OpenClaw Guide

What it does

OpenClaw is an agent harness that takes coding or task instructions and carries them out directly on a machine. Agents run behind a unit called a gateway, and anyone who can send that gateway a message inherits the same tool authority the agent holds.

The AI in this role does not just answer in a chat window: it runs in a terminal (a screen where you type commands to control the computer directly) and actually creates files and runs code. Once you give it an instruction, it chains several steps together on its own.

When it fits

It suits a setup where one organization or one trust group runs a single gateway, since the structure stays simple. If separate groups who do not trust each other need to share the same tooling, plan for a dedicated gateway per group from the start.

When it doesn't fit

The limitations below come from the vendor's own official documentation, not our evaluation. As of 2026-09-22

OpenClaw is built to hold exactly one trust boundary per gateway. A single shared gateway serving users who do not trust each other is not a supported setup, because anyone able to message a tool-enabled agent inherits that agent's tool authority. Separate gateways, ideally on separate hosts, are required per tenant.

• View source at docs.openclaw.ai

Compare with

Hermes Agent is the one to compare it with. If the first question is who you are running it with and how to split trust, start with OpenClaw's gateway design, and if it is which machine or install method you are on, start with Hermes's support matrix instead.

• Hermes Agent

Official link

Other tools in this layer

• Codex
• Claude Code
• Hermes Agent