How to Install OpenHands Agent Canvas from GitHub

OpenHands is no longer just a coding assistant you run in a terminal.

The project now includes Agent Canvas, a self-hosted control centre for running coding agents and automations from a browser. It can work with OpenHands, Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI, Pi, OpenCode, and other compatible agent backends.

The appeal is obvious. Instead of opening several terminal windows and trying to remember which agent is changing which project, you get one place to start conversations, connect workspaces, and run automations.

The security detail is just as important as the installation command.

An AI agent that can edit code is useful. An AI agent that can read your entire home directory, use saved credentials, and run commands on your machine is a different thing entirely.

This guide shows how to install OpenHands Agent Canvas locally with a Docker sandbox, then explains the less isolated option so you understand what you are choosing.

Figure 1: The browser talks to a local Agent Canvas container, while the agent is given access only to the project folder mounted into the sandbox.

What you need before installing OpenHands

For the Docker-sandbox setup, you need:

• Docker Desktop on macOS or Windows, or Docker Engine on Linux
• A folder containing the projects you want the agent to access