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OpenClaw and Hermes

BrainRoad hosts two sister AI helper runtimes. Here is what each one is, how they differ, and how to switch between them.

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Two Runtimes, Your Choice

BrainRoad hosts two open-source AI agent runtimes:

  • OpenClaw, an MIT-licensed agent runtime with its own chat interface, channel adapters, sessions, skills, and configuration screens.
  • Hermes, an MIT-licensed agent runtime from NousResearch, with its own chat, sessions, plugins, and configuration screens.

Ordinary signup provisions OpenClaw only. A Pro customer may explicitly select and install Hermes later from the runtime switcher; dashboard load never installs it. Both work from the same Business Brain. Proposed actions that use BrainRoad’s managed action path enter the same review Inbox. A channel configured directly inside a runtime keeps that runtime and provider’s own authority rules.

BrainRoad does not rebuild the runtimes’ own screens. From the Helper page you open the runtime’s native interface in a new tab: “Open OpenClaw chat” or “Open Hermes chat” for conversation, and the shell buttons for the dashboard Console. Channels, sessions, skills, and runtime configuration stay inside the runtime’s own interface.

What Differs Between Them

The runtime choice does not change your Business Brain, review Inbox, or account Team room. Those are BrainRoad surfaces shared at the account level.

  • Browser (/dashboard/browser) is currently an OpenClaw-specific dashboard view. Hermes does not use that page.
  • Each runtime owns its own chat, channels, sessions, skills, and configuration. Similar labels do not guarantee identical behavior or settings.

The Team room (/dashboard/team) belongs to the account, not to either runtime, so it stays available regardless of which helper is selected.

Messaging Channels

Each runtime ships its own channel adapters, configured inside the runtime’s own interface, not in the BrainRoad dashboard. Connecting a channel such as Telegram, Discord, Slack, WhatsApp, or Signal requires your own bot token or account credentials with that provider, and each channel keeps its provider’s own rules. BrainRoad does not connect any messaging channel automatically.

One honest caveat: OpenClaw lists an iMessage channel, but it requires a bridge running on a local Mac. BrainRoad’s hosted workspaces are Linux, so iMessage is effectively not available on BrainRoad.

A helper with a live channel connection is kept running so it never misses a message. See starting, stopping, and sleep.

AI Models and Keys

  • Managed model access by default. Starter includes $5 of managed use; Pro includes a fresh $5 each calendar month.
  • Bring your own key is advanced. Settings supports optional keys for Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, OpenRouter, xAI, and more (see Choosing a Provider).

Which Should You Use?

There is no universal winner. Both are capable general-purpose helpers working from the same Brain. Try each runtime’s native interface and configuration model, then keep the one that fits your work. If you need BrainRoad’s watchable Browser page, use OpenClaw. You can also leave both running and use each for the work it handles best.