Move from Jules to OpenHands

Take it out

1. 1

   Step 1

   Install Jules Tools and sign in

   The October 29, 2026 changelog says to install Jules Tools with npm install -g @google/jules, then run jules login. The CLI reference describes the same install and a browser sign-in. Do this while you can still sign in. The changelog says sessions can finish through November 11, 2026, Jules is read-only after that, and the service winds down on December 31, 2026. It does not give the export an earlier cutoff.

2. 2

   Step 2

   Connect GitHub if you used it with Jules

   The changelog says code, branches, and pull requests already in GitHub stay there. It also says the export misses repository data if GitHub is not connected. The export prompt on that page points at the Jules GitHub app install: https://github.com/apps/google-labs-jules/installations/select_target. Connect it before you export if those repos should be in the folder.

3. 3

   Step 3

   Run the export prompt from your home directory

   The changelog does not document a jules export command. It says to open a terminal coding agent from your home directory and paste the export prompt on that page. The page names Claude Code as an example of that agent. The prompt checks the CLI, then writes the folder. This guide did not run it. The scored destination on this site is OpenHands, which does not read the folder.

4. 4

   Step 4

   Keep ~/jules-export private

   The changelog says the folder holds connected repositories in sources.json, a folder per repository with its setup script, test command, and memories, settings, environment variables, and scheduled tasks as JSON, and a folder per session with summary.md, the activity log, and diffs. The script on that page also writes user-settings.json, env-variables.json, scheduled-tasks.json, and sessions.json. env-variables.json contains the values. Do not commit the folder.

Put it in

1. 1

   Step 1

   Install Agent Canvas

   The OpenHands README, checked November 5, 2026, says the current app is Agent Canvas. One path is npm install -g @openhands/agent-canvas, then agent-canvas, with Node.js 24 or later and uv. The UI is at http://localhost:8000. The Docker example on that page is ghcr.io/openhands/agent-canvas:1.35.0 and serves http://localhost:8000/canvas. The setup docs also list a desktop preview for macOS, Windows, and Linux. This guide did not run an install.

2. 2

   Step 2

   Point a conversation at the GitHub repo you already have

   Jules does not take the code with it. The changelog says the repository, the branches, and the pull requests stay on GitHub. Clone that repo, or use the copy you already have, and start a conversation in Agent Canvas. There is no Jules importer in the OpenHands docs checked for this guide.

3. 3

   Step 3

   Recreate the bits you still want

   Read memories.md in the export if you want those notes in the next task. Agent Canvas has a persistent memory setting under Settings, and the automations guide can store a schedule. Neither page describes loading a Jules JSON file. Copy a setup script only if you still want that command. Leave env-variables.json out of the repo and out of the chat if you can avoid pasting secrets.

What you lose

• The export is an archive

  OpenHands does not open ~/jules-export. Sessions, memories, and scheduled tasks stay as files you can read. A new conversation starts empty unless you paste what you still need.

• Secrets in the folder

  The changelog says env-variables.json contains your environment variable values, and it tells the export agent not to print them. Treat the whole folder as private.

• November 11 is the session cutoff

  Finish a Jules session you still need before November 11, 2026. After that the changelog says Jules is read-only until it winds down on December 31, 2026. A read-only session is not a new Agent Canvas task.

• Pull requests are a partial fit

  The Jules homepage says Jules opens a pull request. The Agent Canvas PR guide checked here is a reviewer for a pull request that already exists. If you need the agent to open the pull request itself, OpenCode's GitHub docs describe that comment flow. It is second on the Jules checklist.

• The agent can see the machine

  The OpenHands README warns that the install without a sandbox runs the agent with access to the files on that computer. The Docker path mounts the project directory you set. Pick that boundary before you paste anything from the export.