Happy vs OpenHands
Which should you use? A side-by-side look at what each one does, who it suits, what it costs, how hard it is to set up, and where each falls short.
Open source · MIT
A multi-model coding agent app that runs Claude, Codex and Grok, with a phone companion, using your existing s
Open source · MIT
A self-hosted control panel that runs AI coding agents on your machine, in Docker, or in the cloud.
The short answer
Choose Happy if you need…
- Developers who already pay for Claude, Codex or Grok subscriptions and want one interface for them
- People who want to check on a running coding agent from their phone
- Small teams who want to watch and steer the same agent session together
- Users who want an MIT-licensed codebase they can read or fork
Choose OpenHands if you need…
- Developers who want coding agents running on a server while their laptop is off
- Teams that want a shared agent server for tasks like code review or dependency updates
- People who want to connect agents to Slack, GitHub, or Linear through automations
- Users who want to choose their own LLM provider
Side-by-side
| Happy | OpenHands | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | App | App |
| Price | Free and open source | Free and open source |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| GitHub stars | 24.4k | 92.5k |
| Setup difficulty | Intermediate | Intermediate |
| How you get it | Install with a package manager | Install with a package manager |
| Main language | Swift | TypeScript |
| Last code update | 4 days ago | 4 days ago |
What each one is
Happy
Happy is an open-source (MIT) app that lets you run AI coding agents such as Claude Code, Codex and Grok from one place, and watch or steer them from a phone. According to its README, you sign in with the subscriptions you already pay for rather than buying new access. The README also describes a simple terminal CLI (npm install -g happy) that wraps Claude Code and Codex and can continue sessions on your phone.
OpenHands
Agent Canvas is a self-hosted control center for AI coding agents. You start conversations with agents and set up automations, such as generating reports that publish to Slack or breaking GitHub issues into tasks. It runs on your own machine by default and can also connect to agents running in Docker, on virtual machines, or on OpenHands Cloud or Enterprise infrastructure. It can run the open source OpenHands agent or third-party agents such as Claude Code, Codex, and Gemini CLI.
Best for
Happy
- Developers who already pay for Claude, Codex or Grok subscriptions and want one interface for them
- People who want to check on a running coding agent from their phone
- Small teams who want to watch and steer the same agent session together
- Users who want an MIT-licensed codebase they can read or fork
OpenHands
- Developers who want coding agents running on a server while their laptop is off
- Teams that want a shared agent server for tasks like code review or dependency updates
- People who want to connect agents to Slack, GitHub, or Linear through automations
- Users who want to choose their own LLM provider
Strengths
Happy
- Free and MIT-licensed, with the source code available on GitHub
- Reuses existing Claude, Codex and Grok subscriptions rather than adding a separate bill, per the README
- Projects remain ordinary folders on your own machine, as the README describes
OpenHands
- Self-hosted, so you control where agents run and where your work is stored
- Supports several agents and backends from one frontend
- Released under the MIT license with a large public community (about 92,000 stars)
Not ideal for
Happy
- People who need a fully audited, production-grade security tool: the README does not describe a security review and says little about threat models beyond end-to-end encryption of device sync
- Users who only want a single model and a simple terminal command: the original CLI covers that more directly, and the multi-model features point to the desktop app and Happy Harness
- People without any existing agent subscription or API access, since the README centers on reusing those logins
OpenHands
- People who need strong isolation by default: the quickstart without a sandbox gives the agent full access to your filesystem
- Non-technical users who are not comfortable with Node.js, npm, Docker, or the command line
- Anyone who needs a fully hosted service with no setup, since the README centers on self-hosting
Trade-offs
Happy
- The README is truncated and the multi-model features are described mainly at a high level, so exact behavior is unclear
- The repository covers only the mobile app, original CLI and relay server; the desktop app and agent runtime live in separate repositories
- The latest release tag listed here (cli-1.2.5) has no binaries attached, so installation relies on npm or building from source
OpenHands
- Running without a sandbox gives the agent full access to your filesystem, so the Docker options need careful setup
- Multiple features depend on configuring backends, LLM keys, and integrations, which takes effort
- The README is truncated and does not fully document security hardening or every integration; see the linked docs
Getting started
OpenHands
Install globally with npm (no sandbox)
npm install -g @openhands/agent-canvasStart the full local stack
agent-canvasFrequently asked questions
What is the difference between Happy and OpenHands?
Happy: A multi-model coding agent app that runs Claude, Codex and Grok, with a phone companion, using your existing s. OpenHands: A self-hosted control panel that runs AI coding agents on your machine, in Docker, or in the cloud. Happy suits developers who already pay for claude, codex or grok subscriptions and want one interface for them, while OpenHands suits developers who want coding agents running on a server while their laptop is off.
Are Happy and OpenHands free?
Happy: Free and open source. OpenHands: Free and open source.
Is Happy or OpenHands more popular?
OpenHands has more GitHub stars (92.5k) than Happy (24.4k). Popularity isn't the same as fit — check which one matches your use case above.
What are other alternatives to Happy and OpenHands?
Other options people compare them with include Paperclip, Claudian, Orca, OmniRoute, CRS.
Keep comparing
Built from our catalogue entries for both products: open-source details come from each project's README (AI-assisted, refreshed weekly) and GitHub data; AI-tool details are editorial. Spotted something wrong? Let us know from either product's page.