{ "data": { "a": { "slug": "cowagent", "name": "CowAgent", "vendor": "zhayujie", "vendorUrl": "https://cowagent.ai", "kind": "harness", "category": "personal-assistants", "summary": "CowAgent is an open-source AI assistant that its owner runs on a computer or server. It plans tasks, runs tools and skills, keeps long-term memory in local files and answers on a web console and messaging apps.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/cowagent", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/cowagent.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/cowagent.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/cowagent.json", "repo": "https://github.com/zhayujie/CowAgent", "license": "MIT", "transports": [ "http" ], "packages": [ { "registry": "oci", "name": "zhayujie/chatgpt-on-wechat" } ], "auth": "mixed", "authNotes": "No account. The web console listens on 127.0.0.1 with no password by default, and `web_password` adds a login whose session lasts 30 days. `external_api_token` is one Bearer token for the OpenAI-compatible endpoint, which stays off while the token is empty (https://docs.cowagent.ai/channels/web). Messaging channels use each platform's bot token or app secret in `config.json`. Model keys go in `config.json` or environment variables.", "pricing": "free", "pricingNotes": "Free under the MIT licence, with nothing to buy to run it. The owner pays the configured model provider, or nothing with a local model behind an OpenAI-compatible endpoint. The README names LinkAI as a seller of managed hosting, and link-ai.tech did not answer on 12 October 2026, so its prices were not read.", "priceSummary": "Free · OSS", "where": "local", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 in the docs or the source (checked 2026-10-12).", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": null, "popularity": { "githubStars": 47400, "npmWeekly": null, "pypiWeekly": null, "asOf": "2026-10-12" }, "docsUrl": "https://docs.cowagent.ai/intro/index", "llmsTxt": "https://docs.cowagent.ai/llms.txt", "capabilities": [ "assistant.proactive", "assistant.messaging", "assistant.memory", "assistant.self-hosted", "agent.mcp-client", "assistant.accounts" ], "tags": [ "open-source", "self-hosted", "local", "free", "no-card", "llms-txt", "docker", "python", "openai-compatible" ], "lastRelease": "2026-09-30", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 58.5, "grade": "C", "agentReady": false, "rank": 591, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 986, "categoryRank": 9, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 59, "maintenance": 83, "payments": 60, "reliability": 84, "schema": 67, "security": 43, "transparency": 45 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-10-12" }, "negative": -5, "negativeNotes": [ "2026-07-31. Issue #2998 reports that a member of a Feishu group asked the bot for local files and it sent the owner's documents into the group. This is the reporter's account and we did not reproduce it. We confirmed in the master source on 12 October 2026 that group channels accept every group, that full-access is the default and that the proposed sender gating is absent. Open and unfixed, -3. https://github.com/zhayujie/CowAgent/issues/2998", "2026-07-29. Version 2.1.5 fixed a chain in which injected content led the agent to rewrite the MCP config, run arbitrary commands and take keys, and fixed the `edit` tool reaching `~/.cow/.env`. Both are described in the release notes with no advisory. Fixed and documented, -2. https://docs.cowagent.ai/releases/v2.1.5" ], "verdict": "MIT software with seven releases in 90 days, memory kept as plain files in the owner's workspace and three per-session permission modes. Source and Docker installs default to full-access, no action asks for approval, and an open report of 31 July 2026 says group members could reach the owner's files through the bot.", "bestFor": "One technical owner who wants an assistant on WeChat, Feishu, DingTalk, Telegram, Slack or Discord with memory in local files and a choice of Chinese and Western model providers.", "strengths": [ "Memory is plain Markdown under `~/cow` (`MEMORY.md`, `memory/YYYY-MM-DD.md`), readable and removable by the owner", "Three permission modes per session (read-only, workspace-write, full-access), with a global default in `agent_permission_mode`", "The web console binds to 127.0.0.1 by default, and the cloud client loads only when `use_linkai` and a deployment id are both set", "Seven tagged releases between 20 July and 30 September 2026, each with dated notes in the docs", "Tests run on Python 3.11 and 3.13 for every push to master, and the 15 newest master runs we saw passed on 12 October 2026" ], "weaknesses": [ "Source and Docker installs default to full-access, and no mode asks the owner before a shell command, a file send or an MCP call", "The permission checks read arguments and are not an OS sandbox, as the source says. The `bash` blocklist covers only root deletion, disk wiping and power commands", "Issue #2998, open since 31 July 2026, reports the bot sending the owner's local documents into a Feishu group. Its fix is not on master", "No setting limits which Telegram, Slack or Discord users may message the bot, and those channels reply in every group", "No SECURITY.md, security.txt, privacy policy or terms. Model keys sit in `config.json` and MCP keys in `mcp.json` as plain text" ], "agentNotes": [ "Set `agent_permission_mode` to `workspace-write` or `read-only` before connecting any channel. Source and Docker installs default to `full-access`", "Keep the bot out of group chats that include other people. Any member who mentions it reaches the same tools as the owner", "Set `web_password` before changing `web_host` to `0.0.0.0`. The password is empty by default", "Set `external_api_token` to enable `POST /v1/chat/completions`, and send `conversation_id` to keep one session. The `model` field does not select a model", "Run it in a container for a hard boundary. The docs and the source both say the permission modes are not isolation" ], "metrics": { "kind": "local", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 0, "avgRating": 0, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "C", "methodology": "0.4", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 58.5 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 59, "maintenance": 83, "payments": 60, "reliability": 84, "schema": 67, "security": 43, "transparency": 62 }, "provenanceScore": 27 }, "connect": { "install": "bash \u003c(curl -fsSL https://cdn.link-ai.tech/code/cow/run.sh) # or: curl -O https://cdn.link-ai.tech/code/cow/docker-compose.yml \u0026\u0026 docker compose up -d", "http": "curl http://localhost:9899/v1/chat/completions -H \"Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN\" -H \"Content-Type: application/json\" -d '{\"model\":\"cowagent\",\"conversation_id\":\"example-conversation\",\"messages\":[{\"role\":\"user\",\"content\":\"Hello\"}]}'" }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/assistant.proactive", "tool": "https://letme.dev/cowagent" }, "area": "frameworks", "provenance": { "legalEntity": "", "domain": "cowagent.ai", "domainRegistered": "", "endpointOnVendorDomain": null, "terms": "", "privacy": "", "statusPage": "", "changelog": "https://docs.cowagent.ai/releases/overview", "securityTxt": "none", "checked": "2026-10-12", "notes": [ "No company or legal entity is named for CowAgent. The licence names zhayujie, and the cowagent.ai footer reads Copyright 2026 CowAgent.", "The README lists sales@simple-future.tech and LinkAI (link-ai.tech) for enterprise services and managed hosting. link-ai.tech did not answer our robots.txt request on 12 October 2026, so none of its pages were read.", "cowagent.ai links no terms and no privacy policy. Its sitemap lists the home, download and blog pages only.", "cowagent.ai answers `/.well-known/security.txt` and `/llms.txt` with the home page, so neither file exists. docs.cowagent.ai serves an llms.txt.", "The registration date of cowagent.ai was not looked up." ], "score": 27 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/cowagent.json" }, "answer": "CowAgent scores 58.5 (C) on agent readiness against Lindy's 32.3 (F), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Lindy leads on security \u0026 auth and transparency \u0026 trust.", "b": { "slug": "lindy", "name": "Lindy", "vendor": "Crivello Corp (doing business as Lindy)", "vendorUrl": "https://www.lindy.ai", "kind": "platform", "category": "personal-assistants", "summary": "Lindy is a hosted AI assistant from Crivello Corp. Each user has a private assistant for mail, calendar and meetings, reached by Slack, iMessage, SMS, email or the web app, and a team shares a second one in Slack channels.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/lindy", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/lindy.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/lindy.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/lindy.json", "license": "Proprietary service under Lindy's Terms of Service. No source is published", "transports": [], "packages": [], "auth": "oauth", "authNotes": "A person signs in with Google or Microsoft and connects mail and calendar from either, a phone number verified by code, and Slack through an app an owner or admin installs. Other tools connect by OAuth or an API key, and every action for a tool turns on at once with no scope choice in Lindy. A connection is personal until an owner or admin shares it with the workspace, after which everyone's Lindy works as that account. Saved API keys are write-only and can be rotated or revoked. No public API or key for outside callers was found in the docs.", "pricing": "paid", "pricingNotes": "$29.99 per active user a month with 3,000 credits, pooled across the workspace, and larger monthly credit amounts up to 1,750,000 for $9,999.50. Top-ups are $10 per 1,000 credits and do not expire, while monthly credits do not roll over. New accounts get $50 of credit for seven days with no card. The pricing page gives 2 to 250 credits for an everyday request and 1,000 to 2,500 for a large build. The docs name Plus, Pro and Max plans priced only inside the app, which the pricing page does not list (checked 2026-10-12).", "priceSummary": "$29.99 / seat-mo", "where": "local", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 on the pricing page, the terms or the docs (checked 2026-10-12).", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": null, "popularity": { "githubStars": null, "npmWeekly": null, "pypiWeekly": null, "asOf": "2026-10-12" }, "docsUrl": "https://docs.lindy.ai", "llmsTxt": "https://docs.lindy.ai/llms.txt", "capabilities": [ "assistant.proactive", "assistant.messaging", "assistant.accounts", "assistant.memory", "agent.mcp-client" ], "tags": [ "hosted", "closed-source", "paid", "free-trial", "no-card", "slack", "imessage", "sms", "email", "chrome-extension", "mcp-client", "approvals", "llms-txt", "soc2", "team" ], "lastRelease": "2025-10-21", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 32.3, "grade": "F", "agentReady": false, "rank": 968, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 986, "categoryRank": 16, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 43, "maintenance": 9, "payments": 35, "reliability": 24, "schema": 32, "security": 49, "transparency": 52 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-10-12" }, "negative": -3, "negativeNotes": [ "2026-10-12. The pricing page and the docs pricing page answer the question of whether Lindy does anything without approval with No, and say anything with outside impact waits for approval. The integrations page says approval settings apply in shared Slack threads only, that web chat, Slack direct messages, iMessage and SMS are not guarded, and that an integration can be set to always allow writes (https://www.lindy.ai/pricing, https://docs.lindy.ai/pricing.md, https://docs.lindy.ai/integrations/overview.md). 3 points for a misleading claim." ], "verdict": "Lindy keeps what it remembers in files the owner can read and edit, and publishes credit prices. Its approval setting applies in shared Slack threads only, so writes asked for by direct message, text or web chat run unasked, which its pricing page does not say. It has no status page, and its changelog stops in October 2025.", "bestFor": "Lindy suits a person or small team that lives in Slack and Google or Microsoft mail and wants briefs, drafts, scheduling and meeting notes done on a schedule.", "strengths": [ "Memory is a set of plain files in the web app, split into Personal, Team and System scopes, which the owner can read, edit and restore by version.", "Each integration has a setting that makes Lindy ask in Slack before writing, or stops it writing with that tool at all.", "Saved API keys are write-only. The docs say a value cannot be read back in the app, through the API or by asking Lindy, and keys can be rotated or revoked.", "The privacy policy of 28 September 2026 names its processors by category, among them Anthropic, OpenAI, Perplexity AI, Pipedream, WorkOS, Twilio and Recall.ai.", "Credit prices are public. A seat is $29.99 a month with 3,000 credits, top-ups are $10 per 1,000, and new accounts get $50 of credit with no card." ], "weaknesses": [ "The integrations page says approval settings apply in shared Slack threads only. Web chat, Slack direct messages, iMessage and SMS are not covered, and reads are never covered.", "The pricing page and the docs pricing page both answer that Lindy does nothing with outside impact without approval, which the integrations page contradicts.", "No status page, uptime record or SLA was found on the site or in the docs.", "The public changelog's newest entry is dated 21 October 2025, and it describes an agent builder the current docs no longer cover.", "Deleting a memory file keeps its earlier versions, and no way to purge them or a retention period was found. The privacy policy gives no period either.", "The terms of 24 September 2026 forbid automated use of the system and use for any commercial enterprise, in a product sold to companies. This matters before any probe is run." ], "agentNotes": [ "Treat a request sent by direct message, text or web chat as unguarded. Approval prompts appear in shared Slack threads only.", "Run a routine as a dry run before turning it on. A dry run reads real data and sends, posts and writes nothing.", "Turn off unused tools after adding an MCP server. Every supported tool arrives switched on, and a large server adds more than a hundred.", "Expect a billed seat for anyone who mentions Lindy in Slack. A teammate who joins that way has seven free days first.", "Connect only hosted MCP servers on public HTTPS with streamable HTTP, the one kind the docs describe." ], "metrics": { "kind": "remote", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 0, "avgRating": 0, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "F", "methodology": "0.4", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 32.3 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 43, "maintenance": 9, "payments": 35, "reliability": 24, "schema": 32, "security": 49, "transparency": 36 }, "provenanceScore": 68 }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/assistant.proactive", "tool": "https://letme.dev/lindy" }, "area": "frameworks", "unitPrices": [ { "item": "Team seat", "unit": "seat-month", "usd": 29.99, "note": "3,000 credits a month, pooled across the workspace. Every active user is billed" }, { "item": "Top-up credit", "unit": "credit", "usd": 0.01, "note": "$10 per 1,000 credits. Top-up credits do not expire, monthly credits do not roll over" } ], "provenance": { "legalEntity": "Crivello Corp (doing business as Lindy)", "domain": "lindy.ai", "domainRegistered": "2019-05-16", "endpointOnVendorDomain": true, "terms": "https://www.lindy.ai/terms-of-service", "privacy": "https://www.lindy.ai/privacy", "statusPage": "", "changelog": "https://www.lindy.ai/changelog", "securityTxt": "none", "checked": "2026-10-12", "notes": [ "The Terms of Service, last updated 24 September 2026, name Crivello Corp, doing business as Lindy, registered in Oregon at 9450 SW Gemini Dr, Beaverton, OR 97008, and are governed by California law with binding arbitration.", "The terms cover the site and all related products and services. No separate service agreement or DPA was linked from the pages read.", "The privacy policy was last updated 28 September 2026.", "The web app and sign-in are at chat.lindy.ai.", "www.lindy.ai/.well-known/security.txt returns 404. No disclosure policy or bug bounty was found.", "No status page is linked from the site, the docs or the security page.", "RDAP gives a registration date of 2019-05-16 for lindy.ai, with NameCheap as registrar." ], "score": 68 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/lindy.json" }, "facts": [ { "a": "Agent harness", "b": "Platform", "name": "Kind" }, { "a": "zhayujie", "b": "Crivello Corp (doing business as Lindy)", "name": "Vendor" }, { "a": "no (local only)", "b": "no (local only)", "name": "Hosted endpoint" }, { "a": "HTTP", "b": "", "name": "Transports" }, { "a": "OAuth or key", "b": "OAuth", "name": "Auth" }, { "a": "Free", "b": "Paid", "name": "Pricing" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "x402" }, { "a": "MIT", "b": "Proprietary service under Lindy's Terms of Service. No source is published", "name": "Licence" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "no", "name": "Read-only variant documented" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "yes", "name": "llms.txt" }, { "a": "2026-09-30", "b": "2025-10-21", "name": "Last release" }, { "a": "no document linked", "b": "2026-09-24", "name": "Terms last updated" }, { "a": "no document linked", "b": "2026-09-28", "name": "Privacy policy last updated" }, { "a": "", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Customer content may train models" }, { "a": "", "b": "yes", "name": "Terms restrict automated access" }, { "a": "", "b": "yes", "name": "Terms restrict benchmarking" }, { "a": "", "b": "yes", "name": "Terms or service can change without notice" }, { "a": "", "b": "yes", "name": "Arbitration or class-action waiver" }, { "a": "47k stars", "b": "none", "name": "Popularity" } ], "faq": [ { "answer": "CowAgent scores 58.5 (C) on agent readiness against Lindy's 32.3 (F), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Lindy leads on security \u0026 auth and transparency \u0026 trust.", "question": "Which is better for AI agents, CowAgent or Lindy?" }, { "answer": "CowAgent is open source (MIT). No open-source release is listed for Lindy.", "question": "Are CowAgent and Lindy open source?" } ], "goodFor": [ { "aheadOn": [ "Reliability, 84 against 24", "Schema \u0026 documentation, 67 against 32", "Agent ergonomics, 59 against 43", "Payments \u0026 pricing, 60 against 35", "Maintenance \u0026 community, 83 against 9" ], "also": [ "Open source" ], "goodFor": "One technical owner who wants an assistant on WeChat, Feishu, DingTalk, Telegram, Slack or Discord with memory in local files and a choice of Chinese and Western model providers.", "slug": "cowagent", "watchFor": "Source and Docker installs default to full-access, and no mode asks the owner before a shell command, a file send or an MCP call" }, { "aheadOn": [ "Security \u0026 auth, 49 against 43", "Transparency \u0026 trust, 52 against 45" ], "also": null, "goodFor": "Lindy suits a person or small team that lives in Slack and Google or Microsoft mail and wants briefs, drafts, scheduling and meeting notes done on a schedule.", "slug": "lindy", "watchFor": "The integrations page says approval settings apply in shared Slack threads only. Web chat, Slack direct messages, iMessage and SMS are not covered, and reads are never covered." } ], "job": { "capability": "assistant.proactive", "name": "Assistant proactive" }, "others": [ { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/astrbot-vs-cowagent.json", "title": "AstrBot vs CowAgent", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/astrbot-vs-cowagent" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/astrbot-vs-lindy.json", "title": "AstrBot vs Lindy", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/astrbot-vs-lindy" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-gaia.json", "title": "CowAgent vs GAIA", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-gaia" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-gemini-spark.json", "title": "CowAgent vs Gemini Spark", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-gemini-spark" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-grok-bot.json", "title": "CowAgent vs Grok Bot", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-grok-bot" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-haven.json", "title": "CowAgent vs Haven", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-haven" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-hermes-agent.json", "title": "CowAgent vs Hermes Agent", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-hermes-agent" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-instinct.json", "title": "CowAgent vs Instinct", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-instinct" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-ironclaw.json", "title": "CowAgent vs IronClaw", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-ironclaw" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-leon.json", "title": "CowAgent vs Leon", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-leon" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-nanobot.json", "title": "CowAgent vs nanobot", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-nanobot" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-nanoclaw.json", "title": "CowAgent vs NanoClaw", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-nanoclaw" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-openai-dots.json", "title": "CowAgent vs Dots", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-openai-dots" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-openclaw.json", "title": "CowAgent vs OpenClaw", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-openclaw" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-picoclaw.json", "title": "CowAgent vs PicoClaw", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-picoclaw" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-poke.json", "title": "CowAgent vs Poke", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-poke" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-qwenpaw.json", "title": "CowAgent vs QwenPaw", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-qwenpaw" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-zeroclaw.json", "title": "CowAgent vs ZeroClaw", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-zeroclaw" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-zo-computer.json", "title": "CowAgent vs Zo Computer", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-zo-computer" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gaia-vs-lindy.json", "title": "GAIA vs Lindy", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gaia-vs-lindy" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-spark-vs-lindy.json", "title": "Gemini Spark vs Lindy", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-spark-vs-lindy" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/grok-bot-vs-lindy.json", "title": "Grok Bot vs Lindy", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/grok-bot-vs-lindy" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/haven-vs-lindy.json", "title": "Haven vs Lindy", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/haven-vs-lindy" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-lindy.json", "title": "Hermes Agent vs Lindy", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-lindy" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/instinct-vs-lindy.json", "title": "Instinct vs Lindy", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/instinct-vs-lindy" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-lindy.json", "title": "IronClaw vs Lindy", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-lindy" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/leon-vs-lindy.json", "title": "Leon vs Lindy", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/leon-vs-lindy" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lindy-vs-nanobot.json", "title": "Lindy vs nanobot", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lindy-vs-nanobot" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lindy-vs-nanoclaw.json", "title": "Lindy vs NanoClaw", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lindy-vs-nanoclaw" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lindy-vs-openai-dots.json", "title": "Lindy vs Dots", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lindy-vs-openai-dots" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lindy-vs-openclaw.json", "title": "Lindy vs OpenClaw", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lindy-vs-openclaw" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lindy-vs-picoclaw.json", "title": "Lindy vs PicoClaw", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lindy-vs-picoclaw" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lindy-vs-poke.json", "title": "Lindy vs Poke", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lindy-vs-poke" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lindy-vs-qwenpaw.json", "title": "Lindy vs QwenPaw", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lindy-vs-qwenpaw" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lindy-vs-zeroclaw.json", "title": "Lindy vs ZeroClaw", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lindy-vs-zeroclaw" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lindy-vs-zo-computer.json", "title": "Lindy vs Zo Computer", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lindy-vs-zo-computer" } ], "scores": [ { "by": 60, "cowagent": 84, "edge": "cowagent", "key": "reliability", "lindy": 24, "name": "Reliability", "weight": 16 }, { "key": "performance", "name": "Performance", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 35, "cowagent": 67, "edge": "cowagent", "key": "schema", "lindy": 32, "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation", "weight": 13 }, { "by": 16, "cowagent": 59, "edge": "cowagent", "key": "ergonomics", "lindy": 43, "name": "Agent ergonomics", "weight": 13 }, { "by": 6, "cowagent": 43, "edge": "lindy", "key": "security", "lindy": 49, "name": "Security \u0026 auth", "weight": 14 }, { "by": 25, "cowagent": 60, "edge": "cowagent", "key": "payments", "lindy": 35, "name": "Payments \u0026 pricing", "weight": 10 }, { "key": "tasks", "name": "Task success", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 74, "cowagent": 83, "edge": "cowagent", "key": "maintenance", "lindy": 9, "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community", "weight": 7 }, { "by": 7, "cowagent": 45, "edge": "lindy", "key": "transparency", "lindy": 52, "name": "Transparency \u0026 trust", "weight": 7 } ], "summary": "CowAgent scores 58.5 (C) on agent readiness against Lindy's 32.3 (F), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Lindy leads on security \u0026 auth and transparency \u0026 trust. Both do assistant proactive.", "verdicts": { "cowagent": "MIT software with seven releases in 90 days, memory kept as plain files in the owner's workspace and three per-session permission modes. Source and Docker installs default to full-access, no action asks for approval, and an open report of 31 July 2026 says group members could reach the owner's files through the bot.", "lindy": "Lindy keeps what it remembers in files the owner can read and edit, and publishes credit prices. Its approval setting applies in shared Slack threads only, so writes asked for by direct message, text or web chat run unasked, which its pricing page does not say. It has no status page, and its changelog stops in October 2025." } }, "kind": "anchor.page", "links": { "api": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json", "html": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-lindy", "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-lindy.json", "llms": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt", "markdown": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-lindy.md", "slim": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-lindy.min.md" }, "markdown": "CowAgent scores 58.5 (C) on agent readiness against Lindy's 32.3 (F), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Lindy leads on security \u0026 auth and transparency \u0026 trust. Both do assistant proactive.\n\n- CowAgent: grade C, 58.5/100, rank #591 of 986. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/cowagent.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/cowagent.json\n- Lindy: grade F, 32.3/100, rank #968 of 986. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/lindy.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/lindy.json\n- Best AI personal assistants that act for one person: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/personal-assistants/index.md\n- All 190 assistants comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/personal-assistants/index.md\n\n## Which one, for what\n\n### CowAgent (C)\n\nGood for: One technical owner who wants an assistant on WeChat, Feishu, DingTalk, Telegram, Slack or Discord with memory in local files and a choice of Chinese and Western model providers.\n\nAhead on:\n- Reliability, 84 against 24\n- Schema \u0026 documentation, 67 against 32\n- Agent ergonomics, 59 against 43\n- Payments \u0026 pricing, 60 against 35\n- Maintenance \u0026 community, 83 against 9\n\nAlso in its favour:\n- Open source\n\nWatch for: Source and Docker installs default to full-access, and no mode asks the owner before a shell command, a file send or an MCP call\n\n### Lindy (F)\n\nGood for: Lindy suits a person or small team that lives in Slack and Google or Microsoft mail and wants briefs, drafts, scheduling and meeting notes done on a schedule.\n\nAhead on:\n- Security \u0026 auth, 49 against 43\n- Transparency \u0026 trust, 52 against 45\n\nWatch for: The integrations page says approval settings apply in shared Slack threads only. Web chat, Slack direct messages, iMessage and SMS are not covered, and reads are never covered.\n\n\n## Score by category\n\n| Category | Weight | CowAgent | Lindy | Edge |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 84 | 24 | CowAgent +60 |\n| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Schema \u0026 documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 67 | 32 | CowAgent +35 |\n| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 59 | 43 | CowAgent +16 |\n| Security \u0026 auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 43 | 49 | Lindy +6 |\n| Payments \u0026 pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 60 | 35 | CowAgent +25 |\n| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Maintenance \u0026 community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 83 | 9 | CowAgent +74 |\n| Transparency \u0026 trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 45 | 52 | Lindy +7 |\n| Negative events | ≤15 | -5 | -3 | |\n| **Total** | | **58.5 · C** | **32.3 · F** | |\n\n## Facts side by side\n\n| Fact | CowAgent | Lindy |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Kind | Agent harness | Platform |\n| Vendor | zhayujie | Crivello Corp (doing business as Lindy) |\n| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |\n| Transports | HTTP | |\n| Auth | OAuth or key | OAuth |\n| Pricing | Free | Paid |\n| x402 | no | no |\n| Licence | MIT | Proprietary service under Lindy's Terms of Service. No source is published |\n| Read-only variant documented | yes | no |\n| llms.txt | yes | yes |\n| Last release | 2026-09-30 | 2025-10-21 |\n| Terms last updated | no document linked | 2026-09-24 |\n| Privacy policy last updated | no document linked | 2026-09-28 |\n| Customer content may train models | | not found in the text |\n| Terms restrict automated access | | yes |\n| Terms restrict benchmarking | | yes |\n| Terms or service can change without notice | | yes |\n| Arbitration or class-action waiver | | yes |\n| Popularity | 47k stars | none |\n\n## Verdicts\n\n**CowAgent.** MIT software with seven releases in 90 days, memory kept as plain files in the owner's workspace and three per-session permission modes. Source and Docker installs default to full-access, no action asks for approval, and an open report of 31 July 2026 says group members could reach the owner's files through the bot.\n\n**Lindy.** Lindy keeps what it remembers in files the owner can read and edit, and publishes credit prices. Its approval setting applies in shared Slack threads only, so writes asked for by direct message, text or web chat run unasked, which its pricing page does not say. It has no status page, and its changelog stops in October 2025.\n\n## Before you call either\n\n### CowAgent\n\n1. Set `agent_permission_mode` to `workspace-write` or `read-only` before connecting any channel. Source and Docker installs default to `full-access`\n2. Keep the bot out of group chats that include other people. Any member who mentions it reaches the same tools as the owner\n3. Set `web_password` before changing `web_host` to `0.0.0.0`. The password is empty by default\n4. Set `external_api_token` to enable `POST /v1/chat/completions`, and send `conversation_id` to keep one session. The `model` field does not select a model\n5. Run it in a container for a hard boundary. The docs and the source both say the permission modes are not isolation\n\n### Lindy\n\n1. Treat a request sent by direct message, text or web chat as unguarded. Approval prompts appear in shared Slack threads only.\n2. Run a routine as a dry run before turning it on. A dry run reads real data and sends, posts and writes nothing.\n3. Turn off unused tools after adding an MCP server. Every supported tool arrives switched on, and a large server adds more than a hundred.\n4. Expect a billed seat for anyone who mentions Lindy in Slack. A teammate who joins that way has seven free days first.\n5. Connect only hosted MCP servers on public HTTPS with streamable HTTP, the one kind the docs describe.\n\n## Questions\n\n### Which is better for AI agents, CowAgent or Lindy?\n\nCowAgent scores 58.5 (C) on agent readiness against Lindy's 32.3 (F), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Lindy leads on security \u0026 auth and transparency \u0026 trust.\n\n### Are CowAgent and Lindy open source?\n\nCowAgent is open source (MIT). No open-source release is listed for Lindy.\n\n\n## For agents\n\n- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-lindy.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-lindy.min.md\n- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {\"a\": \"cowagent\", \"b\": \"lindy\"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare cowagent lindy`\n- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/cowagent.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/lindy.json\n\n## Other comparisons with CowAgent or Lindy\n\n- [AstrBot vs CowAgent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/astrbot-vs-cowagent.md)\n- [AstrBot vs Lindy](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/astrbot-vs-lindy.md)\n- [CowAgent vs GAIA](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-gaia.md)\n- [CowAgent vs Gemini Spark](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-gemini-spark.md)\n- [CowAgent vs Grok Bot](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-grok-bot.md)\n- [CowAgent vs Haven](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-haven.md)\n- [CowAgent vs Hermes Agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-hermes-agent.md)\n- [CowAgent vs Instinct](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-instinct.md)\n- [CowAgent vs IronClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-ironclaw.md)\n- [CowAgent vs Leon](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-leon.md)\n- [CowAgent vs nanobot](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-nanobot.md)\n- [CowAgent vs NanoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-nanoclaw.md)\n- [CowAgent vs Dots](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-openai-dots.md)\n- [CowAgent vs OpenClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-openclaw.md)\n- [CowAgent vs PicoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-picoclaw.md)\n- [CowAgent vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-poke.md)\n- [CowAgent vs QwenPaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-qwenpaw.md)\n- [CowAgent vs ZeroClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-zeroclaw.md)\n- [CowAgent vs Zo Computer](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-zo-computer.md)\n- [GAIA vs Lindy](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gaia-vs-lindy.md)\n- [Gemini Spark vs Lindy](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-spark-vs-lindy.md)\n- [Grok Bot vs Lindy](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/grok-bot-vs-lindy.md)\n- [Haven vs Lindy](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/haven-vs-lindy.md)\n- [Hermes Agent vs Lindy](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-lindy.md)\n- [Instinct vs Lindy](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/instinct-vs-lindy.md)\n- [IronClaw vs Lindy](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-lindy.md)\n- [Leon vs Lindy](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/leon-vs-lindy.md)\n- [Lindy vs nanobot](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lindy-vs-nanobot.md)\n- [Lindy vs NanoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lindy-vs-nanoclaw.md)\n- [Lindy vs Dots](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lindy-vs-openai-dots.md)\n- [Lindy vs OpenClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lindy-vs-openclaw.md)\n- [Lindy vs PicoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lindy-vs-picoclaw.md)\n- [Lindy vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lindy-vs-poke.md)\n- [Lindy vs QwenPaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lindy-vs-qwenpaw.md)\n- [Lindy vs ZeroClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lindy-vs-zeroclaw.md)\n- [Lindy vs Zo Computer](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lindy-vs-zo-computer.md)\n", "meta": { "attribution": "Anchor Terminal (https://www.anchorterminal.com)", "docs": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/docs/", "generatedAt": "2026-10-12", "license": "CC-BY-4.0", "method": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/benchmark/", "methodology": "0.4", "openapi": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/openapi.json", "preview": false, "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run" }, "page": { "breadcrumbs": [ { "name": "Home", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/" }, { "name": "Compare", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/" }, { "name": "CowAgent vs Lindy", "url": "" } ], "description": "CowAgent scores 58.5 (C) to Lindy's 32.3 (F) for assistant proactive. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.", "facts": [ "CowAgent C 58.5", "Lindy F 32.3", "scores" ], "h1": "CowAgent vs Lindy", "image": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/assets/og/compare-cowagent-vs-lindy.png", "path": "/compare/cowagent-vs-lindy", "published": "2026-10-01", "section": "tools", "title": "CowAgent vs Lindy for AI agents in 2026: scores and prices", "toc": null, "updated": "2026-10-12", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-lindy" }, "tokens": { "markdown": 2550, "slim": 680 }, "version": 1 }