OpenHands vs Codex
Updated : the last week a score, rank or safety result on this page changed.
- Maintenance 30%7274
- Adoption 30%6274
- Docs 20%6910
- Community 20%, not measured yet––
OpenHands scores 10 points higher. OpenHands leads on docs; Codex leads on maintenance and adoption.
What this does not tell you
Scores are percentiles of public GitHub signals. Nobody here tested these tools hands-on, so the higher score is not a verdict on which suits your project. Yellow marks the higher value.
Which one fits you
From measured data and licences, not from testing.
Pick OpenHands if
- You rely on thorough README docs (docs 69 vs 10).
Pick Codex if
- Recent activity and releases matter most to you (maintenance 74).
- You want the more widely adopted option (adoption 74).
Safety side by side
Automated scan, 2 Nov 2026. Not a manual audit.
- CautionOpenHandsSkill/agent file instructs piping a remote script into a shell: .agents/skills/frontend-development/references/guide.md
- CautionCodex4 critical-severity known vulnerabilities in runtime dependencies (OSV)
Why different labels?
A label partly reflects how much of each tool is visible and scannable, not only how risky it is. A tool without a lockfile cannot get a dependency check.
- OpenHands: Skill/agent file instructs piping a remote script into a shell: .agents/skills/frontend-development/references/guide.md — curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh
- Codex: 4 critical-severity known vulnerabilities in runtime dependencies (OSV)
Repo facts
Yellow = the higher value, where higher is better.
| Fact | OpenHands | Codex |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 68 | 58 |
| Stars | 92,466 | 132,785 |
| Last push | 2 Nov | 1 Nov |
| Releases, 90 days | 10+ | 10+ |
| Licence | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Open source | Open source | Open source |
| Language | TypeScript | Rust |
| Type | Agent framework | AI tool |
| Runs locally | yes | yes |
| Hosted option | unknown | mentioned |
“Runs locally” and “Hosted option” are read from each README automatically (or from the official docs where noted); “unknown” means no evidence was found, not that it is absent.
Questions about OpenHands vs Codex
Answers use this week's StackGrade data.
OpenHands or Codex: which scores higher on StackGrade?
OpenHands scores 10 points higher in Week 45: OpenHands 68, Codex 58 out of 100. The score combines maintenance, adoption and docs (percentiles of public GitHub signals): OpenHands 72, 62 and 69; Codex 74, 74 and 10. Community (20% weight) is not measured yet. It is not a hands-on test, so a higher score does not say which tool suits your project.
Is OpenHands or Codex safer to use?
Safety labels from the automated scan of 2 Nov 2026: OpenHands: Caution, skill/agent file instructs piping a remote script into a shell: .agents/skills/frontend-development/references/guide.md; Codex: Caution, 4 critical-severity known vulnerabilities in runtime dependencies (OSV). It is an automated scan, not a manual audit.
Which is more widely used, OpenHands or Codex?
By GitHub stars: Codex 132,785, OpenHands 92,466. Adoption score (percentile among all 52 tracked tools): OpenHands 62, Codex 74. Stars are one public signal and do not measure real-world use.
Which licences do OpenHands and Codex use?
OpenHands: MIT; Codex: Apache-2.0. Read each licence text before commercial use.
Should I pick OpenHands or Codex?
Pick OpenHands if you rely on thorough README docs (docs 69 vs 10). Pick Codex if recent activity and releases matter most to you (maintenance 74); you want the more widely adopted option (adoption 74). This comes from measured public data and licences only, not from hands-on testing.
Full comparison table, every criterion
| OpenHandsOpenHands/OpenHands | Codexopenai/codex | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 68 | 58 |
| Rank | #10 overall · #3 in use case | #16 overall · #6 in use case |
| Maintenance (30%) | 72 | 74 |
| Adoption (30%) | 62 | 74 |
| Docs (20%) | 69 | 10 |
| Community (20%) | not measured | not measured |
| Safety | Caution
| Caution
|
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Open source | Open source | Open source |
| Language | TypeScript | Rust |
| Stars | 92,466 | 132,785 |
| Last push | ||
| Type | Agent framework | AI tool |
| Runs locally | yes (README: "npm install -g") | yes (README: "brew install") |
| Hosted option | unknown | mentioned (official docs: developers.openai.com/codex/cloud) |
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