SWE-agent

A research agent from Princeton and Stanford that takes a GitHub issue and tries to fix it with your language model, now superseded by mini-SWE-agent.

20.7k stars, 2.3k forks Python On GitHub since April 2024

Visit website View on GitHub How to run it
Development has slowed down. No commits in the last 90 days; the latest on 16 July 2026. Active alternatives: Qwen Code, Continue, OpenHands.

What is SWE-agent?

SWE-agent lets a language model use tools to fix issues in real GitHub repositories, find security vulnerabilities, or solve coding challenges. It was presented at NeurIPS 2024 and led open-source projects on the SWE-bench benchmark at the time. Behavior is governed by a single configuration file, which made it popular for research. The authors now recommend mini-SWE-agent instead, which matches its performance with a much simpler design.

Good fit if

  • You reproduce or extend research on software engineering agents.
  • You run benchmark experiments on SWE-bench.

Look elsewhere if

  • You want a coding agent for daily work: OpenCode or Cline.
  • You want a maintained autonomous agent for issues: OpenHands.

Before you adopt it

SWE-agent is MIT-licensed. There were no commits in the last 90 days, and its README sends new users to mini-SWE-agent.

Drafted with AI from the project's README and repository data, then checked against that data on 30 October 2026. Report a correction

SWE-agent health: is it still maintained?

6 of 100, slowing down

  • Activity
    No commits in the last 90 days, the latest on 16 July 2026.
    0 / 30
  • Contributors
    Nobody committed in the last 90 days.
    0 / 20
  • Releases
    0 releases in the last 12 months; the latest, v1.1.0, on 22 May 2025.
    1 / 20
  • Replies to issues
    Maintainers answered 0% of recent issues.
    0 / 20
  • Security practices
    No OpenSSF Scorecard for this repository yet, so this part gets a neutral score.
    5 / 10

Read from GitHub on 1 November 2026. How the score works

SWE-agent license: is it open source?

SWE-agent uses MIT, an open-source license approved by the OSI.

  1. April 2024First published on GitHub.
  2. TodayMIT.

How to run SWE-agent yourself

Docker
Dockerfile or compose file in the repository
Compose file
None in the repository
Setup effort
Not rated: no compose file to judge from
Kubernetes
No Helm chart in the repository
Desktop and mobile
No app builds in GitHub releases
Interface languages
English only

Install instructions: swe-agent.com or the README on GitHub.

Alternatives to SWE-agent

  • Qwen CodeAn open-source AI coding agent that lives in your terminal. 80 health · Apache-2.0 · 28.9k stars
  • Continueopen-source coding agent 18 health · Apache-2.0 · 36.4k stars
  • OpenHandsOpenHands: AI-Driven Development 83 health · MIT · 92.4k stars
  • RepomixRepomix is a powerful tool that packs your entire repository into a single, AI-friendly file. Perfect for… 72 health · MIT · 29.1k stars
  • ArchonThe first open-source harness builder for AI coding. Make AI coding deterministic and repeatable. 68 health · MIT · 23.8k stars

All 27 projects in AI coding agents

Questions about SWE-agent

Is SWE-agent open source?

Yes. SWE-agent is published under MIT, an OSI-approved open-source license.

Is SWE-agent still maintained?

Its health score is 6 of 100 (slowing down). It had no commits in the last 90 days, the latest on 16 July 2026, and its latest release came out on 22 May 2025.

How do I run SWE-agent?

You can run it with Docker. The README on GitHub has the exact steps.

What are the alternatives to SWE-agent?

Close alternatives in the AI coding agents category include Qwen Code, Continue, OpenHands.