{ "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 Poke's 37.6 (F), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Poke leads on transparency \u0026 trust.", "b": { "slug": "poke", "name": "Poke", "vendor": "The Interaction Company of California Inc.", "vendorUrl": "https://poke.com", "kind": "platform", "category": "personal-assistants", "summary": "Hosted personal assistant from The Interaction Company of California, reached by text on Apple Messages, WhatsApp, Telegram and RCS. It works across the owner's Gmail or Outlook mail, calendar, contacts and connected apps.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/poke", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/poke.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/poke.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/poke.json", "license": "Proprietary service under Poke's Terms of Service. The `poke` npm package (CLI and Node.js SDK) declares MIT", "transports": [ "http" ], "packages": [ { "registry": "npm", "name": "poke" } ], "auth": "api-key", "authNotes": "A person signs up at poke.com and connects a Google or Microsoft account. The Poke API takes `Authorization: Bearer \u003ckey\u003e` with a V2 key created in Kitchen under API Keys. Keys are named, shown once, revocable one at a time and have no scopes. Older `pk_` keys work only on the deprecated endpoint. The CLI signs in with a browser device code and stores credentials in `~/.config/poke/credentials.json`. Third-party MCP servers are connected with an API key or OAuth (https://poke.com/docs/api; https://poke.com/docs/mcp-servers; https://poke.com/docs/creating-recipes).", "pricing": "freemium", "pricingNotes": "Free at $0 with no card. Pro is $19 a month and Ultra $199 a month on monthly billing. Free and Pro have a refilling usage allowance, with no figures published, and Poke continues in a lighter mode past it. Ultra includes a monthly credit pool (1 credit is $1 of usage), with top-ups and optional auto-reload. Poke Human is included with Ultra, with real-world expenses charged at cost. Model usage is not billed separately (https://poke.com/pricing; https://poke.com/docs/usage-and-resets; https://poke.com/faq, checked 2026-10-12).", "priceSummary": "$19 / mo", "where": "local", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 in the docs, llms.txt or the pricing page (checked 2026-10-12).", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": null, "popularity": { "githubStars": null, "npmWeekly": null, "pypiWeekly": null, "asOf": "2026-10-12" }, "docsUrl": "https://poke.com/docs", "llmsTxt": "https://poke.com/llms.txt", "capabilities": [ "assistant.proactive", "assistant.messaging", "assistant.accounts", "assistant.memory", "agent.mcp-client" ], "tags": [ "hosted", "closed-source", "messaging", "imessage", "whatsapp", "telegram", "gmail", "outlook", "mcp-client", "api-key", "free-tier", "status-page", "llms-txt", "trains-on-data-by-default" ], "lastRelease": "2026-06-25", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 37.6, "grade": "F", "agentReady": false, "rank": 955, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 986, "categoryRank": 15, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 30, "maintenance": 31, "payments": 30, "reliability": 51, "schema": 42, "security": 24, "transparency": 58 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-10-12" }, "negative": 0, "verdict": "Hosted assistant that answers in Apple Messages, WhatsApp, Telegram and RCS and acts in Gmail, Outlook, calendars and MCP servers. Plan prices and a status page are public. No approval settings, credential storage, model providers or retention periods are documented, and customer content trains models unless Maximum Privacy is selected.", "bestFor": "One person who wants an assistant in their text messages that reads and drafts mail, manages a calendar and reaches other apps through MCP.", "strengths": [ "Answers on Apple Messages, WhatsApp, Telegram and RCS, with the channel chosen in settings, per the docs welcome page and FAQ", "Free plan with no card, Pro at $19 a month and Ultra at $199 a month, all published without a sign-in", "Connects any remote MCP server by URL, with API key or OAuth, and OAuth servers with Dynamic Client Registration need no setup", "status.poke.com lists App, Email, Integrations, three messaging channels and API, with two incidents from July to 12 October 2026", "Named API keys are created in Kitchen, shown once and revoked one at a time" ], "weaknesses": [ "No documented setting for which actions need approval before Poke sends, deletes or spends. Release notes mention email draft approval only in passing", "Customer content, including email contents, may train AI models unless the user selects Maximum Privacy, per the privacy notice of 11 September 2026", "Model providers, sub-processors, hosting locations and where account tokens are stored are not named in the pages read", "An API key message is processed with full access to email, calendar and integrations. Keys have no scopes", "No security.txt, disclosure policy, bug bounty or certification was found on poke.com", "The terms forbid automated access for scraping and use for benchmarking or competitive analysis. This matters before any probe is run" ], "agentNotes": [ "POST JSON to `https://poke.com/api/v1/inbound/api-message` with a Bearer key from Kitchen. Legacy `pk_` keys work only on the deprecated `/api/v1/inbound-sms/webhook`", "Expect only `{\"success\": true}` back. Poke's answer goes to the owner's message thread, not to the caller", "Do not retry a POST blindly. No idempotency key is documented, and a repeated message may make Poke act twice", "Treat an API key as full access to the owner's mail, calendar and integrations. Create one key per automation and revoke it when done", "Avoid the prefilled integration link with `apiKey` in the query string for real secrets. Enter the key in the form or use `npx poke@latest mcp add -k`" ], "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": 37.6 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 30, "maintenance": 31, "payments": 30, "reliability": 51, "schema": 42, "security": 24, "transparency": 34 }, "provenanceScore": 81 }, "connect": { "install": "npx poke@latest login", "http": "curl 'https://poke.com/api/v1/inbound/api-message' \\\n -H \"Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY\" \\\n -H \"Content-Type: application/json\" \\\n -d '{\"message\": \"test\"}'" }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/assistant.proactive", "tool": "https://letme.dev/poke" }, "area": "frameworks", "unitPrices": [ { "item": "Pro", "unit": "month", "usd": 19, "note": "billed monthly, refilling usage allowance with no published figure" }, { "item": "Ultra", "unit": "month", "usd": 199, "note": "billed monthly, includes a monthly credit pool and Poke Human" }, { "item": "Ultra top-up credit", "unit": "credit", "usd": 1, "note": "1 credit is $1 of usage" } ], "provenance": { "legalEntity": "The Interaction Company of California Inc.", "domain": "poke.com", "domainRegistered": "1997-03-26", "endpointOnVendorDomain": true, "terms": "https://poke.com/terms", "privacy": "https://poke.com/privacy", "statusPage": "https://status.poke.com", "changelog": "https://poke.com/docs/release-notes", "securityTxt": "none", "checked": "2026-10-12", "notes": [ "The privacy notice (last updated 11 September 2026) names The Interaction Company of California Inc. and gives 169 Waverley St Apt B, Palo Alto, CA 94301 as the controller's address. The terms (last modified 17 March 2026) name The Interaction Company of California d/b/a Poke.", "Cognition announced on 23 July 2026 that The Interaction Company of California was joining it. The terms and privacy notice read on 12 October 2026 do not name Cognition.", "poke.com/.well-known/security.txt answered 404. poke.com/robots.txt also answered 404, so the host publishes no crawl rules.", "RDAP for poke.com gives a registration date of 1997-03-26 and NameCheap, Inc. as registrar.", "The API answers at poke.com/api/v1, on the vendor's domain." ], "score": 81 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/poke.json", "live": { "slug": "poke", "vendorStatus": { "page": "https://status.poke.com", "indicator": "none", "summary": "All Systems Operational", "checkedAt": "2026-10-12T18:57:01.261625139Z" }, "updatedAt": "2026-10-12T18:57:01.261625139Z" } }, "facts": [ { "a": "Agent harness", "b": "Platform", "name": "Kind" }, { "a": "zhayujie", "b": "The Interaction Company of California Inc.", "name": "Vendor" }, { "a": "no (local only)", "b": "no (local only)", "name": "Hosted endpoint" }, { "a": "HTTP", "b": "HTTP", "name": "Transports" }, { "a": "OAuth or key", "b": "API key", "name": "Auth" }, { "a": "Free", "b": "Freemium", "name": "Pricing" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "x402" }, { "a": "MIT", "b": "Proprietary service under Poke's Terms of Service. The `poke` npm package (CLI and Node.js SDK) declares MIT", "name": "Licence" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "no", "name": "Read-only variant documented" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "yes", "name": "llms.txt" }, { "a": "2026-09-30", "b": "2026-06-25", "name": "Last release" }, { "a": "no document linked", "b": "2026-03-17", "name": "Terms last updated" }, { "a": "no document linked", "b": "2026-09-11", "name": "Privacy policy last updated" }, { "a": "", "b": "yes", "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 Poke's 37.6 (F), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Poke leads on transparency \u0026 trust.", "question": "Which is better for AI agents, CowAgent or Poke?" }, { "answer": "CowAgent is open source (MIT). No open-source release is listed for Poke.", "question": "Are CowAgent and Poke open source?" } ], "goodFor": [ { "aheadOn": [ "Reliability, 84 against 51", "Schema \u0026 documentation, 67 against 42", "Agent ergonomics, 59 against 30", "Security \u0026 auth, 43 against 24", "Payments \u0026 pricing, 60 against 30", "Maintenance \u0026 community, 83 against 31" ], "also": [ "Free to start without a card", "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": [ "Transparency \u0026 trust, 58 against 45" ], "also": [ "No incidents deducted, where CowAgent loses 5 points for them" ], "goodFor": "One person who wants an assistant in their text messages that reads and drafts mail, manages a calendar and reaches other apps through MCP.", "slug": "poke", "watchFor": "No documented setting for which actions need approval before Poke sends, deletes or spends. Release notes mention email draft approval only in passing" } ], "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-poke.json", "title": "AstrBot vs Poke", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/astrbot-vs-poke" }, { "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-lindy.json", "title": "CowAgent vs Lindy", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-lindy" }, { "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-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-poke.json", "title": "GAIA vs Poke", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gaia-vs-poke" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-spark-vs-poke.json", "title": "Gemini Spark vs Poke", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-spark-vs-poke" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/grok-bot-vs-poke.json", "title": "Grok Bot vs Poke", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/grok-bot-vs-poke" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/haven-vs-poke.json", "title": "Haven vs Poke", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/haven-vs-poke" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-poke.json", "title": "Hermes Agent vs Poke", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-poke" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/instinct-vs-poke.json", "title": "Instinct vs Poke", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/instinct-vs-poke" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-poke.json", "title": "IronClaw vs Poke", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-poke" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/leon-vs-poke.json", "title": "Leon vs Poke", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/leon-vs-poke" }, { "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/nanobot-vs-poke.json", "title": "nanobot vs Poke", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanobot-vs-poke" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanoclaw-vs-poke.json", "title": "NanoClaw vs Poke", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanoclaw-vs-poke" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-dots-vs-poke.json", "title": "Dots vs Poke", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-dots-vs-poke" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openclaw-vs-poke.json", "title": "OpenClaw vs Poke", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openclaw-vs-poke" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/picoclaw-vs-poke.json", "title": "PicoClaw vs Poke", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/picoclaw-vs-poke" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/poke-vs-qwenpaw.json", "title": "Poke vs QwenPaw", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/poke-vs-qwenpaw" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/poke-vs-zeroclaw.json", "title": "Poke vs ZeroClaw", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/poke-vs-zeroclaw" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/poke-vs-zo-computer.json", "title": "Poke vs Zo Computer", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/poke-vs-zo-computer" } ], "scores": [ { "by": 33, "cowagent": 84, "edge": "cowagent", "key": "reliability", "name": "Reliability", "poke": 51, "weight": 16 }, { "key": "performance", "name": "Performance", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 25, "cowagent": 67, "edge": "cowagent", "key": "schema", "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation", "poke": 42, "weight": 13 }, { "by": 29, "cowagent": 59, "edge": "cowagent", "key": "ergonomics", "name": "Agent ergonomics", "poke": 30, "weight": 13 }, { "by": 19, "cowagent": 43, "edge": "cowagent", "key": "security", "name": "Security \u0026 auth", "poke": 24, "weight": 14 }, { "by": 30, "cowagent": 60, "edge": "cowagent", "key": "payments", "name": "Payments \u0026 pricing", "poke": 30, "weight": 10 }, { "key": "tasks", "name": "Task success", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 52, "cowagent": 83, "edge": "cowagent", "key": "maintenance", "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community", "poke": 31, "weight": 7 }, { "by": 13, "cowagent": 45, "edge": "poke", "key": "transparency", "name": "Transparency \u0026 trust", "poke": 58, "weight": 7 } ], "summary": "CowAgent scores 58.5 (C) on agent readiness against Poke's 37.6 (F), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Poke leads on 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.", "poke": "Hosted assistant that answers in Apple Messages, WhatsApp, Telegram and RCS and acts in Gmail, Outlook, calendars and MCP servers. Plan prices and a status page are public. No approval settings, credential storage, model providers or retention periods are documented, and customer content trains models unless Maximum Privacy is selected." } }, "kind": "anchor.page", "links": { "api": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json", "html": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-poke", "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-poke.json", "llms": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt", "markdown": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-poke.md", "slim": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-poke.min.md" }, "markdown": "CowAgent scores 58.5 (C) on agent readiness against Poke's 37.6 (F), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Poke leads on 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- Poke: grade F, 37.6/100, rank #955 of 986. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/poke.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/poke.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 51\n- Schema \u0026 documentation, 67 against 42\n- Agent ergonomics, 59 against 30\n- Security \u0026 auth, 43 against 24\n- Payments \u0026 pricing, 60 against 30\n- Maintenance \u0026 community, 83 against 31\n\nAlso in its favour:\n- Free to start without a card\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### Poke (F)\n\nGood for: One person who wants an assistant in their text messages that reads and drafts mail, manages a calendar and reaches other apps through MCP.\n\nAhead on:\n- Transparency \u0026 trust, 58 against 45\n\nAlso in its favour:\n- No incidents deducted, where CowAgent loses 5 points for them\n\nWatch for: No documented setting for which actions need approval before Poke sends, deletes or spends. Release notes mention email draft approval only in passing\n\n\n## Score by category\n\n| Category | Weight | CowAgent | Poke | Edge |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 84 | 51 | CowAgent +33 |\n| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Schema \u0026 documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 67 | 42 | CowAgent +25 |\n| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 59 | 30 | CowAgent +29 |\n| Security \u0026 auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 43 | 24 | CowAgent +19 |\n| Payments \u0026 pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 60 | 30 | CowAgent +30 |\n| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Maintenance \u0026 community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 83 | 31 | CowAgent +52 |\n| Transparency \u0026 trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 45 | 58 | Poke +13 |\n| Negative events | ≤15 | -5 | 0 | |\n| **Total** | | **58.5 · C** | **37.6 · F** | |\n\n## Facts side by side\n\n| Fact | CowAgent | Poke |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Kind | Agent harness | Platform |\n| Vendor | zhayujie | The Interaction Company of California Inc. |\n| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |\n| Transports | HTTP | HTTP |\n| Auth | OAuth or key | API key |\n| Pricing | Free | Freemium |\n| x402 | no | no |\n| Licence | MIT | Proprietary service under Poke's Terms of Service. The `poke` npm package (CLI and Node.js SDK) declares MIT |\n| Read-only variant documented | yes | no |\n| llms.txt | yes | yes |\n| Last release | 2026-09-30 | 2026-06-25 |\n| Terms last updated | no document linked | 2026-03-17 |\n| Privacy policy last updated | no document linked | 2026-09-11 |\n| Customer content may train models | | yes |\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**Poke.** Hosted assistant that answers in Apple Messages, WhatsApp, Telegram and RCS and acts in Gmail, Outlook, calendars and MCP servers. Plan prices and a status page are public. No approval settings, credential storage, model providers or retention periods are documented, and customer content trains models unless Maximum Privacy is selected.\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### Poke\n\n1. POST JSON to `https://poke.com/api/v1/inbound/api-message` with a Bearer key from Kitchen. Legacy `pk_` keys work only on the deprecated `/api/v1/inbound-sms/webhook`\n2. Expect only `{\"success\": true}` back. Poke's answer goes to the owner's message thread, not to the caller\n3. Do not retry a POST blindly. No idempotency key is documented, and a repeated message may make Poke act twice\n4. Treat an API key as full access to the owner's mail, calendar and integrations. Create one key per automation and revoke it when done\n5. Avoid the prefilled integration link with `apiKey` in the query string for real secrets. Enter the key in the form or use `npx poke@latest mcp add -k`\n\n## Questions\n\n### Which is better for AI agents, CowAgent or Poke?\n\nCowAgent scores 58.5 (C) on agent readiness against Poke's 37.6 (F), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Poke leads on transparency \u0026 trust.\n\n### Are CowAgent and Poke open source?\n\nCowAgent is open source (MIT). No open-source release is listed for Poke.\n\n\n## For agents\n\n- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-poke.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-poke.min.md\n- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {\"a\": \"cowagent\", \"b\": \"poke\"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare cowagent poke`\n- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/cowagent.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/poke.json\n\n## Other comparisons with CowAgent or Poke\n\n- [AstrBot vs CowAgent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/astrbot-vs-cowagent.md)\n- [AstrBot vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/astrbot-vs-poke.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 Lindy](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-lindy.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 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 Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gaia-vs-poke.md)\n- [Gemini Spark vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-spark-vs-poke.md)\n- [Grok Bot vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/grok-bot-vs-poke.md)\n- [Haven vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/haven-vs-poke.md)\n- [Hermes Agent vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-poke.md)\n- [Instinct vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/instinct-vs-poke.md)\n- [IronClaw vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-poke.md)\n- [Leon vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/leon-vs-poke.md)\n- [Lindy vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lindy-vs-poke.md)\n- [nanobot vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanobot-vs-poke.md)\n- [NanoClaw vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanoclaw-vs-poke.md)\n- [Dots vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-dots-vs-poke.md)\n- [OpenClaw vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openclaw-vs-poke.md)\n- [PicoClaw vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/picoclaw-vs-poke.md)\n- [Poke vs QwenPaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/poke-vs-qwenpaw.md)\n- [Poke vs ZeroClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/poke-vs-zeroclaw.md)\n- [Poke vs Zo Computer](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/poke-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 Poke", "url": "" } ], "description": "CowAgent scores 58.5 (C) to Poke's 37.6 (F) for assistant proactive. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.", "facts": [ "CowAgent C 58.5", "Poke F 37.6", "scores" ], "h1": "CowAgent vs Poke", "image": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/assets/og/compare-cowagent-vs-poke.png", "path": "/compare/cowagent-vs-poke", "published": "2026-10-01", "section": "tools", "title": "CowAgent vs Poke for AI agents in 2026: scores and prices", "toc": null, "updated": "2026-10-12", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-poke" }, "tokens": { "markdown": 2600, "slim": 680 }, "version": 1 }