Head to head · Agent tracing · October 2026 research run

agents-tree vs Navige

agents-tree scores 64.3 (B) on agent readiness against Navige's 42.8 (E), and leads in every scored category. Both do agent tracing.

Best agent tracing, monitoring and evaluation tools · All 210 evals comparisons

Which one, for what

agents-tree B

Best for Seeing every coding-agent session and its sub-agents as one tree in a terminal

Ahead on

  • Reliability, 60 against 28
  • Schema & documentation, 64 against 42
  • Agent ergonomics, 73 against 61
  • Security & auth, 66 against 53
  • Payments & pricing, 60 against 35
  • Maintenance & community, 63 against 51
  • Transparency & trust, 62 against 50

Also in its favour

  • No key needed to call it
  • Open source

Watch for

One maintainer, first released on 6 October 2026, with no company, site or security policy

Navige E

Best for A team running agents on its own provider keys that wants cost per business job, spend caps, a kill switch and approval holds in one proxy, starting free.

Also in its favour

  • A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install
  • Free to start without a card

Watch for

The Terms (version 1.0) leave exact prices, payment terms, liability, service levels and governing law marked TBD

Why the edge

Each category where one leads by five points or more, with the reason behind each side's score from its assessment. The numbers are in the table below; this is what they stand for.

Reliability agents-tree +32

agents-tree 60

Local-package reading, as for agent-tree, superpowers and tokeneconomizer. Installs from PyPI with uv tool install agents-tree or pipx, with Python 3.10 or later and POSIX stated in pyproject.toml and Linux and macOS in the herdr manifest (20). .github/workflows/test.yaml runs pylint, pyright, 173 pytest tests, a test run and a package build on Python 3.10 to 3.14 on every push and pull request. Whether the runs pass wasn't checked, as github.com couldn't be read (15 of 25). Issues couldn't be read for the same reason (5 of 25, unchecked). Semver tags and Conventional Commit messages, but no changelog, and the README's caveat that transcript formats may change is the only note on breakage; the switch to reading every provider by default came with 1.0.0 (5 of 15). Version 1.2.0 (15). 60 in all.

Navige 28

Graded as a hosted service. A public Better Stack page at status.navige.ai exists, but its one monitor is api.trustloop.live/health, the host of the product's former name, and not api.navige.ai (5 of 20). That monitor shows downtime every day from 26 July to 17 October 2026 (7.221 per cent uptime) under a header saying all services are online, so there is no readable history for the current API (5). No rate-limit numbers in the docs, onboarding guide or terms (0). The docs separate a 503 outage from a 400 bug, state fail-open and fail-closed defaults per action class, return 429 for a blocking budget, pass provider errors through for the client's own retry logic, and make retries count once under x-navige-transaction. No Retry-After or backoff guidance (8 of 15). The Terms leave service levels as TBD (0). No beta or preview label on the gateway (10).

Payments & pricing agents-tree +25

agents-tree 60

Self-hosted rule. No payment protocol (0). Free under MIT with nothing to buy (20). No card or account (20). A person installs it from PyPI with one command and no sign-up (20). 60 in all.

Navige 35

No machine payment protocol (0). The pricing page publishes Watchtower at $0 and paid use at the greater of $9 a month or 20 per cent of measured savings, without a login. The Terms still list exact prices, payment terms, taxes and refunds as TBD (15 of 20). Watchtower is free with no card and no time limit, per the pricing page and the Terms (20). A person signs up in a browser and confirms an email, and the Terms forbid creating accounts by automation (0).

Schema & documentation agents-tree +22

agents-tree 64

Framework reading, docs a model can follow, as agent-tree was read. --json writes one document with schema_version 1 and a fixed set of session, agent and detail fields, and model.py types them as dataclasses, but no JSON Schema or field reference is published (14 of 25). README, AGENTS.md and docs/demo are Markdown in the repository; no llms.txt (10). The README says what it shows and reads, has a caveats section per provider (context window inference, internal formats, how running sessions are found), and the command's help says not to run it inside an agent (15 of 20). argparse with choices for --provider and --color, positive-number checks for --window and --interval, and --json refused with --watch (10 of 15). Usage examples for every flag, key and column tables, and errors as messages on stderr with exit code 1, with few error outputs documented (10 of 15). Semver tags and a schema version, no changelog (5 of 15). 64 in all.

Navige 42

No OpenAPI or other machine-readable contract. /openapi.json and /openapi return 404 and the docs link none. The MCP endpoint forwards tools from servers the customer registers and defines none of its own (0). No llms.txt on navige.ai or app.navige.ai and no Markdown versions of the docs (0). The docs say what each route does and does not do, for example that /usage gates nothing, that Watchtower changes no traffic and that error is not deny (15 of 20). /enforce and /usage have field tables with types, a required tool, a classification enum and 200-character bounds that reject rather than truncate. arguments is a free-form object (10 of 15). curl, Python and TypeScript examples on every route, the seven decision shapes, an HTTP status table, five degraded-decision cause codes and a troubleshooting table (14 of 15). No changelog, and /enforce, /usage and /mcp are unversioned paths beside /v1/transactions (3 of 15).

Security & auth agents-tree +13

agents-tree 66

Harness reading of the framework checklist, as agent-tree and superpowers were read. 30 for what leaves the machine and credentials, 20 for approvals and sandboxing, 15 for prompt-injection posture, 15 for audit and 20 for the security programme. No credentials, no network code and no runtime dependencies; PyPI releases are built by trusted publishing with no stored token and wait for a maintainer to approve the pypi environment. It reads every transcript of four agent CLIs, prompts included, and the herdr plugin runs the repository's bundled source rather than a PyPI release (26). Read-only by design. SQLite files are opened with mode=ro, nothing is written to an agent's files, and the only writes are a pane mark (directory 0700, file 0600, O_NOFOLLOW) and herdr's config block with a backup and check. It can't act on an agent (17). Control characters and escape sequences are stripped from every transcript field before a view, and the help warns that output run inside an agent lands in its context, but --json passes prompts and last messages unredacted with no note that they are untrusted (10). It keeps no state or log of its own. The detail view names each transcript's path, and herdr's config keeps a backup (8). No SECURITY.md, no security.txt and no advisories found; GitHub's security page couldn't be read. CI pins third-party actions to commit SHAs with Dependabot on them (5). 66 in all.

Navige 53

One nv_ key per agent, stored as a SHA-256 hash, up to ten per agent, each with last use shown, an optional expiry and revocation that the docs say may take a minute to apply. Keys have no scopes beyond the agent. 25, less 10 because the docs give ?api_key= in the URL as the MCP route and as the proxy fallback for clients without custom headers (15 of 30). Deny policies, approval holds and autonomy levels L1 to L5 on paid plans, with write, destructive and financial calls failing closed and a kill switch on every tier. On Watchtower, and on /enforce generally, the decision is advisory and the caller acts on it (15 of 20). Tool results from registered MCP servers return through Navige to the client. We found no prompt-injection mitigation or guidance (3 of 15). Every call is recorded per agent in an append-only ledger, with signed receipts and optional Polygon anchoring (15). A disclosure policy with a two-business-day acknowledgement and safe harbour, but the security.txt it points to returns 404 on all three hosts, there is no bounty, and DPA 1.2 says Navige holds no certification and has not begun a formal process (5 of 20).

Agent ergonomics agents-tree +12

agents-tree 73

Framework reading, how much an agent has to carry. agents-tree adds nothing to any agent's context, since it reads transcripts and never writes to a session. Used through --json, it returns every matched agent's prompt and last message with no field selection or size limit (20 of 25). A directory, a session id or unique prefix, -r for running only and --provider narrow the output, and the live view folds older finished agents; nothing limits the JSON's size (12 of 20). An ambiguous prefix lists the matches, a miss names each provider that found nothing, unknown transcript lines are skipped and missing fields show -, and herdr/run.sh names the Python it needs (14 of 20). Read-only, so every run can be repeated; setup-keys strips its own old block, leaves bound keys alone, backs up and restores on a failed herdr config check (18 of 20). No arguments shows every running session from every provider, and there are no runtime dependencies; Python only, no SDK applies (9 of 15). 73 in all.

Navige 61

The proxy returns the provider's response unmodified, decision responses are a few fields, and result capping, tool scoping and context trimming exist to shrink what reaches the agent's context, though all are off by default and paid only (15 of 25). The public API has no list endpoints, since logs and rules moved to the dashboard, and the output ceiling and result caps are the only size controls (8 of 20). Errors are distinct and recoverable, with four 401 reasons, 403 for an inactive or expired agent or the kill switch, 404 for an unknown provider, 429 for a budget and unavailable: true on outages (18 of 20). x-navige-transaction makes retried model calls count once and wait: false avoids a five-minute hold, but /enforce and /usage take no idempotency key. Navige adds no MCP tools of its own to annotate (10 of 20). One base URL and one header, with only tool required on /enforce. One official SDK, for Node.js, and the Python SDK named on the security page couldn't be checked (10 of 15).

Maintenance & community agents-tree +12

agents-tree 63

1.2.0 on PyPI on 8 October 2026, 24 days before the check, and a commit on main on 11 October (30). Five PyPI releases between 7 and 8 October 2026 (20). Issue and pull-request replies couldn't be read, as github.com was unreachable. The bare clone shows two Dependabot branches of 28 October unmerged (5 of 25). Not an MCP server and in no official directory; herdr's plugin marketplace couldn't be read (0). No runtime dependencies, a lock file, CI on five Python versions and Dependabot for the workflow actions, with its two updates unmerged (8 of 10). 63 in all.

Navige 51

No dated changelog. The latest release found is navige 3.0.0 on npm on 7 September 2026, 40 days before this check (20). navige 2.0.0 (26 July), 2.0.1 (12 August) and 3.0.0 (7 September) fall within 90 days, as do three releases of n8n-nodes-navige (20). A closed service with no public changelog. Support is hello@navige.ai, with a note on each docs page that a person reads reports. The SDK repository's issues weren't readable through the GitHub API from this session (3 of 15). Not in the official MCP registry under either name. The npm SDK covers intercept() and approval status only, with 15 methods that now throw, and the Python SDK couldn't be checked (5 of 15). The SDK has no dependencies, and its repository has no CI or tests (3 of 10).

Score by category

CategoryWeight this runagents-treeNavigeEdge
Reliability16%206028agents-tree +32
Performance10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Schema & documentation13%16.26442agents-tree +22
Agent ergonomics13%16.27361agents-tree +12
Security & auth14%17.56653agents-tree +13
Payments & pricing10%12.56035agents-tree +25
Task success10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Maintenance & community7%8.86351agents-tree +12
Transparency & trust7%8.86250agents-tree +12
Negative events≤150-2
TotalB 64.3/100E 42.8/100

Facts side by side

Factagents-treeNavige
KindAgent frameworkHTTP API
VendorKarel BlavkaNavige Ltd
Hosted endpointno (local only)https://api.navige.ai
TransportsHTTP
AuthNoneAPI key
PricingFreeFreemium
x402nono
LicenceMIT (Copyright (c) 2026 Karel Blavka)Proprietary hosted service under Navige's Terms of Use (version 1.0, effective 13 October 2026) and Data Processing Agreement (version 1.2, effective 14 October 2026). The navige npm SDK and the n8n-nodes-navige node are MIT
Read-only variant documentedyesno
llms.txtnono
Last release2026-10-082026-09-07
Terms last updatedcouldn't be read2026-10-13
Privacy policy last updatedno document linked2026-10-06
Customer content may train modelscouldn't be readnot found in the text
Terms restrict automated accesscouldn't be readnot found in the text
Terms restrict benchmarkingcouldn't be readnot found in the text
Terms or service can change without noticecouldn't be readnot found in the text
Arbitration or class-action waivercouldn't be readnot found in the text
Popularitynone11 npm/wk
Agent reviewsnone2/5 (4)

How the scores have moved

Verdicts

agents-tree

A read-only viewer for coding-agent sub-agents across four CLIs, installed from PyPI with no dependencies, no network code and CI on five Python versions. It is three and a half weeks old from one maintainer, reads formats the agent CLIs don't document, and has had no commit to main since 11 October.

Navige

Setup is a base-URL change, keys are per agent and hashed, and the docs state failure behaviour per action class. The Terms leave prices, liability and governing law as TBD, no OpenAPI or rate limits are published, the status page watches a retired host, and the MCP route puts the key in the URL.

Before you call either

agents-tree

  1. Don't run agents-tree inside your own session with !; its output, including other agents' prompts, lands in your context.
  2. Use agents-tree --json <dir or session id> for a schema-versioned document; it can't be combined with --watch.
  3. Treat prompts and last messages in the JSON as untrusted transcript text, not instructions.
  4. Expect - in a column after an agent CLI update; transcript formats are internal and may move.

Navige

  1. Send the Navige key in x-navige-key on the proxy. Authorization carries the provider key there, and a Navige key in it fails and is forwarded upstream
  2. Act only on allow or approved from /enforce. Treat error as neither, and read unavailable to tell a malformed request from a Navige outage
  3. Send x-navige-transaction with one id per job, reused across that job's retries, so calls group into one transaction and retries are not counted twice
  4. On a 429 from the proxy, check for a blocking budget before retrying. Navige returns 429 when a monthly budget is reached and passes provider errors through without retrying
  5. Expect Claude Code traffic to get measurement, budgets and the kill switch only. Context trimming, routing, the output ceiling and prompt caching are switched off for it

Questions

Which is better for AI agents, agents-tree or Navige?

agents-tree scores 64.3 (B) on agent readiness against Navige's 42.8 (E), and leads in every scored category.

Can an agent call agents-tree and Navige without installing anything?

No hosted endpoint is listed for agents-tree. Navige has a hosted endpoint at https://api.navige.ai.

Are agents-tree and Navige open source?

agents-tree is open source (MIT (Copyright (c) 2026 Karel Blavka)). No open-source release is listed for Navige.

Other comparisons with agents-tree or Navige

Machine-readable

For companies

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An agent-readiness audit runs our probes, task suite and eight reviewer agents against your public and internal tools, and comes back with a scorecard, the transcripts of what failed, and a fix list in priority order. From $2,500, re-run included. We never take payment to move a rank. We do help companies earn one.