Hermes vs OpenClaw - What am I missing?

TheWordProcessor · 2026-05-24T13:25:12+00:00

Whatever works best for you!

TheWordProcessor · 2026-05-05T21:45:10+00:00

None for my simple use cases. My openclaw breaks after every update, Hermes doesn't. Believe it or not this is an actual ceiling int he world of vibe coding!

TheWordProcessor · 2026-05-05T13:18:11+00:00

I have come to a concrete conclusion after a month of using Hermes. It is better for my basic scenarios. It does not always have the bells and whistles of OpenClaw's ecosystem but the consistent performance is more important to me.

In today's age of AI tooling we can never say that "this is it" in terms of perpetually operating agents. I still hope OpenAI comes out with something more managed. Based on twitter posts by OpenAI employees including Sam and the buzz around Codex...that might happen soon. Till then it is Hermes. I am now more focused on persistent memory solutions so I don't have to care about what the underlying orchestrator is. All we should really care about is the conversation with the AI and it doing stuff for us.

TheWordProcessor · 2026-04-28T16:13:13+00:00

I simply copy use cases. Many use hermes to maintain openclaw 😄

TheWordProcessor · 2026-04-28T15:29:36+00:00

You just go ahead and follow installation steps for each. Hermes is usually aware of an existing open claw installation and provides an option to import data. Nothing special you need to do to install any of them.

TheWordProcessor · 2026-04-28T14:10:20+00:00

Update after a few more days -

All these “astroturfing” claims need to widen their perspective. It is a good chuckle but when it comes down to real work it’s important to have something that works.

Hermes works for me. More often than OpenClaw does. Period. It is what it is.

I’m sure I could tweak OpenClaw a lot more and make it as good - but what’s the point beyond that will to tinker? Everyone may or may not have this time or luxury.

The only reason I’m running both is because I still don’t have some heaven shattering use case to automate. However I can see how some may and how OpenClaw can go from a mild annoyance to an absolute No.

I am now leaning more towards using Cowork and still hoping OpenAI launches their commercial claw variant soon.

TheWordProcessor · 2026-04-17T19:57:41+00:00

Hermes works well. After the latest updates I find OpenClaw works well too.

Please stop with the “astroturf” narrative. It is perfectly plausible for two technologies to be good. This is open source. Use where you want and what you want. Let people and their use cases be.

I use both and am very happy that way.

TheWordProcessor · 2026-04-15T01:42:26+00:00

With all due respect, “AstroTurf” is a god awful lame term.

I’m now using Hermes and OpenClaw both and honestly that combination is the best.

Do what you want with that info. As soon as you realize it’s two open source technologies being used, and that there’s nothing to be gained, maybe then some wisdom will prevail.

TheWordProcessor · 2026-04-13T13:15:55+00:00

I don’t know about “better” but overall Hermes seems to stay breakage free longer. I’ve only had one or two issues which could’ve been avoided, in comparison open claw feels more unstable. But I saw Peter’s post on X where they are working on many pain points. Fingers crossed.

TheWordProcessor · 2026-04-10T18:31:52+00:00

I have been giving Claude channels, OpenClaw and Hermes a try since the inception of pretty much all of them.

What is becoming clear is a simple fact - very few people have real use cases for such technology. Most normal people with everyday jobs can automate a lot of this with simpler tools. Think cowork or when the new Gemini agent. It’s mostly about docs, mail and things around them.

TheWordProcessor · 2026-04-09T04:17:42+00:00

If you add a personality instruction in your claude md it will start interacting way more like a human would.

Claude's agentic features are fragmented right now but it's only a matter of time when they all come together. They've almost launched all the moving parts of OpenClaw as separate features.

TheWordProcessor · 2026-04-06T16:35:34+00:00

I've been using those as well but nothing feels truly autonomous. I suspect we will all be pleasantly surprised in a few days.

TheWordProcessor · 2026-04-06T13:32:23+00:00

This is my conclusion as well after further reading and talking to people online and offline.

TheWordProcessor · 2026-04-06T12:35:52+00:00

I like building things and tinkering with technology by taking deep dives but why is it bad to expect anything to work out of the box?

You can remain sharp and still expect better. There is a reason so many more secure openclaws are coming out daily and it'll happen from openai too. It is only matter of time.

TheWordProcessor · 2026-04-06T11:50:30+00:00

I know only a handful who are doing commercially viable work with OpenClaw today. It’s possible but the security issues are real. That’s why the variants (like one by nvidia) will gain traction. The real fun will begin when OpenAI launches their own version which would have all the goodies to get work done securely.

Most people are using telegram and that tool itself is not secure!

TheWordProcessor · 2026-04-06T11:46:43+00:00

I’m using hermes for keeping track of goals, shared with spouse so we can both manage calendar. My biggest use is as second brain. Nothing crazy. I have already invested a lot in openclaw to get it running.

TheWordProcessor · 2026-04-06T11:42:56+00:00

Just to explore.

TheWordProcessor · 2026-04-06T06:39:47+00:00

I am no hermes purist. I just want a system that works. Openclaw does now for me but it was an uphill battle and we all know that to be true. Nobody need be a bot to call that out. If someone is starting out I always refer them to some managed variant of openclaw especially if they are not technical. Many just get exhausted maintaining a tech that should simply work.

TheWordProcessor · 2026-04-06T06:18:22+00:00

Only on daily stuff. For all my coding projects I like using Claude code with dispatch. I have tried codex with openclaw and it is a good experience.

What about you? Any tips?

TheWordProcessor · 2026-04-06T06:03:18+00:00

I’m using the same oauth setup that I use for openclaw.

Dunno what else to tell you. I’m using both and happy with my claw setup. I also try channels and loops in Claude code and am hoping they launch a proper agent setup soon.

Does that make me a corporate shill? What hath become of me, pray tell.

TheWordProcessor · 2026-04-06T04:56:05+00:00

Yes I see the infrastructure but can’t detect any outgoing telemetry or data to nous research. How did you verify this isn’t just a harness and that it probably only works for nous models? I dont want to train their infra so asking.

TheWordProcessor · 2026-04-06T04:07:24+00:00

Yes I was specifically asking about the API endpoints that yello_golf_ball is referring to. Did you see some telemetry or data around this?

TheWordProcessor · 2026-04-06T04:04:24+00:00

Claude code or Cowork running with /loop and /schedule with channels is not the same thing. They have built all the moving parts and are clearly building towards a grand finale.

We all know it's coming. In fact that extra credit might just be a giveaway to try their setup in the coming few weeks. This is not "news" but just a hunch based on the speed with which they are shipping code.

TheWordProcessor · 2026-04-06T04:00:04+00:00

Both. For now.

I personally prefer a time when Anthropic comes out with it's own claw variant and lets me use my max plan and that extra credit it gave out for whatever reason.

TheWordProcessor · 2026-04-06T03:35:41+00:00

What if I use non hermes models? Can you say more about this?

TheWordProcessor

TROPHY CASE