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Agent workspace · Infinite Wisdom Software (GitHub org YaoApp)

Yao Agents

Self-hosted agent workspace: a local Yao Engine server, desktop and Android clients, a task board, scheduled tasks and an OpenAI-compatible API, with agents running on your own machines via Tai Link nodes.

Reviewed by the Termdex team · facts checked 2026-10-21 against 28 vendor sources · how we check

Official site

Yao Agents review

Yao Agents is a self-hosted workspace for running AI agents across several of your own machines, with work laid out as tasks on a kanban board. The docs show an app, not a terminal or command-line coding agent. We read the vendor's site, docs and GitHub pages on 12 November 2026 and did not install or run it.

Three pieces

Yao Engine is the local server, usable in a browser. The desktop client (macOS and Windows) is recommended; an Android build is listed, labelled beta in the README. Tai Link, a single Go binary for macOS, Windows or Linux, registers another computer as a node for agents.

The docs say task agents run in Docker containers, or directly on the Engine's machine when the sandbox is off. They also cover scheduled tasks, an OpenAI-compatible API for robots and MCP tool servers.

Models, cost and licence

You can bring your own keys (OpenAI, Anthropic, Ollama) or use Tao, the vendor's gateway. The Tao page says private beta, pricing coming soon, though the docs mention 1,000 sign-up credits. The software terms call the Community Edition free of charge.

The licence file, covering Yao Engine, is a modified Apache 2.0: logo and copyright information must stay, and organisations with 50 or more employees or over USD 1 million in annual revenue need a commercial licence. The repository showed 8,290 stars on 12 November 2026; the latest release is v1.0.0.

Check before relying on it

For comparison, see OpenHands, a self-hosted web control centre, and Cline Kanban.

Yao Agents at a glance: on macOS, Windows, Android, Web, free, Modified Apache License 2.0 with additional conditions licence.
Platforms, price and licence at a glance, from the vendor pages we read.

Facts: platforms, price and licence

platforms
macOSWindowsAndroidWebDownload page lists the Yao Agents client for macOS (Apple Silicon, Intel), Windows x86_64 and Android ARM64 (client v1.1.11 for macOS, Android v0.7.0 shown on the Yao Agents download page); the README labels Android Beta. The Yao Engine server has macOS, Windows and a Linux CLI build (ARM64, x86_64) and Tai Link has macOS, Windows and Linux builds, but no Linux desktop client is listed (the install-client doc says the client is for macOS and Windows). The browser UI is served by a running Yao Engine. No iOS build was found.
price
FreeThe Yao Software Terms (section 10.1) say the Software (Community Edition) is provided free of charge and that an enterprise edition or certain features may require a paid subscription (seen 2026-11-12). No price list was found. Tao, the vendor's optional model/service gateway, is metered in credits and labelled Beta; the Tao docs say 1,000 credits on sign-up, while the Tao page says private beta with pricing and availability coming soon. Bring-your-own-key is offered as an alternative. A commercial licence is required for organisations with 50+ employees or over USD 1,000,000 annual revenue; its price is not published (contact via /enterprise).
source
?Licence: Modified Apache License 2.0 with additional conditions (LICENSE file, repo YaoApp/yao, covers Yao Engine): logo and copyright information must not be removed or modified; certificate verification logic must be preserved; organisations with 50+ employees or annual revenue over USD 1,000,000 must obtain a commercial licence from Infinite Wisdom Software; contributors agree the vendor may adjust the licence and use contributions commercially. GitHub API reports license as Other / NOASSERTION. Desktop installers are separately covered by the Yao Software Terms of Service (no reverse engineering or resale as a service, open-source components excepted).
github
YaoApp/yao 8.3k stars, seen 2026-11-13

Yao Agents features

✓ documented · – absent or not in its feature list · ? not verified

Yao Agents strengths

  • Agents can run on other computers you own: Tai Link nodes (macOS, Windows, Linux) register through a tunnel, with a VNC viewer, file sync and Docker/Kubernetes detection
  • Task board with queued/running/waiting/done/failed states, scheduled tasks and Inbox notifications; the docs say task agents run in Docker containers
  • Documented OpenAI-compatible API for robots and MCP tool servers over http, sse, stdio or process transports
  • Models are your choice: bring your own OpenAI, Anthropic, DeepSeek, Google, Ollama or custom keys, or use the vendor's Tao gateway; a built-in Claude Code expert is documented

Yao Agents weak points

  • README says version 2.0 is in development and not backward compatible; BREAKING.md (updated 2026-11-09) lists the 1.0 agent, Tai and workspace code for removal with no runtime compatibility layer, and a separate upgrade tool is planned with no date (TBD)
  • Licence is a modified Apache 2.0, not plain Apache: logo and certificate checks must be kept and organisations with 50+ employees or over USD 1M revenue need a commercial licence
  • Full setup can involve three components (Engine, client, Tai Link), though the installation doc says the Engine alone can be used in a browser and the client is recommended; Docker is needed for the sandbox, and per the Claude Code docs page tasks run directly on the Engine host when it is off
  • Version numbers and platform statements are unclear across pages (client v1.1.11 vs an installation note 'Requires Yao Agents v1.6.1+', which sits in the Engine launch step and does not say which component; one doc page says macOS, Windows or Linux for the app while the client page lists macOS and Windows); Android shown at v0.7.0 and labelled beta in the README; no iOS app mentioned on pages read

Who Yao Agents is for

best for
People with a few machines of their own who want agents running tasks from a board and are comfortable self-hosting a server plus Docker.
look elsewhere if
Anyone who wants a terminal emulator, an SSH or SFTP client, or a command-line coding agent, or who needs a plainly permissive licence for a larger organisation.

Lists that include Yao Agents

Sources and what we could not verify

Checked 2026-10-21. Prices and features change; the vendor's page is the authority.

Not verified