# Mastra review

> Mastra is a TypeScript framework for building AI-powered applications and agents, with workflows, memory, model routing, MCP servers, evals, and observability.

Devtoolwatch Board, the week of Oct 25–31, 2026. Canonical page: https://index.devtoolwatch.com/tools/mastra/

## TL;DR

Mastra is a TypeScript framework for building AI agents and applications, from prototype to production. It is for JavaScript and TypeScript developers working with React, Next.js, or Node. It bundles model routing, graph-based workflows, human-in-the-loop suspend and resume, memory, MCP server authoring, evals, and observability in one package.

## Mastra at a glance

- **Category:** [Agent frameworks](https://index.devtoolwatch.com/categories/agent-frameworks/)
- **Maintained by:** Mastra (organization, [@mastra-ai](https://github.com/mastra-ai) on GitHub)
- **Language:** TypeScript, JavaScript, CSS
- **Repository:** [github.com/mastra-ai/mastra](https://github.com/mastra-ai/mastra)
- **Website:** [mastra.ai](https://mastra.ai)
- **npm package:** [@mastra/core](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@mastra/core) 1.79.0
- **Latest release:** [@mastra/core@1.79.0](https://github.com/mastra-ai/mastra/releases/tag/%40mastra/core%401.79.0) on GitHub, Oct 21, 2026
- **First published:** Aug 6, 2024

## What Mastra does

- Mastra connects to 40+ model providers, including OpenAI, Anthropic, and Gemini, through one standard interface.
- Mastra agents use LLMs and tools, iterating until the model emits a final answer or an optional stopping condition is met.
- Mastra includes a graph-based workflow engine with .then(), .branch(), and .parallel() control flow for multi-step processes.
- Mastra can suspend an agent or workflow to await user input or approval, storing execution state so it resumes later.
- Mastra provides conversation history, retrieval from APIs, databases, and files, and Observational Memory for agent context.
- Mastra lets you author Model Context Protocol servers that expose agents, tools, and structured resources.
- Mastra ships built-in evals and observability, including trace and span querying with token and cost analytics.

### How it works

Mastra runs in Node.js. You define agents, workflows, and tools in TypeScript and register them on a Mastra instance. You can bundle them into React, Next.js, or Node.js apps, or deploy them as a standalone server. The dev server opens Mastra Studio at http://localhost:4111 for building and testing. UIs can integrate with Vercel's AI SDK UI and CopilotKit.

## How to install Mastra

**Create a new project with npm**

```
npm create mastra@latest
```

### Requirements

- Node.js version 22.13.0 or later.
- An API key or account with a supported LLM provider such as OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, or xAI.

### First steps

1. Run npm create mastra@latest and choose a project name and an LLM provider such as openai, anthropic, google, or xai.
2. Enter the project directory and start the dev server with npm run dev.
3. Open Mastra Studio at http://localhost:4111 to build, test, and manage agents, workflows, and tools.

## Who Mastra is for

- TypeScript developers building AI agents into React, Next.js, or Node.js applications.
- Teams that need explicit, multi-step workflow orchestration with human approval steps.
- Developers who want built-in evals and observability for production agents.
- Developers authoring MCP servers that expose agents and tools.

### Limitations

- Mastra is TypeScript-focused; the sources describe no Python support.
- Code in ee/ directories is under the Mastra Enterprise License and requires a valid enterprise license for production use.
- Mastra's MCP Events feature is experimental and based on a draft specification.
- Mastra accepts pull requests only from collaborators; outside contributors can file issues.

## Usage data (the week of Oct 25–31, 2026)

- Board rank: #89 overall, #8 in Agent frameworks, momentum score 66
- Downloads that week: 3.1M (+22% vs 4-week average)
- New GitHub stars per week (last 12 weeks): Aug 9: 175; Aug 16: 170; Aug 23: 196; Aug 30: 176; Sep 6: 261; Sep 13: 218; Sep 20: 171; Sep 27: 200; Oct 4: 174; Oct 11: 191; Oct 18: 197; Oct 25: 198

## Mastra alternatives

| Rank | Tool | Stars | Downloads/wk |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | [Harness²](https://index.devtoolwatch.com/tools/google-research-harness2/) | 21.7k | – |
| #2 | [HyperFrames](https://index.devtoolwatch.com/tools/heygen-com-hyperframes/) | 76.6k | 1.5M |
| #3 | [AgentScope](https://index.devtoolwatch.com/tools/agentscope-ai-agentscope/) | 35k | 51.4k |
| #4 | [AG-UI](https://index.devtoolwatch.com/tools/ag-ui/) | 16.9k | 4.6M |
| #5 | [LangGraph](https://index.devtoolwatch.com/tools/langgraph/) | 44.2k | 18.5M |
| #6 | [Bifrost](https://index.devtoolwatch.com/tools/maximhq-bifrost/) | 9.3k | – |

## Mastra FAQ

### Is Mastra free and open source?

Mastra's code is on GitHub (mastra-ai/mastra), but the repository doesn't declare a standard open-source license. Check its license file before using it commercially. Its website links to a pricing page: https://mastra.ai/pricing.

### How do I install Mastra?

Run `npm create mastra@latest`. It needs Node.js >=22.13.0. The install section above has the other options from the project's README.

### Is Mastra still maintained?

Yes. The mastra-ai/mastra repository was last updated on Oct 22, 2026, and the latest release, @mastra/core@1.79.0 on GitHub, came out on Oct 21, 2026.

### How popular is Mastra?

Mastra has 29.2k GitHub stars as of Nov 1, 2026. It gained 198 new stars in the week of Oct 25–31, 2026, against a 12-week average of 194 a week. Its main package had about 3.1M downloads that week, +22% against its own 4-week average. That made it #8 among AI agent frameworks on the Devtoolwatch Board.

### Mastra vs LangGraph: how do they compare?

Mastra and LangGraph are both tracked by Devtoolwatch as AI agent frameworks. Mastra has 29.2k GitHub stars and LangGraph has 44.2k. In the week of Oct 25–31, 2026, Mastra's main package had 3.1M downloads and LangGraph's had 18.5M. LangGraph is a low-level orchestration framework and runtime for building, managing, and deploying long-running, stateful agents in Python or JavaScript. [LangGraph review](https://index.devtoolwatch.com/tools/langgraph/)

### Mastra vs LangChain: how do they compare?

Mastra and LangChain are both tracked by Devtoolwatch as AI agent frameworks. Mastra has 29.2k GitHub stars and LangChain has 148.8k. In the week of Oct 25–31, 2026, Mastra's main package had 3.1M downloads and LangChain's had 41.1M. [LangChain review](https://index.devtoolwatch.com/tools/langchain/)

### What are the best alternatives to Mastra?

Other AI agent frameworks on the Devtoolwatch Board in the week of Oct 25–31, 2026, by momentum: Harness² (#1), HyperFrames (#2), AgentScope (#3), AG-UI (#4), LangGraph (#5). The alternatives table above has their numbers.

### Is Mastra open source?

Mastra is mostly open source. The core framework and most of the codebase are under Apache-2.0. Code in directories named ee/ is source-available under the Mastra Enterprise License, which requires a valid enterprise license for production use but is free for development and testing.

### How does Mastra work?

Mastra is a TypeScript framework. You define agents with instructions, models, and tools, and workflows as typed steps. You register them on a Mastra instance that runs as a server or inside a React, Next.js, or Node.js app. Mastra Studio lets you test them locally.

### How do I start using Mastra?

Mastra recommends running npm create mastra@latest, which creates a default project. Then start the dev server and open Mastra Studio at http://localhost:4111. The project also offers templates, a course, and YouTube videos for people new to AI agents.

### Does Mastra support Python?

Mastra is built for TypeScript and JavaScript. Its sources describe integrations with React, Next.js, and Node.js and do not mention a Python version.

### What does Mastra Studio do?

Mastra Studio is the interface for building, testing, and managing agents, workflows, and tools. It runs at http://localhost:4111 when you start the dev server.

## Sources

1. [mastra-ai/mastra on GitHub](https://github.com/mastra-ai/mastra)
2. [Mastra README](https://github.com/mastra-ai/mastra/blob/main/README.md)
3. [@mastra/core on npm](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@mastra/core)
4. [Mastra website](https://mastra.ai)
5. [Release @mastra/core@1.79.0 (Oct 21, 2026)](https://github.com/mastra-ai/mastra/releases/tag/%40mastra/core%401.79.0)
6. [Release @mastra/core@1.78.0 (Oct 16, 2026)](https://github.com/mastra-ai/mastra/releases/tag/%40mastra/core%401.78.0)
7. [Release @mastra/core@1.77.0 (Oct 14, 2026)](https://github.com/mastra-ai/mastra/releases/tag/%40mastra/core%401.77.0)
8. [Hacker News: Show HN: Mastra – Open-source JS agent framework, by the developers of Gatsby](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43103073)
9. [Hacker News: Show HN: Mastra 1.0, open-source JavaScript agent framework from the Gatsby devs](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46693959)
10. [Hacker News: Show HN: A “Course” as an MCP Server](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44241202)
11. [Devtoolwatch Board, the week of Oct 25–31, 2026](https://index.devtoolwatch.com/)