{ "data": { "a": { "slug": "boxlang-ai", "name": "BoxLang AI", "vendor": "Ortus Solutions", "vendorUrl": "https://ai.boxlang.io", "kind": "framework", "category": "frameworks", "summary": "BoxLang AI (bx-ai) is Ortus Solutions' Apache-2.0 agent framework for BoxLang on the JVM, with agents, tools, memory, RAG, human approval, and an MCP client and server across more than 15 model providers.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/boxlang-ai", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/boxlang-ai.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/boxlang-ai.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/boxlang-ai.json", "dns": "boxlang-ai.grade.anchorterminal.com", "repo": "https://github.com/ortus-boxlang/bx-ai", "license": "Apache-2.0", "transports": [], "packages": [ { "registry": "forgebox", "name": "bx-ai" } ], "auth": "none", "authNotes": "A library with no account of its own. Model providers need their own keys, set in boxlang.json or read from each provider's environment variable (OPENAI_API_KEY, CLAUDE_API_KEY and so on). Ollama, Docker Model Runner and the mock provider need no key.", "pricing": "free", "pricingNotes": "Free under Apache-2.0. Model calls are billed by the provider. Ortus sells optional BoxLang runtime plans from $749 a year (Starter, one server) to $4,999 a node a year (BoxLang++), which the readme says add more vector memories and an Agent Dashboard.", "priceSummary": "Free · OSS", "where": "library", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "Local library. No x402, MPP or L402 in the repository, the docs or the plans page, checked 1 November 2026.", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": null, "popularity": { "githubStars": null, "npmWeekly": null, "pypiWeekly": null, "asOf": "2026-11-01" }, "docsUrl": "https://ai.ortusbooks.com", "llmsTxt": "https://ai.ortusbooks.com/llms.txt", "capabilities": [ "agent.framework", "agent.multi-agent", "agent.mcp-client" ], "tags": [ "framework", "boxlang", "jvm", "open-source", "apache-2.0", "mcp", "llms-txt", "free" ], "lastRelease": "2026-10-20", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 65.8, "grade": "B", "agentReady": false, "rank": 328, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 1260, "categoryRank": 10, "methodology": "0.7", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 74, "maintenance": 83, "payments": 50, "reliability": 66, "schema": 71, "security": 71, "transparency": 70 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-11-01" }, "negative": -3, "negativeNotes": [ "2026-10-20. -3, a breaking change in a minor release without advance notice. 3.6.0 renamed the `MCPClient` class to `MCPHttpClient` with no alias, so code that created the class directly must move to `MCP( url )`. The changelog's Migration section says so on release day. 3.5.0 (11 September) likewise raised the minimum BoxLang runtime from 1.8.0 to 1.14.0. One term at the floor, as google-adk's minor-release breaking changes took. https://github.com/ortus-boxlang/bx-ai/blob/main/changelog.md" ], "verdict": "A JVM agent framework with human approval, guardrail middleware and an MCP client over HTTP and stdio, all enforced in code, with three releases in the 90 days to 1 November 2026. It runs only on BoxLang, the stronger guards are opt-in, and minor releases have renamed public classes without a deprecation period.", "bestFor": "Teams already running BoxLang or modernising CFML on the JVM who want agents, RAG and MCP with approval and guardrails in the same language", "strengths": [ "Human approval enforced in code, with suspended runs that resume without replaying the model call, five approval policies and durable grants", "Untrusted context is fenced and inbound text Unicode-normalised by default, with opt-in sanitiser, LLM-judge and output-redaction middleware", "stdio MCP servers start without a shell, with an allowedCommands setting, per-server tool filters and prefixes, and restart limits", "Three releases in the 90 days to 1 November 2026 (3.4.0, 3.5.0, 3.6.0), with a Keep a Changelog file and migration notes", "llms.txt and a Markdown copy of every docs page, plus about 100 runnable example scripts in the repository" ], "weaknesses": [ "Runs only on BoxLang, a JVM language, so it suits teams already on BoxLang or CFML rather than Python or TypeScript stacks", "Minor releases carry breaking changes. 3.6.0 renamed MCPClient to MCPHttpClient with no alias, noted on release day", "The stdio command allow-list, filesystem tool paths and MCP server authentication are all open by default", "Docs lag the code. On 1 November the 3.6.0 release page still read unreleased and didn't mention the stdio MCP client", "No OpenTelemetry export found. Tracing is through BoxLang interception points, logging and flight-recorder middleware" ], "agentNotes": [ "Set `mcp.stdio.allowedCommands` to the executables you need. The default empty list lets any command start as a stdio MCP server.", "Pass `allowedPaths` when you create FileSystemTools. With none, its tools can read, write and delete anywhere the JVM user can.", "Attach HumanInTheLoopMiddleware with a checkpointer for tools that write or spend. Approval is opt-in.", "Create MCP clients with `MCP()` rather than the class, since 3.6.0 renamed MCPClient to MCPHttpClient without an alias.", "Use the `mock` provider to test agent wiring and guardrails with no API key or network." ], "metrics": { "kind": "library", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 0, "avgRating": 0, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "B", "methodology": "0.7", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 65.8 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 74, "maintenance": 83, "payments": 50, "reliability": 66, "schema": 71, "security": 71, "transparency": 65 }, "provenanceScore": 74, "checked": { "categories": { "ergonomics": "2026-11-01", "maintenance": "2026-11-01", "payments": "2026-11-01", "reliability": "2026-11-01", "schema": "2026-11-01", "security": "2026-11-01", "transparency": "2026-11-01" }, "last": "2026-11-01", "oldest": "2026-11-01", "stale": false, "staleAfterDays": 90 } }, "connect": { "install": "install-bx-module bx-ai # in a web app: box install bx-ai" }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/agent.framework", "tool": "https://letme.dev/boxlang-ai" }, "sameCompany": [ "bx-playwright" ], "area": "frameworks", "provenance": { "legalEntity": "Ortus Solutions, Corp.", "domain": "ortussolutions.com", "domainRegistered": "2006-04-12", "endpointOnVendorDomain": null, "terms": "https://github.com/ortus-boxlang/bx-ai/blob/main/src/main/resources/LICENSE", "privacy": "https://www.ortussolutions.com/about-us/ortus-privacy-policy", "statusPage": "", "changelog": "https://github.com/ortus-boxlang/bx-ai/blob/main/changelog.md", "securityTxt": "none", "checked": "2026-11-01", "notes": [ "The readme names Ortus Solutions, Corp as copyright holder, and box.json names Ortus Solutions as author.", "domainRegistered is from Verisign's RDAP record for ortussolutions.com. rdap.org has no record for boxlang.io, so the product domain's date wasn't read.", "security.txt answers 410 on www.ortussolutions.com and boxlang.io. CONTRIBUTING.md asks for vulnerability reports to security@ortussolutions.com.", "The Apache 2.0 licence stands in for terms. The privacy policy covers Ortus's website and customers, not the module.", "Local software, so there is no endpoint or status page." ], "score": 74 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/boxlang-ai.json" }, "answer": "Agent Development Kit (ADK) scores 68.7 (B) on agent readiness against BoxLang AI's 65.8 (B), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories.", "b": { "slug": "google-adk", "name": "Agent Development Kit (ADK)", "vendor": "Google", "vendorUrl": "https://adk.dev", "kind": "framework", "category": "frameworks", "summary": "Google's code-first toolkit to build, evaluate and deploy agents in Python, TypeScript, Go, Java and Kotlin.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/google-adk", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/google-adk.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/google-adk.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/google-adk.json", "dns": "google-adk.grade.anchorterminal.com", "repo": "https://github.com/google/adk-python", "license": "Apache-2.0", "transports": [], "packages": [ { "registry": "pypi", "name": "google-adk" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "@google/adk" } ], "auth": "none", "authNotes": "A library. Credentials are for the models and tools you use.", "pricing": "free", "pricingNotes": "Free and open source. You pay for the model calls it makes. Google's managed Agent Runtime costs $0.085 a vCPU-hour after 50 free vCPU-hours a month.", "priceSummary": "Free · OSS", "where": "library", "x402": { "level": "no", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": null, "popularity": { "githubStars": 21649, "npmWeekly": null, "pypiWeekly": null, "asOf": "2026-09-26" }, "docsUrl": "https://adk.dev", "llmsTxt": "https://adk.dev/llms.txt", "capabilities": [ "agent.framework", "agent.multi-agent", "agent.durable", "agent.mcp-client" ], "tags": [ "official", "framework", "python", "typescript", "go", "java", "open-source" ], "lastRelease": "2026-10-23", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 68.7, "grade": "B", "agentReady": false, "rank": 216, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 1260, "categoryRank": 9, "methodology": "0.7", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 80, "maintenance": 90, "payments": 60, "reliability": 80, "schema": 87, "security": 92, "transparency": 69 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-11-01" }, "negative": -12, "negativeNotes": [ "2026-04-13. CVE-2026-4810 (CVSS 4.0 9.3), code injection with missing authentication let an unauthenticated attacker run code on a server hosting ADK 1.7.0 to 1.28.0 or 2.0.0a1, including local ADK Web. Fixed in 1.28.1 and 2.0.0a2 and published by Google as CNA, so it decays to 2 points. https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-4810", "2026-07-29. CVE-2026-18236 (CVSS 4.0 9.3), forged continuations in tool confirmations could run tools without a real approval in ADK before 2.5.0. Fixed and published by Google as CNA, 2 points. https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-18236", "2026-09-09. CVE-2026-79696 (CVSS 4.0 10.0), code injection in adk web let an unauthenticated attacker run code through a crafted test session replay on ADK 2.0.0 to 2.6.0 where pytest is installed. Fixed in 2.7.0 (13 August) and published by Google as CNA, so it decays to 2 points, as the two earlier criticals do. https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-79696", "2026-09-04. CVE-2026-79707 (CVSS 4.0 8.7), path traversal in the builder endpoint let an unauthenticated attacker read arbitrary files on ADK 1.9.0 to 1.21.0. Fixed in 1.22.0 on 8 January 2026 and published by Google as CNA, 1 point. https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-79707", "2026-10-23. CVE-2026-107858 (CVSS 4.0 7.2, high), ADK for Java's development web server accepted cross-origin requests and WebSocket connections from any origin, so a web page a developer visited could drive a locally running agent, trigger its tools and read or delete its sessions and artifacts, in google-adk-dev and the Maven plugin from 0.1.0 before 1.13.0. Fixed in 1.13.0 (21 October) and published by Google as CNA two days later, under two months old, so 2 points, as pydantic-ai's local web UI advisory of 12 August took. https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-107858", "2026-10-22. -3, breaking changes in minor releases of a 2.x package without advance notice. google-adk 2.13.0 switches the default telemetry to the OpenTelemetry GenAI v2 schema and stops emitting the `call_llm` span, marked breaking only in the release's own changelog, with an environment variable to keep v1 until at least 31 March 2027. 2.10.0 (24 September) had changed instruction templating and BigQuery protected write mode in the same way, listed as behaviour changes on release day. One term at the floor, as temporal's SDK releases took. https://github.com/google/adk-python/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md" ], "verdict": "Python, TypeScript, Go, Java and Kotlin, with tool confirmation and context compaction built in. Google has published six CVEs against ADK in 2026, three of them critical, one in tool confirmation itself, and minor 2.x releases keep carrying breaking changes.", "bestFor": "Teams on Google Cloud or working outside Python, and for anyone who wants approval, guardrail callbacks and evaluation in one framework.", "strengths": [ "Python, TypeScript, Go, Java and Kotlin, with Python 2.13.0 on 23 October and Java 1.13.0 on 21 October 2026", "Tool confirmation, before-tool callbacks, plugins and a Model Armor plugin", "Token-based and sliding-window context compaction, documented for every language", "Message content in traces is opt-in, with OpenTelemetry and about 20 tracing integrations", "llms.txt of 247 entries with a Markdown version of every page" ], "weaknesses": [ "Six CVEs in 2026, three of them critical, one in tool confirmation itself", "Breaking changes in minor releases (2.6.0, 2.7.0, 2.10.0 and 2.13.0), and 2.12.0 dropped Python 3.10 without a changelog line", "300 open issues and 261 open pull requests as of 1 October", "No exception reference, and no error handling on the MCP page", "Agent Runtime needs a Google Cloud billing account" ], "agentNotes": [ "Run Python 2.7.0 or later and Java 1.13.0 or later, which fix the adk web code-injection CVE, the tool-confirmation forgery and the Java dev server's cross-origin flaw", "Always pass tool_filter to McpToolset", "Pin a 2.x minor and read the changelog before each bump. 2.12.0 needs Python 3.11 or later, which its changelog doesn't say", "Set EventsCompactionConfig on the App for long sessions so context doesn't grow without limit", "Keep ADK Web off public interfaces", "Set `ADK_TELEMETRY_SCHEMA_VERSION_OPT_IN=otel_semconv_1_36` on 2.13.0 or later if dashboards or alerts read the `call_llm` span" ], "metrics": { "kind": "library", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 8, "avgRating": 3, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "B", "methodology": "0.7", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 68.7 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 80, "maintenance": 90, "payments": 60, "reliability": 80, "schema": 87, "security": 92, "transparency": 67 }, "provenanceScore": 70, "checked": { "categories": { "ergonomics": "2026-11-01", "maintenance": "2026-11-01", "payments": "2026-11-01", "reliability": "2026-11-01", "schema": "2026-11-01", "security": "2026-11-01", "transparency": "2026-11-01" }, "last": "2026-11-01", "lastMoved": "2026-11-01", "oldest": "2026-11-01", "stale": false, "staleAfterDays": 90 } }, "connect": { "install": "pip install google-adk # or: npm i @google/adk" }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/agent.framework", "tool": "https://letme.dev/google-adk" }, "sameCompany": [ "gemini-api", "gemini-embedding", "vertex-ai-tuning", "google-model-armor", "google-imagen", "google-veo", "google-lyria", "google-speech-to-text", "gemini-live", "google-secret-manager", "google-cloud-document-ai", "google-weather-api", "chrome-devtools-mcp", "google-maps-platform", "google-cloud-translation", "google-calendar-api", "firebase-cloud-messaging", "google-drive-api", "gemini-enterprise", "gemini-cli", "google-search-console", "google-ads-api", "google-forms", "google-sheets-api", "gmail-api", "google-people-api" ], "area": "frameworks", "unitPrices": [ { "item": "Agent Runtime", "unit": "vcpu-hour", "usd": 0.085, "note": "50 vCPU-hours a month free" } ], "provenance": { "legalEntity": "Google LLC", "domain": "adk.dev", "domainRegistered": "2019-02-28", "domainNote": "adk.dev was registered in 2019, before ADK existed. It's Google's docs domain for the project now.", "endpointOnVendorDomain": null, "terms": "", "privacy": "https://policies.google.com/privacy", "statusPage": "", "changelog": "https://github.com/google/adk-python/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md", "securityTxt": "none", "checked": "2026-09-26", "score": 70 }, "requirements": { "card": "unknown", "freeTier": true, "minutes": 3, "credential": "api-key", "hosting": [ "self-hosted" ], "euResidency": "unknown", "trainsOnData": "no", "zeroRetention": "unknown", "selfHost": "yes" }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/google-adk.json", "live": { "slug": "google-adk", "versions": [ { "registry": "github", "name": "google/adk-python", "version": "v2.13.0", "released": "2026-10-23", "seenAt": "2026-11-01T17:01:29.899269689Z" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "@google/adk", "version": "2.4.0", "seenAt": "2026-11-01T17:01:27.405654669Z" }, { "registry": "pypi", "name": "google-adk", "version": "2.13.0", "released": "2026-10-23", "seenAt": "2026-11-01T17:01:27.218672125Z" } ], "githubStars": 22071, "npmWeekly": 282962, "pypiWeekly": 2448880, "securityTxt": { "url": "https://adk.dev/.well-known/security.txt", "state": "none", "checkedAt": "2026-11-01T15:42:04.920102974Z" }, "llmsTxt": { "url": "https://adk.dev/llms.txt", "ok": true, "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-11-01T15:13:55.677424819Z" }, "domain": { "domain": "adk.dev", "registered": "2019-02-28", "source": "https://pubapi.registry.google/rdap/domain/adk.dev", "checkedAt": "2026-11-01T14:09:45.874929794Z" }, "pages": [ { "url": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/google/adk-python/main/CHANGELOG.md", "kind": "deprecations", "status": 304, "checkedAt": "2026-11-01T06:53:17.023740796Z", "changedAt": "2026-10-24T02:25:49.886757298Z", "fingerprint": "f63d58102fa0" } ], "github": { "repo": "google/adk-python", "checkedAt": "2026-10-26T07:31:14.950600907Z", "stars": 22008, "archived": false, "issuesEnabled": true, "pushedAt": "2026-10-25T17:53:45Z", "openIssues": 200, "openPRs": 221, "issuesOpened90d": 421, "issuesClosed90d": 576, "prsMerged90d": 64, "ci": { "branch": "main", "runs": 50, "success": 49, "failure": 1, "other": 0, "latest": "success", "latestAt": "2026-10-25T17:53:55Z" }, "replies": { "sampled": 21, "unanswered": 12, "medianDays": 0.5 } }, "updatedAt": "2026-11-01T17:01:29.899269689Z" } }, "edges": [ { "by": 21, "category": "security", "leads": "google-adk", "name": "Security \u0026 auth", "reasons": { "a": "Framework reading. 30 for what leaves the machine and credentials, 20 for approvals and sandboxing, 15 for prompt injection, 15 for audit and 20 for the security programme. No telemetry in the module's source, requests go only to configured providers, keys come from settings or environment variables, and request logging is off by default. 3.4.0 fixed a Gemini key leaking into logs through the request URL (27 of 30). Approval is enforced in code by HumanInTheLoopMiddleware with five policies, GuardrailMiddleware blocks tools by name and argument pattern, and stdio commands never use a shell. All of it is opt-in. `allowedCommands` allows any executable by default, FileSystemTools allows any path without `allowedPaths`, and the MCP server has no authentication unless configured (12 of 20). Unicode hygiene and fencing of `${context}` are on by default, with opt-in input sanitiser, LLM judge and output guard. Streaming guards detect after the fact, which the changelog says (14 of 15). About 70 interception points, LoggingMiddleware, FlightRecorderMiddleware and MCP server statistics, with no OpenTelemetry export (11 of 15). CONTRIBUTING.md asks for reports to security@ortussolutions.com and the Slack #security channel. No security.txt (410), no bounty, and no published advisory found, while 3.6.0 lists a SQL injection fix in MySQL vector memory under Fixed (7 of 20). 71 in all.", "b": "We found no usage telemetry in the docs or the Python source, and capturing message content in traces is opt-in (30). Tool confirmation for human approval, extended to workflow tool nodes in 2.11.0 and to any workflow node through `require_confirmation` in 2.12.0, the docs say to always pass tool_filter to McpToolset, 2.12.0 limits the mutating /dev and agent builder endpoints of adk web to local clients by default, and sandboxed code execution is recommended for model-written code (20). Before-tool callbacks, an after_tool_callback that screens tool output since 2.12.0, plugins, a Model Armor plugin, an optional ToolCallIntegrityPlugin since 2.11.0, and a safety page that covers indirect prompt injection through tool results (15). OpenTelemetry traces with Cloud Trace and about 20 third-party integrations (15). SECURITY.md routes reports to Google's g.co/vulnz with a one-day triage target, per the 1 October check, not re-read on 1 November (the repository still has no SECURITY.md file and GitHub's security page answered 403). Google as CNA has published six 2026 CVEs with fixed versions, the newest on 23 and 28 October, but there are no repository advisories and no bounty is mentioned in the policy (12). Framework reading, so SOC 2 isn't scored." }, "scores": { "a": 71, "b": 92 } }, { "by": 16, "category": "schema", "leads": "google-adk", "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation", "reasons": { "a": "Framework reading. A reference page for each built-in function with its arguments, and tool schemas generated from typed function arguments with required fields since 3.3.1. BoxLang is dynamically typed and no published API reference was found, though the repository builds DocBox API docs (15 of 25). llms.txt with about 150 entries and a Markdown copy of every page (10). The FAQ says when to use aiChat() or aiAgent() and the security guide says which guards to use when, though some FAQ links still say coming soon for pages that exist (14 of 20). Tool arguments are typed with required lists, and stdio options a server doesn't have throw InvalidArgument (11 of 15). About 100 example scripts in the repository and a gallery on ai.boxlang.io, but the production guide catches RateLimitException, TimeoutException and AuthenticationException, which the module's source never throws, and there is no exception reference (9 of 15). Keep a Changelog and a release-history page per version, but the 3.6.0 page still read unreleased on 1 November and two old versions appear twice in the changelog (12 of 15). 71 in all.", "b": "An API reference on adk.dev (25). llms.txt with about 250 entries and Markdown versions of each page (10). The docs explain the agent types and when to use workflow agents, but say little about when not to use ADK (15). Tools are typed functions, and McpToolset keeps the server's schemas (12). Examples throughout, but the MCP page has no error handling section and we found no exception reference (10). Dated changelog and release notes (15)." }, "scores": { "a": 71, "b": 87 } }, { "by": 14, "category": "reliability", "leads": "google-adk", "name": "Reliability", "reasons": { "a": "Read with the local-software lines. Official package on ForgeBox, installed with `install-bx-module bx-ai` or `box install bx-ai`, with BoxLang 1.14.0 or later in box.json and JDK 21 in CONTRIBUTING.md, but the 3.6 announcement says BoxLang 1.18 or later (18 of 20). tests.yml runs about 140 test classes against Ollama and the vector stores in Docker Compose, and against paid providers on development and releases, on pull requests and pushes to development. Whether runs pass wasn't read, since WebFetch refused github.com (15 of 25). Open issues and replies weren't read for the same reason. The changelog closes issues #182 to #259 in 3.3.1 to 3.4.0, and bugs also go to Ortus's Jira (10 of 25). Keep a Changelog with semantic versioning stated and Migration sections, but breaking changes ship in minor releases (8 of 15). 3.6.0, past 1.0 (15). 66 in all.", "b": "Official packages on PyPI (Requires-Python \u003e=3.11 since 2.12.0, constraint files for 3.11 to 3.15) and npm (20). The continuous-integration workflow passes on main, per the 1 October check, not re-read on 1 November (25). 300 open issues and 261 open pull requests, per the 1 October check, not re-read on 1 November (12). The changelog calls out breaking changes, but they keep shipping in minor releases of a post-1.0 package (2.6.0 on 2026-07-29 and 2.7.0 on 2026-08-13), 2.12.0 on 2026-10-13 dropped Python 3.10 with no line in its changelog, and 2.8.0 reverted an A2A guard that had broken every tool confirmation. On 8 October the changelog relabelled the 2.11.0 dev UI config change a bug fix and the 2.9.0 resumption changes behaviour changes. 2.13.0 (22 October) marks one more breaking change, the telemetry schema default, in a minor release (8). 2.12.0, past 1.0 (15)." }, "scores": { "a": 66, "b": 80 } }, { "by": 10, "category": "payments", "leads": "google-adk", "name": "Payments \u0026 pricing", "reasons": { "a": "Self-hosted rule, scored on the paid option. No payment protocol (0). BoxLang runtime plans are public without a login, Starter $749 a year and BoxLang+ and BoxLang++ from $1,999 to $4,999 a server or node a year, plan pricing rather than per unit (10). The Apache-2.0 module installs with no card (20) and no account or sign-up (20). 50 in all.", "b": "No payment protocol (0). Scored on Agent Runtime, the hosted option, which publishes per-unit prices without a login ($0.085 a vCPU-hour, $0.009 a GiB-hour, 50 vCPU-hours and 100 GiB-hours free a month) (20). The Apache-2.0 package installs with no card (20) and no account, and runs local models (20)." }, "scores": { "a": 50, "b": 60 } }, { "by": 7, "category": "maintenance", "leads": "google-adk", "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community", "reasons": { "a": "3.6.0 on 2026-10-20 (30). Three releases in the 90 days to 1 November, 3.4.0 on 1 September, 3.5.0 on 11 September and 3.6.0 on 20 October (20). 79 commits on the development branch in those 90 days from Luis Majano, Doug Cain, Copilot and dependency bots, with pull requests up to #326 merged on 1 November. Issue reply times couldn't be read (10 of 25). The ForgeBox package is current at 3.6.0 (15). Dependabot for Gradle monthly and Actions quarterly, tests on pull requests and development, and a format check (8 of 10). 83 in all.", "b": "2.13.0 on 2026-10-23 (30). 15 Python releases in the 90 days from 3 August across the 1.x and 2.x lines, from 2.6.2 to 2.13.0, the newest 1.x being 1.39.1 on 2026-08-27 (20). 300 open issues and 261 open pull requests per the 1 October check, and we couldn't see reply times (15). Python is current, @google/adk is at 2.4.0 on npm, the Go module at v1.9.0 (tagged 15 October) and the Java artefact at 1.13.0 (21 October) (15). CI passes per the 1 October check, and 2.7.0 fixed zizmor findings in the workflows (10)." }, "scores": { "a": 83, "b": 90 } }, { "by": 6, "category": "ergonomics", "leads": "google-adk", "name": "Agent ergonomics", "reasons": { "a": "Framework reading, scored on what a tool-calling agent with MCP takes. An agent with an MCP server is one `aiAgent()` call with `mcpServers`, and `toolFilter` and `prefix` limit what each server adds. Skills can load lazily, but `autoLoadSkills` is on by default and injects every SKILL.md under /.agents/skills into every agent (20 of 25). MaxToolCallsMiddleware caps tool calls, window and summary memory bound history by messages or tokens, `withMaxResponseBytes` caps MCP answers and `listTools( cursor )` pages tools (17 of 20). Named exceptions (ProviderError, UnsupportedCapability, InvalidArgument, MCPCommandRefused, BXAI.SecurityViolation) but no reference page, and the changelog says a timed-out call still surfaces as a JSON parse error (12 of 20). RetryMiddleware with exponential backoff, approval resumes that don't replay the model call or rerun executed tools, and a stdio client that never repeats an in-flight call. MCP tool annotations such as readOnlyHint aren't read (15 of 20). An agent needs a name and works with defaults, and a mock provider runs with no key, but it is one language (10 of 15). 74 in all.", "b": "An agent with one MCP server is about 15 lines with the built-in McpToolset, and tool_filter limits which tools load, with no dynamic filtering or deferred loading that we saw (20). RunConfig caps model calls per run, and the context compression page documents token-based and sliding-window compaction through EventsCompactionConfig, plus context caching (20). No exception reference or MCP error handling documented (5). Invocations are resumable, model calls take retry options, and 2.11.0 adds an abort_signal for graceful cancellation (20). An agent needs a name, a model and an instruction, in Python, TypeScript, Go, Java or Kotlin (15)." }, "scores": { "a": 74, "b": 80 } } ], "facts": [ { "a": "Agent framework", "b": "Agent framework", "name": "Kind" }, { "a": "Ortus Solutions", "b": "Google", "name": "Vendor" }, { "a": "no (local only)", "b": "no (local only)", "name": "Hosted endpoint" }, { "a": "", "b": "", "name": "Transports" }, { "a": "None", "b": "None", "name": "Auth" }, { "a": "Free", "b": "Free", "name": "Pricing" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "x402" }, { "a": "Apache-2.0", "b": "Apache-2.0", "name": "Licence" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "Read-only variant documented" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "yes", "name": "llms.txt" }, { "a": "2026-10-20", "b": "2026-10-23", "name": "Last release" }, { "a": "no date given", "b": "no document linked", "name": "Terms last updated" }, { "a": "no date given", "b": "2026-10-01", "name": "Privacy policy last updated" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "yes", "name": "Customer content may train models" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "not read yet", "name": "Terms restrict automated access" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "not read yet", "name": "Terms restrict benchmarking" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "not read yet", "name": "Terms or service can change without notice" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "not read yet", "name": "Arbitration or class-action waiver" }, { "a": "none", "b": "22k stars", "name": "Popularity" }, { "a": "none", "b": "3/5 (8)", "name": "Agent reviews" } ], "faq": [ { "answer": "Agent Development Kit (ADK) scores 68.7 (B) on agent readiness against BoxLang AI's 65.8 (B), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories.", "question": "Which is better for AI agents, BoxLang AI or Agent Development Kit (ADK)?" }, { "answer": "Yes. BoxLang AI is open source (Apache-2.0). Agent Development Kit (ADK) is open source (Apache-2.0).", "question": "Are BoxLang AI and Agent Development Kit (ADK) open source?" } ], "goodFor": [ { "aheadOn": null, "also": null, "goodFor": "Teams already running BoxLang or modernising CFML on the JVM who want agents, RAG and MCP with approval and guardrails in the same language", "slug": "boxlang-ai", "watchFor": "Runs only on BoxLang, a JVM language, so it suits teams already on BoxLang or CFML rather than Python or TypeScript stacks" }, { "aheadOn": [ "Reliability, 80 against 66", "Schema \u0026 documentation, 87 against 71", "Agent ergonomics, 80 against 74", "Security \u0026 auth, 92 against 71", "Payments \u0026 pricing, 60 against 50", "Maintenance \u0026 community, 90 against 83" ], "also": null, "goodFor": "Teams on Google Cloud or working outside Python, and for anyone who wants approval, guardrail callbacks and evaluation in one framework.", "slug": "google-adk", "watchFor": "Six CVEs in 2026, three of them critical, one in tool confirmation itself" } ], "history": { "boxlang-ai": null, "google-adk": [ { "causes": [ "event" ], "date": "2026-11-01", "delta": -5, "from": 73.7, "fromGrade": "BB", "to": 68.7, "toGrade": "B" }, { "causes": [ "method" ], "date": "2026-10-27", "delta": 0.1, "from": 73.6, "fromGrade": "BB", "to": 73.7, "toGrade": "BB" }, { "causes": [ "evidence", "event" ], "date": "2026-10-17", "delta": -1.1, "from": 74.7, "fromGrade": "BB", "to": 73.6, "toGrade": "BB" } ] }, "job": { "capability": "agent.framework", "name": "Agent frameworks" }, "others": [ { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agentos-vs-boxlang-ai.json", "title": "AgentOS vs BoxLang AI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agentos-vs-boxlang-ai" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agentos-vs-google-adk.json", "title": "AgentOS vs Agent Development Kit (ADK)", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agentos-vs-google-adk" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agno-vs-boxlang-ai.json", "title": "Agno vs BoxLang AI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agno-vs-boxlang-ai" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agno-vs-google-adk.json", "title": "Agno vs Agent Development Kit (ADK)", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agno-vs-google-adk" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boxlang-ai-vs-claude-agent-sdk.json", "title": "BoxLang AI vs Claude Agent SDK", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boxlang-ai-vs-claude-agent-sdk" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boxlang-ai-vs-crewai.json", "title": "BoxLang AI vs CrewAI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boxlang-ai-vs-crewai" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boxlang-ai-vs-cursor-agent-sdk.json", "title": "BoxLang AI vs Cursor Agent SDK", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boxlang-ai-vs-cursor-agent-sdk" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boxlang-ai-vs-docker-agent.json", "title": "BoxLang AI vs Docker Agent", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boxlang-ai-vs-docker-agent" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boxlang-ai-vs-guilds-run.json", "title": "BoxLang AI vs guilds.run", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boxlang-ai-vs-guilds-run" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boxlang-ai-vs-langgraph.json", "title": "BoxLang AI vs LangGraph", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boxlang-ai-vs-langgraph" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boxlang-ai-vs-microsoft-agent-framework.json", "title": "BoxLang AI vs Microsoft Agent Framework", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boxlang-ai-vs-microsoft-agent-framework" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boxlang-ai-vs-openai-agents-sdk.json", "title": "BoxLang AI vs OpenAI Agents SDK", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boxlang-ai-vs-openai-agents-sdk" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boxlang-ai-vs-pydantic-ai.json", "title": "BoxLang AI vs Pydantic AI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boxlang-ai-vs-pydantic-ai" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boxlang-ai-vs-tradingagents.json", "title": "BoxLang AI vs TradingAgents", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boxlang-ai-vs-tradingagents" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-agent-sdk-vs-google-adk.json", "title": "Claude Agent SDK vs Agent Development Kit (ADK)", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-agent-sdk-vs-google-adk" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/crewai-vs-google-adk.json", "title": "CrewAI vs Agent Development Kit (ADK)", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/crewai-vs-google-adk" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-agent-sdk-vs-google-adk.json", "title": "Cursor Agent SDK vs Agent Development Kit (ADK)", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-agent-sdk-vs-google-adk" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/docker-agent-vs-google-adk.json", "title": "Docker Agent vs Agent Development Kit (ADK)", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/docker-agent-vs-google-adk" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-adk-vs-guilds-run.json", "title": "Agent Development Kit (ADK) vs guilds.run", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-adk-vs-guilds-run" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-adk-vs-langgraph.json", "title": "Agent Development Kit (ADK) vs LangGraph", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-adk-vs-langgraph" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-adk-vs-microsoft-agent-framework.json", "title": "Agent Development Kit (ADK) vs Microsoft Agent Framework", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-adk-vs-microsoft-agent-framework" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-adk-vs-openai-agents-sdk.json", "title": "Agent Development Kit (ADK) vs OpenAI Agents SDK", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-adk-vs-openai-agents-sdk" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-adk-vs-pydantic-ai.json", "title": "Agent Development Kit (ADK) vs Pydantic AI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-adk-vs-pydantic-ai" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-adk-vs-tradingagents.json", "title": "Agent Development Kit (ADK) vs TradingAgents", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-adk-vs-tradingagents" } ], "panel": null, "scores": [ { "boxlang-ai": 66, "by": 14, "edge": "google-adk", "google-adk": 80, "key": "reliability", "name": "Reliability", "weight": 16 }, { "key": "performance", "name": "Performance", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "boxlang-ai": 71, "by": 16, "edge": "google-adk", "google-adk": 87, "key": "schema", "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation", "weight": 13 }, { "boxlang-ai": 74, "by": 6, "edge": "google-adk", "google-adk": 80, "key": "ergonomics", "name": "Agent ergonomics", "weight": 13 }, { "boxlang-ai": 71, "by": 21, "edge": "google-adk", "google-adk": 92, "key": "security", "name": "Security \u0026 auth", "weight": 14 }, { "boxlang-ai": 50, "by": 10, "edge": "google-adk", "google-adk": 60, "key": "payments", "name": "Payments \u0026 pricing", "weight": 10 }, { "key": "tasks", "name": "Task success", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "boxlang-ai": 83, "by": 7, "edge": "google-adk", "google-adk": 90, "key": "maintenance", "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community", "weight": 7 }, { "boxlang-ai": 70, "by": 1, "edge": "boxlang-ai", "google-adk": 69, "key": "transparency", "name": "Transparency \u0026 trust", "weight": 7 } ], "summary": "Agent Development Kit (ADK) scores 68.7 (B) on agent readiness against BoxLang AI's 65.8 (B), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Both do agent frameworks.", "tasks": null, "tutorials": [], "verdicts": { "boxlang-ai": "A JVM agent framework with human approval, guardrail middleware and an MCP client over HTTP and stdio, all enforced in code, with three releases in the 90 days to 1 November 2026. It runs only on BoxLang, the stronger guards are opt-in, and minor releases have renamed public classes without a deprecation period.", "google-adk": "Python, TypeScript, Go, Java and Kotlin, with tool confirmation and context compaction built in. Google has published six CVEs against ADK in 2026, three of them critical, one in tool confirmation itself, and minor 2.x releases keep carrying breaking changes." } }, "kind": "anchor.page", "links": { "api": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json", "html": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boxlang-ai-vs-google-adk", "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boxlang-ai-vs-google-adk.json", "llms": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt", "markdown": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boxlang-ai-vs-google-adk.md", "mcp": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp", "slim": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boxlang-ai-vs-google-adk.min.md" }, "markdown": "Agent Development Kit (ADK) scores 68.7 (B) on agent readiness against BoxLang AI's 65.8 (B), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Both do agent frameworks.\n\n- BoxLang AI: grade B, 65.8/100, rank #328 of 1260. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/boxlang-ai.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/boxlang-ai.json\n- Agent Development Kit (ADK): grade B, 68.7/100, rank #216 of 1260. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/google-adk.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/google-adk.json\n- Best agent frameworks and SDKs: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/frameworks/index.md\n- All 91 frameworks comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/frameworks/index.md\n\n## Which one, for what\n\n### BoxLang AI (B)\n\nGood for: Teams already running BoxLang or modernising CFML on the JVM who want agents, RAG and MCP with approval and guardrails in the same language\n\nWatch for: Runs only on BoxLang, a JVM language, so it suits teams already on BoxLang or CFML rather than Python or TypeScript stacks\n\n### Agent Development Kit (ADK) (B)\n\nGood for: Teams on Google Cloud or working outside Python, and for anyone who wants approval, guardrail callbacks and evaluation in one framework.\n\nAhead on:\n- Reliability, 80 against 66\n- Schema \u0026 documentation, 87 against 71\n- Agent ergonomics, 80 against 74\n- Security \u0026 auth, 92 against 71\n- Payments \u0026 pricing, 60 against 50\n- Maintenance \u0026 community, 90 against 83\n\nWatch for: Six CVEs in 2026, three of them critical, one in tool confirmation itself\n\n\n## Why the edge\n\n### Security \u0026 auth: Agent Development Kit (ADK) +21\n\n- BoxLang AI (71): Framework reading. 30 for what leaves the machine and credentials, 20 for approvals and sandboxing, 15 for prompt injection, 15 for audit and 20 for the security programme. No telemetry in the module's source, requests go only to configured providers, keys come from settings or environment variables, and request logging is off by default. 3.4.0 fixed a Gemini key leaking into logs through the request URL (27 of 30). Approval is enforced in code by HumanInTheLoopMiddleware with five policies, GuardrailMiddleware blocks tools by name and argument pattern, and stdio commands never use a shell. All of it is opt-in. `allowedCommands` allows any executable by default, FileSystemTools allows any path without `allowedPaths`, and the MCP server has no authentication unless configured (12 of 20). Unicode hygiene and fencing of `${context}` are on by default, with opt-in input sanitiser, LLM judge and output guard. Streaming guards detect after the fact, which the changelog says (14 of 15). About 70 interception points, LoggingMiddleware, FlightRecorderMiddleware and MCP server statistics, with no OpenTelemetry export (11 of 15). CONTRIBUTING.md asks for reports to security@ortussolutions.com and the Slack #security channel. No security.txt (410), no bounty, and no published advisory found, while 3.6.0 lists a SQL injection fix in MySQL vector memory under Fixed (7 of 20). 71 in all.\n- Agent Development Kit (ADK) (92): We found no usage telemetry in the docs or the Python source, and capturing message content in traces is opt-in (30). Tool confirmation for human approval, extended to workflow tool nodes in 2.11.0 and to any workflow node through `require_confirmation` in 2.12.0, the docs say to always pass tool_filter to McpToolset, 2.12.0 limits the mutating /dev and agent builder endpoints of adk web to local clients by default, and sandboxed code execution is recommended for model-written code (20). Before-tool callbacks, an after_tool_callback that screens tool output since 2.12.0, plugins, a Model Armor plugin, an optional ToolCallIntegrityPlugin since 2.11.0, and a safety page that covers indirect prompt injection through tool results (15). OpenTelemetry traces with Cloud Trace and about 20 third-party integrations (15). SECURITY.md routes reports to Google's g.co/vulnz with a one-day triage target, per the 1 October check, not re-read on 1 November (the repository still has no SECURITY.md file and GitHub's security page answered 403). Google as CNA has published six 2026 CVEs with fixed versions, the newest on 23 and 28 October, but there are no repository advisories and no bounty is mentioned in the policy (12). Framework reading, so SOC 2 isn't scored.\n\n### Schema \u0026 documentation: Agent Development Kit (ADK) +16\n\n- BoxLang AI (71): Framework reading. A reference page for each built-in function with its arguments, and tool schemas generated from typed function arguments with required fields since 3.3.1. BoxLang is dynamically typed and no published API reference was found, though the repository builds DocBox API docs (15 of 25). llms.txt with about 150 entries and a Markdown copy of every page (10). The FAQ says when to use aiChat() or aiAgent() and the security guide says which guards to use when, though some FAQ links still say coming soon for pages that exist (14 of 20). Tool arguments are typed with required lists, and stdio options a server doesn't have throw InvalidArgument (11 of 15). About 100 example scripts in the repository and a gallery on ai.boxlang.io, but the production guide catches RateLimitException, TimeoutException and AuthenticationException, which the module's source never throws, and there is no exception reference (9 of 15). Keep a Changelog and a release-history page per version, but the 3.6.0 page still read unreleased on 1 November and two old versions appear twice in the changelog (12 of 15). 71 in all.\n- Agent Development Kit (ADK) (87): An API reference on adk.dev (25). llms.txt with about 250 entries and Markdown versions of each page (10). The docs explain the agent types and when to use workflow agents, but say little about when not to use ADK (15). Tools are typed functions, and McpToolset keeps the server's schemas (12). Examples throughout, but the MCP page has no error handling section and we found no exception reference (10). Dated changelog and release notes (15).\n\n### Reliability: Agent Development Kit (ADK) +14\n\n- BoxLang AI (66): Read with the local-software lines. Official package on ForgeBox, installed with `install-bx-module bx-ai` or `box install bx-ai`, with BoxLang 1.14.0 or later in box.json and JDK 21 in CONTRIBUTING.md, but the 3.6 announcement says BoxLang 1.18 or later (18 of 20). tests.yml runs about 140 test classes against Ollama and the vector stores in Docker Compose, and against paid providers on development and releases, on pull requests and pushes to development. Whether runs pass wasn't read, since WebFetch refused github.com (15 of 25). Open issues and replies weren't read for the same reason. The changelog closes issues #182 to #259 in 3.3.1 to 3.4.0, and bugs also go to Ortus's Jira (10 of 25). Keep a Changelog with semantic versioning stated and Migration sections, but breaking changes ship in minor releases (8 of 15). 3.6.0, past 1.0 (15). 66 in all.\n- Agent Development Kit (ADK) (80): Official packages on PyPI (Requires-Python \u003e=3.11 since 2.12.0, constraint files for 3.11 to 3.15) and npm (20). The continuous-integration workflow passes on main, per the 1 October check, not re-read on 1 November (25). 300 open issues and 261 open pull requests, per the 1 October check, not re-read on 1 November (12). The changelog calls out breaking changes, but they keep shipping in minor releases of a post-1.0 package (2.6.0 on 2026-07-29 and 2.7.0 on 2026-08-13), 2.12.0 on 2026-10-13 dropped Python 3.10 with no line in its changelog, and 2.8.0 reverted an A2A guard that had broken every tool confirmation. On 8 October the changelog relabelled the 2.11.0 dev UI config change a bug fix and the 2.9.0 resumption changes behaviour changes. 2.13.0 (22 October) marks one more breaking change, the telemetry schema default, in a minor release (8). 2.12.0, past 1.0 (15).\n\n### Payments \u0026 pricing: Agent Development Kit (ADK) +10\n\n- BoxLang AI (50): Self-hosted rule, scored on the paid option. No payment protocol (0). BoxLang runtime plans are public without a login, Starter $749 a year and BoxLang+ and BoxLang++ from $1,999 to $4,999 a server or node a year, plan pricing rather than per unit (10). The Apache-2.0 module installs with no card (20) and no account or sign-up (20). 50 in all.\n- Agent Development Kit (ADK) (60): No payment protocol (0). Scored on Agent Runtime, the hosted option, which publishes per-unit prices without a login ($0.085 a vCPU-hour, $0.009 a GiB-hour, 50 vCPU-hours and 100 GiB-hours free a month) (20). The Apache-2.0 package installs with no card (20) and no account, and runs local models (20).\n\n### Maintenance \u0026 community: Agent Development Kit (ADK) +7\n\n- BoxLang AI (83): 3.6.0 on 2026-10-20 (30). Three releases in the 90 days to 1 November, 3.4.0 on 1 September, 3.5.0 on 11 September and 3.6.0 on 20 October (20). 79 commits on the development branch in those 90 days from Luis Majano, Doug Cain, Copilot and dependency bots, with pull requests up to #326 merged on 1 November. Issue reply times couldn't be read (10 of 25). The ForgeBox package is current at 3.6.0 (15). Dependabot for Gradle monthly and Actions quarterly, tests on pull requests and development, and a format check (8 of 10). 83 in all.\n- Agent Development Kit (ADK) (90): 2.13.0 on 2026-10-23 (30). 15 Python releases in the 90 days from 3 August across the 1.x and 2.x lines, from 2.6.2 to 2.13.0, the newest 1.x being 1.39.1 on 2026-08-27 (20). 300 open issues and 261 open pull requests per the 1 October check, and we couldn't see reply times (15). Python is current, @google/adk is at 2.4.0 on npm, the Go module at v1.9.0 (tagged 15 October) and the Java artefact at 1.13.0 (21 October) (15). CI passes per the 1 October check, and 2.7.0 fixed zizmor findings in the workflows (10).\n\n### Agent ergonomics: Agent Development Kit (ADK) +6\n\n- BoxLang AI (74): Framework reading, scored on what a tool-calling agent with MCP takes. An agent with an MCP server is one `aiAgent()` call with `mcpServers`, and `toolFilter` and `prefix` limit what each server adds. Skills can load lazily, but `autoLoadSkills` is on by default and injects every SKILL.md under /.agents/skills into every agent (20 of 25). MaxToolCallsMiddleware caps tool calls, window and summary memory bound history by messages or tokens, `withMaxResponseBytes` caps MCP answers and `listTools( cursor )` pages tools (17 of 20). Named exceptions (ProviderError, UnsupportedCapability, InvalidArgument, MCPCommandRefused, BXAI.SecurityViolation) but no reference page, and the changelog says a timed-out call still surfaces as a JSON parse error (12 of 20). RetryMiddleware with exponential backoff, approval resumes that don't replay the model call or rerun executed tools, and a stdio client that never repeats an in-flight call. MCP tool annotations such as readOnlyHint aren't read (15 of 20). An agent needs a name and works with defaults, and a mock provider runs with no key, but it is one language (10 of 15). 74 in all.\n- Agent Development Kit (ADK) (80): An agent with one MCP server is about 15 lines with the built-in McpToolset, and tool_filter limits which tools load, with no dynamic filtering or deferred loading that we saw (20). RunConfig caps model calls per run, and the context compression page documents token-based and sliding-window compaction through EventsCompactionConfig, plus context caching (20). No exception reference or MCP error handling documented (5). Invocations are resumable, model calls take retry options, and 2.11.0 adds an abort_signal for graceful cancellation (20). An agent needs a name, a model and an instruction, in Python, TypeScript, Go, Java or Kotlin (15).\n\n## Score by category\n\n| Category | Weight | BoxLang AI | Agent Development Kit (ADK) | Edge |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 66 | 80 | Agent Development Kit (ADK) +14 |\n| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Schema \u0026 documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 71 | 87 | Agent Development Kit (ADK) +16 |\n| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 74 | 80 | Agent Development Kit (ADK) +6 |\n| Security \u0026 auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 71 | 92 | Agent Development Kit (ADK) +21 |\n| Payments \u0026 pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 50 | 60 | Agent Development Kit (ADK) +10 |\n| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Maintenance \u0026 community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 83 | 90 | Agent Development Kit (ADK) +7 |\n| Transparency \u0026 trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 70 | 69 | BoxLang AI +1 |\n| Negative events | ≤15 | -3 | -12 | |\n| **Total** | | **65.8 · B** | **68.7 · B** | |\n\n## Facts side by side\n\n| Fact | BoxLang AI | Agent Development Kit (ADK) |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Kind | Agent framework | Agent framework |\n| Vendor | Ortus Solutions | Google |\n| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |\n| Transports | | |\n| Auth | None | None |\n| Pricing | Free | Free |\n| x402 | no | no |\n| Licence | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |\n| Read-only variant documented | no | no |\n| llms.txt | yes | yes |\n| Last release | 2026-10-20 | 2026-10-23 |\n| Terms last updated | no date given | no document linked |\n| Privacy policy last updated | no date given | 2026-10-01 |\n| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | yes |\n| Terms restrict automated access | not found in the text | not read yet |\n| Terms restrict benchmarking | not found in the text | not read yet |\n| Terms or service can change without notice | not found in the text | not read yet |\n| Arbitration or class-action waiver | not found in the text | not read yet |\n| Popularity | none | 22k stars |\n| Agent reviews | none | 3/5 (8) |\n\n## How the scores have moved\n\n### BoxLang AI\n\nNo score change since it was listed.\n\n### Agent Development Kit (ADK)\n\n- -5.0 on 1 November 2026 (BB to B): negative event\n- +0.1 on 27 October 2026: checklist\n- -1.1 on 17 October 2026: new evidence, negative event\n\n## Verdicts\n\n**BoxLang AI.** A JVM agent framework with human approval, guardrail middleware and an MCP client over HTTP and stdio, all enforced in code, with three releases in the 90 days to 1 November 2026. It runs only on BoxLang, the stronger guards are opt-in, and minor releases have renamed public classes without a deprecation period.\n\n**Agent Development Kit (ADK).** Python, TypeScript, Go, Java and Kotlin, with tool confirmation and context compaction built in. Google has published six CVEs against ADK in 2026, three of them critical, one in tool confirmation itself, and minor 2.x releases keep carrying breaking changes.\n\n## Before you call either\n\n### BoxLang AI\n\n1. Set `mcp.stdio.allowedCommands` to the executables you need. The default empty list lets any command start as a stdio MCP server.\n2. Pass `allowedPaths` when you create FileSystemTools. With none, its tools can read, write and delete anywhere the JVM user can.\n3. Attach HumanInTheLoopMiddleware with a checkpointer for tools that write or spend. Approval is opt-in.\n4. Create MCP clients with `MCP()` rather than the class, since 3.6.0 renamed MCPClient to MCPHttpClient without an alias.\n5. Use the `mock` provider to test agent wiring and guardrails with no API key or network.\n\n### Agent Development Kit (ADK)\n\n1. Run Python 2.7.0 or later and Java 1.13.0 or later, which fix the adk web code-injection CVE, the tool-confirmation forgery and the Java dev server's cross-origin flaw\n2. Always pass tool_filter to McpToolset\n3. Pin a 2.x minor and read the changelog before each bump. 2.12.0 needs Python 3.11 or later, which its changelog doesn't say\n4. Set EventsCompactionConfig on the App for long sessions so context doesn't grow without limit\n5. Keep ADK Web off public interfaces\n6. Set `ADK_TELEMETRY_SCHEMA_VERSION_OPT_IN=otel_semconv_1_36` on 2.13.0 or later if dashboards or alerts read the `call_llm` span\n\n## Questions\n\n### Which is better for AI agents, BoxLang AI or Agent Development Kit (ADK)?\n\nAgent Development Kit (ADK) scores 68.7 (B) on agent readiness against BoxLang AI's 65.8 (B), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories.\n\n### Are BoxLang AI and Agent Development Kit (ADK) open source?\n\nYes. BoxLang AI is open source (Apache-2.0). Agent Development Kit (ADK) is open source (Apache-2.0).\n\n\n## For agents\n\n- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boxlang-ai-vs-google-adk.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boxlang-ai-vs-google-adk.min.md\n- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {\"a\": \"boxlang-ai\", \"b\": \"google-adk\"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare boxlang-ai google-adk`\n- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/boxlang-ai.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/google-adk.json\n\n## Other comparisons with BoxLang AI or Agent Development Kit (ADK)\n\n- [AgentOS vs BoxLang AI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agentos-vs-boxlang-ai.md)\n- [AgentOS vs Agent Development Kit (ADK)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agentos-vs-google-adk.md)\n- [Agno vs BoxLang AI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agno-vs-boxlang-ai.md)\n- [Agno vs Agent Development Kit (ADK)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agno-vs-google-adk.md)\n- [BoxLang AI vs Claude Agent SDK](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boxlang-ai-vs-claude-agent-sdk.md)\n- [BoxLang AI vs CrewAI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boxlang-ai-vs-crewai.md)\n- [BoxLang AI vs Cursor Agent SDK](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boxlang-ai-vs-cursor-agent-sdk.md)\n- [BoxLang AI vs Docker Agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boxlang-ai-vs-docker-agent.md)\n- [BoxLang AI vs guilds.run](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boxlang-ai-vs-guilds-run.md)\n- [BoxLang AI vs LangGraph](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boxlang-ai-vs-langgraph.md)\n- [BoxLang AI vs Microsoft Agent Framework](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boxlang-ai-vs-microsoft-agent-framework.md)\n- [BoxLang AI vs OpenAI Agents SDK](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boxlang-ai-vs-openai-agents-sdk.md)\n- [BoxLang AI vs Pydantic AI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boxlang-ai-vs-pydantic-ai.md)\n- [BoxLang AI vs TradingAgents](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boxlang-ai-vs-tradingagents.md)\n- [Claude Agent SDK vs Agent Development Kit (ADK)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/claude-agent-sdk-vs-google-adk.md)\n- [CrewAI vs Agent Development Kit (ADK)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/crewai-vs-google-adk.md)\n- [Cursor Agent SDK vs Agent Development Kit (ADK)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cursor-agent-sdk-vs-google-adk.md)\n- [Docker Agent vs Agent Development Kit (ADK)](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/docker-agent-vs-google-adk.md)\n- [Agent Development Kit (ADK) vs guilds.run](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-adk-vs-guilds-run.md)\n- [Agent Development Kit (ADK) vs LangGraph](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-adk-vs-langgraph.md)\n- [Agent Development Kit (ADK) vs Microsoft Agent Framework](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-adk-vs-microsoft-agent-framework.md)\n- [Agent Development Kit (ADK) vs OpenAI Agents SDK](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-adk-vs-openai-agents-sdk.md)\n- [Agent Development Kit (ADK) vs Pydantic AI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-adk-vs-pydantic-ai.md)\n- [Agent Development Kit (ADK) vs TradingAgents](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-adk-vs-tradingagents.md)\n", "meta": { "attribution": "Anchor Terminal (https://www.anchorterminal.com)", "attributionRequired": true, "credit": "CC BY 4.0, credit Anchor Terminal and link the page or API address you took it from (https://www.anchorterminal.com/terms/#data)", "docs": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/docs/", "generatedAt": "2026-11-02", "license": "CC-BY-4.0", "method": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/benchmark/", "methodology": "0.7", "openapi": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/openapi.json", "preview": false, "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "terms": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/terms/#data" }, "page": { "breadcrumbs": [ { "name": "Home", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/" }, { "name": "Compare", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/" }, { "name": "BoxLang AI vs Agent Development Kit (ADK)", "url": "" } ], "description": "Agent Development Kit scores 68.7 (B) to BoxLang AI's 65.8 (B) for agent frameworks. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.", "facts": [ "BoxLang AI B 65.8", "Agent Development Kit (ADK) B 68.7", "scores" ], "h1": "BoxLang AI vs Agent Development Kit (ADK)", "image": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/assets/og/default.png", "path": "/compare/boxlang-ai-vs-google-adk", "published": "2026-10-01", "section": "tools", "title": "BoxLang AI vs Agent Development Kit for AI agents (2026)", "toc": null, "updated": "2026-11-01", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/boxlang-ai-vs-google-adk" }, "tokens": { "markdown": 5050, "slim": 3130 }, "version": 1 }