docker-agent vs eve-software-factory-template
Two of the top projects in Agent backends, side by side: who leads on each score part and who each one suits, then setup, license, activity and what each review found.
docker-agent
Docker CLI plugin that runs multi-agent teams defined in YAML
eve-software-factory-template
eve pipeline that turns GitHub or Linear issues into reviewed draft PRs
Verdict
Both score 59; docker-agent ranks higher on stars, 4,517 to 1,162. Of the 5 score parts we measure for both, docker-agent leads on 2, eve-software-factory-template on 2 and 1 is even.
- Adoptiondocker-agent leads by 20 points, 49 to 29: a wide gap.
- FreshnessEven at 100.
- Maintenancedocker-agent leads by 58 points, 93 to 35: a wide gap.
- Easy to runeve-software-factory-template leads by 50 points, 67 to 17: a wide gap.
- Agent-readyeve-software-factory-template leads by 40 points, 70 to 30: a wide gap.
Pick docker-agent if you are
Developers building multi-agent setups from YAML with MCP tools
- Agents, tools and models declared in versionable YAML, no code required
- Works with local, remote or Docker-based MCP servers as toolsets
Pick eve-software-factory-template if you are
Teams piloting agent-written pull requests with human merge
- Reviewer is isolated from the implementer; verdicts are made against the real diff
- Six entry points including red-CI self-repair on factory branches only
| What we compare | docker-agent | eve-software-factory-template |
|---|---|---|
| Score parts, out of 100 | ||
| Adoption | 49, known | 29, niche |
| Freshness | 100, active | 100, active |
| Maintenance | 93, healthy | 35, patchy |
| Easy to run | 17, hard | 67, easy |
| Agent-ready | 30, minimal | 70, partly |
| Facts from GitHub and the README | ||
| Stars | 4.5k | 1.2k |
| License | Apache-2.0 (permissive) | MIT (permissive) |
| Last commit | Oct 2026 | Sep 2026 |
| Last release | Oct 2026 | None published |
| Language | Go | TypeScript |
| Docker | Yes | No |
| GPU | Optional | Not needed |
| arm64 or Apple Silicon | Mentioned | Not stated |
docker-agent
docker-agent is a Go CLI plugin (`docker agent run agent.yaml`) that runs agents declared in YAML: model, instructions, and toolsets, including any MCP server. Agents can delegate to other agents, and configs can be pushed to and pulled from OCI registries. It supports OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, AWS Bedrock, Mistral, xAI and Docker Model Runner, plus built-in RAG with BM25, embeddings and reranking.
Who it is for: Developers building multi-agent setups from YAML with MCP tools
Strengths
- Agents, tools and models declared in versionable YAML, no code required
- Works with local, remote or Docker-based MCP servers as toolsets
- Agent configs can be shared through any OCI registry
- Many providers supported, plus local models via Docker Model Runner
Weaknesses
- Collects anonymous usage telemetry; opt-out details are only in the docs
- Needs a cloud provider API key or Docker Model Runner to do anything
- Configuration is YAML-centric; custom logic needs MCP tools rather than code hooks
- RAM and hardware requirements are not documented in the README
- Go, OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, AWS Bedrock
- Needs Docker CLI (plugin), LLM provider API key or Docker Model Runner, MCP servers (optional), OCI registry (optional)
- Docker
eve-software-factory-template
An eve pipeline named Foreman: label an issue factory, @mention it, or delegate from Linear, and four agents (classifier, analyst, implementer, reviewer) each run in their own sandbox and end with a draft pull request on FACTORY_REPO. The reviewer sees only the pushed branch, a factory brain keeps notes about your repo between runs, and it deploys to Vercel with GitHub and Linear connectors. For teams piloting agent-written PRs with human merge.
Who it is for: Teams piloting agent-written pull requests with human merge
Strengths
- Reviewer is isolated from the implementer; verdicts are made against the real diff
- Six entry points including red-CI self-repair on factory branches only
- Local dev TUI treats runs as untrusted; GitHub writes wait for approval
- Separate docs site; CLAUDE.md and AGENTS.md included
Weaknesses
- Tied to eve, Vercel Connect, Vercel Sandbox and Vercel Blob
- No model provider named in the README; model access comes through the Vercel stack
- No tests listed
- First task fails if the GitHub App cannot reach FACTORY_REPO; the error surfaces late
- TypeScript, eve, ai-sdk
- Needs vercel, github-app-connector, linear-connector, vercel-blob
- GitHub template
- env example file
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