# OpenManus, answered: what it is, what it costs, and the open-source system a team runs instead > OpenManus is a free Python framework for building general AI agents, and Kortix is the open-source AI Operating System a team runs when it needs the framework and the system around it. What OpenManus is, whether it is free and maintained, and what a team runs instead each have a short answer with a source. URL: https://openmanusalternative.com/openmanus-faq ## One decision sits behind the OpenManus questions The questions people bring to OpenManus differ, and the decision behind them is one: do you assemble and run the framework yourself, or run the same agents inside a system your team owns. A framework gives you the agent code and leaves the surrounding system to you. A platform hands you that system already built, with the agents, their skills, the company memory and the connectors in a repo the team controls. ## OpenManus is a framework for building agents OpenManus is a Python framework for building general AI agents, and its own site says so ([openmanus.github.io](https://openmanus.github.io/)). It stays active: 58,662 stars and a last push on 2026-09-30 (checked October 2026, [GitHub](https://github.com/FoundationAgents/OpenManus)). It is a strong place to learn how agents are built, and it stops short of the surrounding system a team needs once agents do real work. ## What sits around the framework Kortix is the open-source AI Operating System: your agents, skills, company memory, and connectors in one git repo you own. Each session runs on its own isolated sandbox and branch, and work reaches `main` only through a change request a person approves ([Kortix docs](https://kortix.com/docs)). The head-to-head is on the [Kortix vs OpenManus page](/kortix-vs-openmanus), and the wider field is on the [OpenManus alternatives page](/openmanus-alternatives). ## How the system around the agents fits together The parts a framework leaves to you, and where they live in Kortix. ### 1. Agents, skills, memory and connectors are files A project is a git repo with `kortix.yaml` at its root. Agents, skills, memory and connectors are files in it. `one repo` ``` "One repo is the company: agents, skills, memory, connectors and triggers are files, versioned and reviewed like code." "You can grep your entire company." ``` Source: https://github.com/kortix-ai/suna ### 2. Each session gets its own isolated 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 ### 3. A person approves the change before it reaches main Session work reaches `main` through a change request. Merge is default-deny for agents. `review` ``` "Merge is default-deny for agents: you review the diff." "Work reaches main only through a change request you approve, so the company self-improves one reviewed change at a time." ``` Source: https://github.com/kortix-ai/suna ## OpenManus questions, answered ### What is OpenManus? OpenManus is a Python framework for building general AI agents, released by contributors from MetaGPT. Its own project site describes it as an open-source framework for building AI agents that you can connect to external tools and APIs ([openmanus.github.io](https://openmanus.github.io/)). It gives you the parts to build agents, and you assemble the product around them yourself. ### Is OpenManus free? Yes. OpenManus is open source and its repository is public, and its README presents it as the version you can run without an invite code ([GitHub](https://github.com/FoundationAgents/OpenManus)). You run it on your own machine and add your own model keys to a `config.toml`, so your cost is the model usage and the machine it runs on. ### Is OpenManus still maintained? Yes. The repository was last pushed on 2026-09-30 and carries 58,662 stars, and the project also runs OpenManus-RL for tuning agents (checked October 2026, [GitHub](https://github.com/FoundationAgents/OpenManus)). It is a community project built by contributors from MetaGPT, so its pace follows those contributors rather than a company selling it as a product ([openmanus.github.io](https://openmanus.github.io/)). ### Is OpenManus a product a team can run as it is? No, OpenManus is a framework, not a product. Its README walks you through cloning the repository, installing dependencies, adding model keys to `config.toml` and running `main.py` ([GitHub](https://github.com/FoundationAgents/OpenManus)). The repository documents a framework and no team layer, so a team that adopts it builds the surrounding system itself. ### What do teams use instead of OpenManus? Teams that want the framework plus the system around it use Kortix, the open-source AI Operating System ([Kortix docs](https://kortix.com/docs)). In Kortix, your agents, skills, company memory, and connectors live in one git repo you own; every session runs on its own isolated sandbox and branch, and work reaches `main` only through a change request a person approves. Any model provider with your own keys, on Kortix Cloud, in your VPC, or on your own on-prem network. ### How do I choose between OpenManus and Kortix? Choose OpenManus for a Python framework you run and govern yourself ([GitHub](https://github.com/FoundationAgents/OpenManus)). Choose Kortix when the work has to belong to a team: the agents, skills, memory and connector rules in one repo the team owns, an isolated sandbox and branch per session, and every change reviewed through a change request a person approves. The head-to-head split is on the [Kortix vs OpenManus page](/kortix-vs-openmanus). ## Run the OpenManus idea on a system your team owns Open source, any model with your own keys, self-host or Kortix Cloud. [Try Kortix](https://kortix.com) · [Compare the two](https://openmanusalternative.com/kortix-vs-openmanus) Open source · Any model, your keys · Self-host, VPC, or on-prem