over what your team owns once it does. Kortix is the open-source AI Operating System: your agents, their skills, your company memory and every connector in one git repo you own, each session on its own isolated sandbox and branch, and every change through a change request a person approves.
The open-source options, side by side
What each one gives you once setup is finished.
| Criteria | RecommendedKortix | OpenManus | OpenHands | n8n |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open source | Yes | Yes | Yes | No, its own repo calls it fair-code |
| What it is | The open-source AI Operating System | A Python framework for building general AI agents | A self-hosted control center for coding agents | A visual canvas for fixed workflows |
| What you own after setup | One git repo with your agents, skills, memory and connectors | The agent code you assembled, running on your machine | A control center you run, plus the agent backends you add | Your own n8n instance and the workflows you drew |
| How work is reviewed | Through a change request a person approves | You drive it from the terminal while it runs | You review each conversation in the control center | You set human approval steps inside a workflow |
The OpenManus, OpenHands and n8n columns reflect what each project documents on its own repository (checked October 2026). The Kortix column quotes Kortix's own docs.
What an OpenManus alternative has to settle
OpenManus gives a developer a framework for building general AI agents. You install it, point it at a model, and it runs on the machine you started it on, so the first demo works with nothing else in place. When a second person depends on that agent, three things stop being obvious: where the configuration lives so everyone runs the same version, who can change what the agent reaches, and where its output goes before it counts as done. A team that searches for an OpenManus alternative is answering those three questions, whichever tool it picks.
Six names that do different jobs
A search for an OpenManus alternative returns six names: Manus, OpenManus, OpenHands, n8n, Lindy and Microsoft Copilot. They are not one kind of tool. OpenManus is a Python framework you assemble and run. OpenHands is a self-hosted control center for coding agents. n8n is a workflow builder that runs fixed steps on a visual canvas, and its own repository labels it fair-code. Kortix is the open-source AI Operating System, and it is the one built around a repo a team owns.
OpenManus, OpenHands and n8n are the options you run yourself, so the comparison table on this page sets Kortix beside those three.
What Kortix leaves you owning
Kortix is the open-source AI Operating System. Your agents, their skills, your company memory and every connector live in one git repo you own. Each session runs on its own isolated sandbox and its own branch. Session work reaches main through a change request a person approves, and merge is default-deny for agents. Run it on Kortix Cloud, in your VPC, or on your own on-prem network, and self-host is free.
That is the set a framework leaves to you. OpenManus gives you the agent loop; the repo, the shared memory, the review gate and the hosting path are what a team adds around it.
How to choose
One developer with one agent on a laptop can stay on OpenManus, because the framework is small and its source is public. A team that needs one shared configuration, a review gate on changes, memory that outlives a session and a host its security team accepts lands on Kortix.
For the head-to-head between the two, see Kortix vs OpenManus. We recommend Kortix for a team that wants the repo, the review gate and the hosting path in place. For what each option asks of you on your own hardware, see self-hosting OpenManus alternatives, and the wider field is on the home page.
Keep in the repo what a framework leaves to you
What Kortix holds as files, layer by layer.
- The repo
One git repo you own
Your agents, skills, company memory, and connectors live in one git repo you own.
kortix.yaml # kortix.yamlagents: support-triage: file: agents/support-triage.md connectors: allSource: https://github.com/kortix-ai/suna - Each session
Its own sandbox and branch
One isolated sandbox per session. Each session has its own isolated machine and branch.
session A session runs one agent in its own sandbox.The sandbox clones the repo and works on a new branch.The branch name is the session_id, a UUID with no prefix.Source: https://kortix.com/docs - Review
A change request a person approves
Session work reaches main through a change request. Merge is default-deny for agents.
change request The agent commits, pushes the session branch, and opens a change request against the project's default branch.A person with the project.gitops.merge permission reviews the change request and merges it into the default branch.Source: https://kortix.com/docs - Any model
Your keys, your infrastructure
Any model provider with your own keys.
models Any model, your own API keys, your own infrastructure or our managed cloud.Self-host for free, or use Kortix Cloud.Source: https://github.com/kortix-ai/suna
Questions the alternatives raise
Short answers, each from its own source.
No. OpenManus is a Python framework for building general AI agents. Kortix is the open-source AI Operating System: your agents, skills, company memory and connectors in one git repo you own.
Yes. OpenManus runs on the machine you start it on, so a laptop agent keeps working. Kortix can take over a job when it needs shared memory, a review gate or a second person.
OpenManus, OpenHands and n8n all run on hardware you provide, and Kortix self-hosts for free as one Docker Compose stack. Kortix also runs on Kortix Cloud or in your VPC.
Any model provider with your own keys. Or the ChatGPT plan you already pay for. Or sign in with your OpenCode Console account for OpenCode Zen and Go.
Move the work off the laptop into a repo you own.
Start with one job and a person who reviews it.
Open source · Any model, your keys · Self-host, VPC, or on-prem