Arcbox
Run AI agents on real, isolated machines that boot in under 100ms.
FrameworkAI ProductivitymacOS, LinuxFree
4.4Visit
Framework
Agent Foundation
The open-source, self-hosted foundation for building and running AI agents.
Day 43 since launch · Launched 25 August 2026
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Made by Shushant LakhyaniKnow about Shushant Lakhyani hereGet all my visual guides hereSee what I can build for youAI+Tech+No-Code+Online Business Mini GuidesJoin the newsletterBuilt with love by Shushant Lakhyani. Building bestproductivityresources.com
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What is Agent Foundation?
Agent Foundation (a13n) is an open-source library and self-hosted platform for building and running your own agent systems. It brings managed agents, memory, sandboxes, computer use and durable execution together, with a Service and API, an embeddable Harness and a terminal and web playground. It runs with Docker Compose.
Pros
- Self-hosted, with agents, memory, sandboxes and computer use in one stack
- Apache-2.0 licensed and commercial friendly
- Includes a console and playground to try agents quickly
Cons
- Still in 0.x development, so APIs may change
- Needs Docker and a model provider key or an eligible ChatGPT plan
Who should use Agent Foundation
Developers and teams who want to run their own agent platform.
Who may not need it
People who just want a ready-made chat assistant.
Agent Foundation alternatives
Similar resources to Agent Foundation, picked from the directory.
Everruns
A headless, durable agentic harness engine.
FrameworkAI ProductivityCross-PlatformFree
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Sandbase Harness
Local-first, self-hosted AI agent runtime and MCP bridge.
FrameworkAI ProductivitymacOS, WindowsFree
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dshcloud
Self-hosted multi-user cloud platform for DeepSeek Harness.
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Dify
Open-source platform for building and operating LLM apps and AI agents.
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4.6Visit
Dormice
The SQLite of agent sandboxes — self-hosted, E2B-compatible. One machine, sandboxes that live forever, idle costs nothing.
AI ToolAI ProductivityLinux, WebFree
4.6Visit
Free alternatives to Agent Foundation
Free resources that cover similar ground.
AgentsDock
An open-source IDE designed for agentic AI research.
Desktop AppAI ProductivitymacOS, WindowsFree
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LiveContext CE
Self-hosted AI automation platform that builds workflows, agents and apps from chat.
AI ToolAI ProductivityCross-Platform, WebFree
4.4Visit
Rakazo
Open source Grok Bot alternative for persistent AI teammates that do real work.
AI ToolAI ProductivityWeb, macOSFree
4.4Visit
Opendray
Self-hosted gateway for running AI coding agents on your own infrastructure.
AI ToolAI ProductivityWeb, Cross-PlatformFree
4.3Visit
Armory
Curated, production-grade skills for AI coding agents.
FrameworkAI ProductivitymacOS, WindowsFree
4.6Visit
Raven
A persistent, self-evolving multi-agent ecosystem.
FrameworkAI ProductivityCross-PlatformFree
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