Definition · examples · use cases
Self-hosted AI agent platforms, explained.
A self-hosted AI agent platform runs your agents on hardware you control — your laptop, a VPS, your VPC, or on-prem. Here's what the term actually means, which platforms deliver it, and when it's the right call.
Definition
What "self-hosted AI agent platform" means
Three properties separate a genuinely self-hosted platform from a managed one.
- The runtime lives on your machine. Agents run in an environment you provision, not on a vendor's cloud.
- Your configuration is code you own. Agents, skills, and memory are versioned files in your repo, not settings in someone's product.
- Secrets and data stay in your perimeter. Credentials are stored where you control them, and model calls go to providers you chose with your own keys.
Examples
Platforms that actually self-host
Kortix (Suna)
Runs from Docker on your own hosts (kortix self-host start). Org-scale agents in isolated sandboxes, work landing through a change request you approve.
- Elastic 2.0 (source-available).
- VPC or on-prem.
- Self-host free.
OpenWork
A desktop app where your files stay on your machine and prompts go only to the LLM provider you choose.
- Open source.
- macOS / Windows / Linux.
- Desktop free.
Eigent
Packages a workspace you run locally or self-hosted, connecting cloud, gateway, or local models.
- Open source.
- BYOK or local models.
- Self-host free.
Use cases
Who self-hosts, and why
Content and research pipelines
Run research, drafting, and competitive briefs on agents that stay on your infra — keeping briefs and source data inside your perimeter.
Predictable cost, owned data
Self-hosting is free on all three platforms; you trade vendor fees for operating a box you already control.
Governed agent fleets
Org-scale specialist agents that share memory and land work only through reviewed change requests.
How to choose
The short checklist
- Confirm the license fits (OSI-open vs source-available).
- Pick hardware: laptop, VPS, VPC, or on-prem.
- Bring your own model keys or local models.
- Turn on the human gate — change requests or approvals.