Open-source infrastructure that brings existing AI agents into team-chat rooms so people and agents share channel context, history and workflows across collaboration platforms.
Source-available and free to use subject to the repository license. The current LICENSE applies Apache 2.0 plus a modified Commons Clause that restricts selling the software or derivatives; therefore AiToolMap does not classify Switch as open source in the strict OSI sense. Enterprise commercial terms not independently verified.
Switch by SandboxAQ is infrastructure for bringing existing AI agents and humans into shared team-chat rooms. The current repository supports Slack, Microsoft Teams, Discord, Telegram and Mattermost, with agents connected through a provider-agnostic protocol rather than requiring a SandboxAQ model.1
The architecture centers on Switch Core, a Matrix-based room layer, an Agent Bridge using HTTP/SSE, collaboration-platform adapters, a Gateway API and PostgreSQL state. Switch Console can run and manage agents, connect messaging apps and start a Switch server locally or on a remote host.1
Pricing & access
SandboxAQ describes Switch as free to use and self-hostable.2 The repository is publicly accessible, and current releases provide signed macOS and Windows builds plus Linux packages, although the README labels Windows and Linux Console builds early access.13
The licensing detail matters. The repository LICENSE combines Apache 2.0 with a modified Commons Clause that states the grant does not include the right to sell the software or derivatives.4 Because of that restriction, AiToolMap classifies Switch as source-available rather than strict open source, despite SandboxAQ's marketing language.
Evidence & trust
The strongest evidence in this desk review is architectural transparency: the source repository, protocol description, deployment model, release artifacts and license are directly inspectable.143 The README states that Switch is designed to be self-hostable and keep data where the operator runs it; it also documents room roles and permissions.1
Those design properties are not the same as independently tested security or reliability. The fixed 50-source panel produced no eligible exact-product numeric evidence: 45 sources returned no relevant current result and five were inaccessible through the lawful retrieval path. AiToolMap has not installed Switch, tested bridge reliability or audited its security controls.
Who it's for
Switch is a strong conceptual fit for engineering and AI-platform teams that already use several agents and want them to work in the same collaboration channels as humans. It is particularly relevant where preserving channel context, delegating tracked tasks and reusing the same agent across multiple rooms matters.1
It is less suitable for nontechnical buyers expecting a turnkey hosted SaaS with mature support guarantees, or organizations that require a conventional permissive/open-source license for unrestricted commercial redistribution.
Strengths & weaknesses
Strengths
works inside existing collaboration tools; provider- and framework-agnostic agent model; shared room context; roles and permissions; self-hosting; inspectable architecture; desktop Console; active releases across major desktop platforms.13
Weaknesses
new product with sparse independent evidence; no eligible external panel rating or benchmark; Windows/Linux Console still early access; operational complexity is higher than a hosted chatbot; licensing restricts sale of the software or derivatives and therefore is less permissive than the “open source” label may imply.4