OpenHands vs planning-with-files
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 self-hosted control panel that runs AI coding agents on your machine, in Docker, or in the cloud.
Open source · MIT
A file-based planning skill that keeps AI coding agents on track across resets and crashes.
The short answer
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
Choose planning-with-files if you need…
- Developers running long multi-step tasks in Claude Code or Codex CLI
- People who lose agent progress when the context window fills or is cleared
- Teams wanting a plan that lives in the project as plain markdown files
- Users of agents that support the Agent Skills standard
Side-by-side
| OpenHands | planning-with-files | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | App | Dev tool |
| Price | Free and open source | Free and open source |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| GitHub stars | 92.5k | 27.8k |
| Setup difficulty | Intermediate | Beginner |
| How you get it | Install with a package manager | Install with a package manager |
| Main language | TypeScript | Shell |
| Last code update | 4 days ago | 6 days ago |
What each one is
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.
planning-with-files
This is a skill for AI coding agents that stores a task plan, research notes, and progress log as markdown files in your project. Lifecycle hooks re-inject that planning context so the agent can pick up where it left off after /clear, context compaction, or a crash. The README says it works across 60+ agents via the Agent Skills standard, with native plugins for several hosts including Claude Code and Codex CLI.
Best for
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
planning-with-files
- Developers running long multi-step tasks in Claude Code or Codex CLI
- People who lose agent progress when the context window fills or is cleared
- Teams wanting a plan that lives in the project as plain markdown files
- Users of agents that support the Agent Skills standard
Strengths
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)
planning-with-files
- Plain markdown files on disk that you can read, edit, and version-control or gitignore
- Works through the Agent Skills standard across many agents, with native plugins for several hosts
- MIT licensed with a published benchmark and install options via npm, the Claude Code marketplace, or npx
Not ideal for
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
planning-with-files
- Short one-off questions where a plan file adds overhead
- People who want a hosted service rather than local files in their repo
- Users of hosts not listed in the README, since native support depends on the host and results may vary
Trade-offs
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
planning-with-files
- Benchmark figures are from the project's own measurements and are reported with stated limits; independent verification is not shown in the README
- Commands and tools vary by host, so the experience differs between integrations
- Session catchup modes can read local agent session records, which the README says requires an explicit opt-in
Getting started
OpenHands
Install globally with npm (no sandbox)
npm install -g @openhands/agent-canvasStart the full local stack
agent-canvasplanning-with-files
Install the skill globally via npx skills
npx skills add OthmanAdi/planning-with-files --skill planning-with-files -gFrequently asked questions
What is the difference between OpenHands and planning-with-files?
OpenHands: A self-hosted control panel that runs AI coding agents on your machine, in Docker, or in the cloud. planning-with-files: A file-based planning skill that keeps AI coding agents on track across resets and crashes. OpenHands suits developers who want coding agents running on a server while their laptop is off, while planning-with-files suits developers running long multi-step tasks in claude code or codex cli.
Are OpenHands and planning-with-files free?
OpenHands: Free and open source. planning-with-files: Free and open source.
Which is easier to set up, OpenHands or planning-with-files?
planning-with-files is easier to get started with (rated beginner); OpenHands is rated intermediate and usually needs more setup.
Is OpenHands or planning-with-files more popular?
OpenHands has more GitHub stars (92.5k) than planning-with-files (27.8k). Popularity isn't the same as fit — check which one matches your use case above.
What are other alternatives to OpenHands and planning-with-files?
Other options people compare them with include One API, LlamaGPT, codex-chatgpt-web, wechat-bot, GitDiagram.
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.