OpenAgents
Open-source research platform for language agents, unmaintained since 2024
Overview
OpenAgents is an Apache 2.0 research platform from XLang Lab at the University of Hong Kong, published at COLM 2024, that puts three agents (data analysis, 200+ API plugins and web browsing) behind a chat interface for non-expert users. Its last code change was in May 2024 and security fixes proposed in 2026 remain unmerged, so treat it as a reference codebase rather than a maintained product.
Pricing
Pricing shown for reference only. These figures reflect RECATOOLS research as of 19 Oct 2026 and may be out of date or incomplete. This is not financial or purchasing advice — always confirm the current price on the provider’s official website before making any decision.
Use cases
What you can produce with OpenAgents
- A readable reference architecture for hosting language agents behind a chat interface
- A Data agent that writes and runs Python and SQL over uploaded files
- A Plugins agent wired to 200+ everyday API tools, with automatic plugin selection
- A Web agent that browses autonomously through a Chrome extension
- The COLM 2024 paper on running agents for non-expert users
- A forkable Apache 2.0 codebase, with its open security issues to fix first
OpenAgents was an early open answer to ChatGPT's plugins-and-agents experience: a Data agent that runs Python and SQL, a Plugins agent with 200+ tools and a Web agent driving a Chrome extension, all behind one chat UI, with a COLM 2024 paper explaining what goes wrong when non-experts use agents. As a reference implementation and a read, it still earns its place.
As software, it is frozen. Nothing has been merged since 2024, 2026 security pull requests are unreviewed, and an October 2026 issue reports that the default Data agent setup executes model-written code with no sandbox. Read it; do not deploy it.
What we found
OpenAgents is a research platform from XLang Lab at the University of Hong Kong, built with Sea AI Lab and Salesforce Research according to the paper's own affiliations. Its demos went live in August 2023 and code for all three agents followed that October: a Data agent that writes and runs Python and SQL against uploaded files, a Plugins agent wired to more than 200 everyday API tools, and a Web agent that drives the browser through a Chrome extension. The paper, OpenAgents: An Open Platform for Language Agents in the Wild, was accepted at COLM 2024.
The interesting part was the intended user. Most agent frameworks of 2023 were built for developers assembling proofs of concept; this one put agents behind a chat interface meant for non-experts, and the paper is frank about what breaks when ordinary people use them. That still makes it a useful reference for anyone studying how agents are hosted.
As a product it has stopped. The README's news section ends in October 2023, the last code change merged was a plugins update in May 2024, and the last commit of any kind was a README edit that November. Pull requests from 2026, including a prompt-injection fix for the Web agent and SSRF protection, sit unmerged, and 12 issues and 5 pull requests are open in all. An issue filed on 17 October 2026 reports that the documented default for the Data agent runs model-written code inside the backend process with no sandbox, and that the safety check meant to screen it always passes. Self-hosting means a Flask backend, a Next.js frontend and your own model keys. The hosted demo at chat.xlang.ai still loads, but we could not confirm the agents behind it work.
The lab has moved on to computer-use research such as OSWorld, which it was still updating in October 2026. OpenAgents remains Apache 2.0 and unarchived, so forking is possible, but whoever forks it inherits the maintenance and the open security issue.
Compiled by RECATOOLS from public sources: vendor documentation and pricing, code repositories and published reporting.
Notable facts
- OpenAgents was built collaboratively between researchers at The University of Hong Kong and Sea AI Lab, a Singapore-headquartered research organisation — making it one of the most prominent AI agent projects to emerge from Southeast Asia.
- The Data Agent can analyse a CSV file, identify statistical anomalies, write visualisation code, and explain the findings in plain English — all in a single conversation.
- OpenAgents was released with a fully functional demo at openagents.xlang.ai requiring no code or account to try.
Frequently asked questions
About this listing
This entry was compiled from publicly available data including OpenAgents's official website, press releases, documentation, and reputable third-party publications. RECATOOLS is not affiliated with OpenAgents unless explicitly stated.
Third-party AI tools update their pricing, features, availability, and policies frequently. Information here may be outdated by the time you read this — we make reasonable efforts to keep listings current, but cannot guarantee absolute accuracy.
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