{ "data": { "a": { "slug": "hermes-agent", "name": "Hermes Agent", "vendor": "Nous Research", "vendorUrl": "https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com", "kind": "harness", "category": "personal-assistants", "summary": "Open-source personal agent from Nous Research that the owner runs on a computer or server. It answers on messaging apps, keeps memory between sessions, runs scheduled jobs and connects to accounts, models and MCP servers the owner configures.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/hermes-agent", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/hermes-agent.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/hermes-agent.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/hermes-agent.json", "repo": "https://github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent", "license": "MIT", "transports": [], "packages": [ { "registry": "oci", "name": "nousresearch/hermes-agent" } ], "auth": "none", "authNotes": "No account of its own. Model and channel keys go in `~/.hermes/.env` or come from Bitwarden, 1Password or a command helper at start-up. Google Workspace, MCP servers and Nous Portal sign in by OAuth, with tokens stored under `~/.hermes/`. The optional API server takes a bearer key set in `API_SERVER_KEY`.", "pricing": "free", "pricingNotes": "Free under the MIT licence. The owner pays the model provider chosen, or nothing with a local model. Nous Portal plans ($0, $20, $100 and $200 a month in credits) and Hermes Cloud hosting ($0.51 a day running on the Standard size, plus inference) are optional and sold separately.", "priceSummary": "Free · OSS", "where": "local", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 on Hermes Agent's own interfaces. An optional skill lets the agent pay other services over MPP, which is a client and not a way to pay for Hermes (checked 2026-10-12).", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": null, "popularity": { "githubStars": 253000, "npmWeekly": null, "pypiWeekly": null, "asOf": "2026-10-12" }, "docsUrl": "https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/docs/", "llmsTxt": "https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/llms.txt", "capabilities": [ "assistant.proactive", "assistant.messaging", "assistant.accounts", "assistant.memory", "assistant.self-hosted", "agent.mcp-client" ], "tags": [ "open-source", "self-hosted", "local", "free", "no-card", "python", "docker", "llms-txt", "pre-1.0" ], "lastRelease": "2026-10-11", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 67.9, "grade": "B", "agentReady": false, "rank": 244, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 986, "categoryRank": 3, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 80, "maintenance": 84, "payments": 60, "reliability": 57, "schema": 80, "security": 75, "transparency": 63 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-10-12" }, "negative": -3, "negativeNotes": [ "2026-10-08. The v0.21.6 release notes list six security fixes, among them a native sign-in flaw that could send login codes to a non-loopback redirect and a quoted display name in the `From` header that affected the email gateway's sender check. SECURITY.md counts unauthorised access to an external surface as in scope, yet the repository shows no published advisory, so owners on older versions have no advisory to act on. Fixed and described in the notes, -3. https://github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/releases/tag/v0.21.6; https://github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/security/advisories" ], "verdict": "Card payments always ask first and are refused in unattended sessions, and the messaging gateway denies every sender until an allowlist is set. Shell commands run on the host by default with a model judging risk, and sending mail through the Google Workspace skill is held back only by an instruction to the model.", "bestFor": "A technical owner who wants one always-on agent across chat apps with memory and scheduled jobs, on their own machine or a small server, with any model.", "strengths": [ "Every saved-card fill asks for approval, and cron, webhook and API sessions are refused because nobody can confirm", "The messaging gateway denies all senders until an allowlist or a pairing code approved on the CLI is in place", "The docs say no telemetry, usage data or analytics is collected, and conversations, memory and skills stay in `~/.hermes/`", "SECURITY.md states that in-process checks are not a boundary and names OS-level isolation as the only one", "Ten releases between 19 August and 11 October 2026, the latest v0.21.7 on 11 October" ], "weaknesses": [ "The default terminal backend runs commands on the host, and the default `smart` mode lets an auxiliary model approve commands it rates low-risk", "The Google Workspace skill requests full Gmail, Calendar and Drive scopes, and its confirm-before-sending rule is an instruction in SKILL.md, not enforced in code", "Memory writes are saved without approval by default (`memory.write_approval: false`), including from a background review after each turn", "Release v0.21.6 of 8 October 2026 lists six security fixes and the repository has no published security advisory", "15,102 open issues and more than 5,000 open pull requests on 12 October 2026", "The Nous Portal terms grant Nous a licence to train models on customer data when the Portal is the model provider" ], "agentNotes": [ "Set `approvals.mode: manual` before giving it real accounts. The default `smart` lets an auxiliary model approve commands", "Run the gateway with `terminal.backend: docker` or the project's Docker image when it reads mail, web pages or group chats", "Set `memory.write_approval: true` and `skills.write_approval: true` to review what it saves about the owner", "Leave `approvals.cron_mode` and `approvals.unattended_mode` at `deny` for scheduled and webhook runs", "Set `TELEGRAM_ALLOWED_USERS` or the matching allowlist per channel. Never set `GATEWAY_ALLOW_ALL_USERS=true`" ], "metrics": { "kind": "local", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 0, "avgRating": 0, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "B", "methodology": "0.4", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 67.9 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 80, "maintenance": 84, "payments": 60, "reliability": 57, "schema": 80, "security": 75, "transparency": 73 }, "provenanceScore": 53 }, "connect": { "install": "curl -fsSL https://hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/install.sh | bash # then: hermes setup", "headless": { "command": "hermes chat -q \"$TASK\" --format stream-json --max-turns 30" } }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/assistant.proactive", "tool": "https://letme.dev/hermes-agent" }, "area": "frameworks", "provenance": { "legalEntity": "Nous Research, Inc.", "domain": "nousresearch.com", "domainRegistered": "", "endpointOnVendorDomain": null, "terms": "", "privacy": "", "statusPage": "", "changelog": "https://github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/releases", "securityTxt": "none", "checked": "2026-10-12", "notes": [ "The site footer reads Nous Research, Inc., and the Nous Portal terms name it as a Delaware corporation.", "No terms or privacy link is given. The Nous Portal terms and privacy policy (both dated 28 September 2026) govern the optional Portal and Hermes Cloud services, not the software the owner runs under the MIT licence, so the licence stands in.", "hermes-agent.nousresearch.com/.well-known/security.txt answered 404. SECURITY.md in the repository gives security@nousresearch.com and GitHub private reporting.", "No status page applies to software the owner runs. None was looked for on the Portal.", "The domain registration date was not looked up." ], "score": 53 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/hermes-agent.json" }, "answer": "Hermes Agent scores 67.9 (B) on agent readiness against Leon's 41 (E), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories.", "b": { "slug": "leon", "name": "Leon", "vendor": "Louis Grenard (Leon AI)", "vendorUrl": "https://getleon.ai", "kind": "harness", "category": "personal-assistants", "summary": "Open-source personal assistant by Louis Grenard that the owner runs on their own machine or server. The 2.0 Developer Preview adds an agent loop with tools, layered memory, computer use and a proactive pulse, reached through a web app.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/leon", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/leon.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/leon.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/leon.json", "repo": "https://github.com/leon-ai/leon", "license": "MIT", "transports": [], "packages": [ { "registry": "npm", "name": "@leon-ai/cli" } ], "auth": "none", "authNotes": "No account. The web app and the Socket.IO and HTTP interfaces accept any client unless `client_interface.auth.enabled` is set, after which a `\u003cprofile\u003e:\u003ctoken\u003e` credential from `LEON_PROFILE_TOKEN` is required. Model provider keys go in the profile `.env`. Connected apps use OAuth or a pasted token.", "pricing": "free", "pricingNotes": "Free and MIT, with nothing to buy. The project takes sponsorship. Model usage is billed by the provider the owner picks, or costs nothing with a local llama.cpp model.", "priceSummary": "Free · OSS", "where": "local", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 in the README, the context documents or the source (checked 2026-10-12).", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": null, "popularity": { "githubStars": 17568, "npmWeekly": null, "pypiWeekly": null, "asOf": "2026-10-12" }, "docsUrl": "https://github.com/leon-ai/leon/blob/develop/README.md", "capabilities": [ "assistant.proactive", "assistant.self-hosted", "assistant.memory", "assistant.accounts" ], "tags": [ "open-source", "self-hosted", "local", "free", "no-card", "typescript", "beta", "telemetry-default-on" ], "lastRelease": "2023-05-01", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 41, "grade": "E", "agentReady": false, "rank": 934, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 986, "categoryRank": 14, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 57, "maintenance": 15, "payments": 60, "reliability": 32, "schema": 33, "security": 34, "transparency": 60 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-10-12" }, "negative": 0, "verdict": "Connected-app credentials are encrypted per profile and the Gmail connection is read-only. The 2.0 Developer Preview has no tagged release, runs tools and a 30-minute proactive pulse with no approval step, listens on every network interface with client authentication off, and sends telemetry by default.", "bestFor": "A developer who wants a self-hosted assistant with memory, computer use and a local model, and who will read the source.", "strengths": [ "MIT licence, with the whole server, web app, tools and skills in one public repository", "Connected-app credentials are stored per profile with AES-256-GCM, and the Gmail connection asks only for the `gmail.readonly` scope", "Runs with a local llama.cpp model or any of 11 hosted providers, so the owner chooses which company sees the content", "Tool allow and disable lists, a configurable iteration limit (256 by default) and per-profile tool-call logs", "At least 200 commits between 25 September and 12 October 2026, with a fresh-install check passing on develop three times a week" ], "weaknesses": [ "No tagged release of the core since 1.0.0-beta.8 on 1 May 2023. The 2.0 Developer Preview is installed by cloning the develop branch", "No approval step before a tool call. Shell commands pass a blocklist of patterns, and the proactive pulse is on by default and runs one task every 30 minutes", "The server listens on 0.0.0.0 and client authentication is off in the sample config", "Telemetry is on in the sample config and posts an instance ID, versions and hardware details to telemetry.getleon.ai. The README and the docs pages read do not describe it", "No `SECURITY.md`, security.txt, privacy policy or 2.0 documentation, and no messaging-app channel or MCP client on the develop branch" ], "agentNotes": [ "Clone the develop branch for 2.0. `npm install --global @leon-ai/cli` and docs.getleon.ai install and describe the legacy 1.0 betas", "Set `client_interface.auth.enabled: true` and a `LEON_PROFILE_TOKEN` before the machine joins a shared network. The server binds 0.0.0.0", "Set `telemetry_enabled: false` and `runtime.pulse_enabled: false` in the profile `config.yml` for an unattended or private run", "Use `availability.tools.allowed` to limit tools. Shell, file writes, computer use and browser control are otherwise available to the agent with no approval prompt", "Back up `LEON_CONNECTIONS_ENCRYPTION_KEY` from the profile `.env`. Without it the stored connections cannot be read" ], "metrics": { "kind": "local", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 0, "avgRating": 0, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "E", "methodology": "0.4", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 41 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 57, "maintenance": 15, "payments": 60, "reliability": 32, "schema": 33, "security": 34, "transparency": 52 }, "provenanceScore": 68 }, "connect": { "install": "git clone https://github.com/leon-ai/leon.git \u0026\u0026 cd leon \u0026\u0026 npm install --global pnpm@latest \u0026\u0026 pnpm install \u0026\u0026 pnpm start" }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/assistant.proactive", "tool": "https://letme.dev/leon" }, "area": "frameworks", "provenance": { "legalEntity": "No legal entity found. Copyright Louis Grenard", "domain": "getleon.ai", "domainRegistered": "2018-02-16", "endpointOnVendorDomain": null, "terms": "", "privacy": "", "statusPage": "", "changelog": "https://github.com/leon-ai/leon/blob/develop/CHANGELOG.md", "securityTxt": "none", "checked": "2026-10-12", "notes": [ "`LICENSE.md` and the footer of getleon.ai read Copyright 2019 to present Louis Grenard. No company or foundation is named on the pages read.", "No terms of service or privacy policy was found on getleon.ai, docs.getleon.ai or in the repository, so no link is given and the MIT licence stands in.", "getleon.ai/.well-known/security.txt returns 404, and the repository has no `SECURITY.md`. The GitHub API lists no published security advisory.", "RDAP for getleon.ai gives a registration date of 2018-02-16.", "The assistant answers on the owner's own host. The only vendor endpoint the source names is telemetry.getleon.ai, which receives telemetry.", "`CHANGELOG.md` ends at 1.0.0-beta.8 of 1 May 2023. Changes to the 2.0 Developer Preview are recorded only as commits." ], "score": 68 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/leon.json" }, "facts": [ { "a": "Agent harness", "b": "Agent harness", "name": "Kind" }, { "a": "Nous Research", "b": "Louis Grenard (Leon AI)", "name": "Vendor" }, { "a": "no (local only)", "b": "no (local only)", "name": "Hosted endpoint" }, { "a": "", "b": "", "name": "Transports" }, { "a": "None", "b": "None", "name": "Auth" }, { "a": "Free", "b": "Free", "name": "Pricing" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "x402" }, { "a": "MIT", "b": "MIT", "name": "Licence" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "Read-only variant documented" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "no", "name": "llms.txt" }, { "a": "2026-10-11", "b": "2023-05-01", "name": "Last release" }, { "a": "no document linked", "b": "no document linked", "name": "Terms last updated" }, { "a": "no document linked", "b": "no document linked", "name": "Privacy policy last updated" }, { "a": "", "b": "", "name": "Customer content may train models" }, { "a": "", "b": "", "name": "Terms restrict automated access" }, { "a": "", "b": "", "name": "Terms restrict benchmarking" }, { "a": "", "b": "", "name": "Terms or service can change without notice" }, { "a": "", "b": "", "name": "Arbitration or class-action waiver" }, { "a": "253k stars", "b": "18k stars", "name": "Popularity" } ], "faq": [ { "answer": "Hermes Agent scores 67.9 (B) on agent readiness against Leon's 41 (E), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories.", "question": "Which is better for AI agents, Hermes Agent or Leon?" }, { "answer": "Yes. Hermes Agent is open source (MIT). Leon is open source (MIT).", "question": "Are Hermes Agent and Leon open source?" } ], "goodFor": [ { "aheadOn": [ "Reliability, 57 against 32", "Schema \u0026 documentation, 80 against 33", "Agent ergonomics, 80 against 57", "Security \u0026 auth, 75 against 34", "Maintenance \u0026 community, 84 against 15" ], "also": null, "goodFor": "A technical owner who wants one always-on agent across chat apps with memory and scheduled jobs, on their own machine or a small server, with any model.", "slug": "hermes-agent", "watchFor": "The default terminal backend runs commands on the host, and the default `smart` mode lets an auxiliary model approve commands it rates low-risk" }, { "aheadOn": null, "also": [ "No incidents deducted, where Hermes Agent loses 3 points for them" ], "goodFor": "A developer who wants a self-hosted assistant with memory, computer use and a local model, and who will read the source.", "slug": "leon", "watchFor": "No tagged release of the core since 1.0.0-beta.8 on 1 May 2023. The 2.0 Developer Preview is installed by cloning the develop branch" } ], "job": { "capability": "assistant.proactive", "name": "Assistant proactive" }, "others": [ { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/astrbot-vs-hermes-agent.json", "title": "AstrBot vs Hermes Agent", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/astrbot-vs-hermes-agent" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/astrbot-vs-leon.json", "title": "AstrBot vs Leon", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/astrbot-vs-leon" }, { "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-leon.json", "title": "CowAgent vs Leon", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-leon" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gaia-vs-hermes-agent.json", "title": "GAIA vs Hermes Agent", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gaia-vs-hermes-agent" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gaia-vs-leon.json", "title": "GAIA vs Leon", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gaia-vs-leon" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-spark-vs-hermes-agent.json", "title": "Gemini Spark vs Hermes Agent", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-spark-vs-hermes-agent" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-spark-vs-leon.json", "title": "Gemini Spark vs Leon", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-spark-vs-leon" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/grok-bot-vs-hermes-agent.json", "title": "Grok Bot vs Hermes Agent", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/grok-bot-vs-hermes-agent" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/grok-bot-vs-leon.json", "title": "Grok Bot vs Leon", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/grok-bot-vs-leon" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/haven-vs-hermes-agent.json", "title": "Haven vs Hermes Agent", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/haven-vs-hermes-agent" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/haven-vs-leon.json", "title": "Haven vs Leon", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/haven-vs-leon" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-instinct.json", "title": "Hermes Agent vs Instinct", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-instinct" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-ironclaw.json", "title": "Hermes Agent vs IronClaw", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-ironclaw" }, { "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/hermes-agent-vs-nanobot.json", "title": "Hermes Agent vs nanobot", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-nanobot" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-nanoclaw.json", "title": "Hermes Agent vs NanoClaw", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-nanoclaw" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-openai-dots.json", "title": "Hermes Agent vs Dots", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-openai-dots" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-openclaw.json", "title": "Hermes Agent vs OpenClaw", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-openclaw" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-picoclaw.json", "title": "Hermes Agent vs PicoClaw", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-picoclaw" }, { "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/hermes-agent-vs-qwenpaw.json", "title": "Hermes Agent vs QwenPaw", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-qwenpaw" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-zeroclaw.json", "title": "Hermes Agent vs ZeroClaw", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-zeroclaw" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-zo-computer.json", "title": "Hermes Agent vs Zo Computer", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-zo-computer" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/instinct-vs-leon.json", "title": "Instinct vs Leon", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/instinct-vs-leon" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-leon.json", "title": "IronClaw vs Leon", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-leon" }, { "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/leon-vs-nanobot.json", "title": "Leon vs nanobot", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/leon-vs-nanobot" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/leon-vs-nanoclaw.json", "title": "Leon vs NanoClaw", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/leon-vs-nanoclaw" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/leon-vs-openai-dots.json", "title": "Leon vs Dots", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/leon-vs-openai-dots" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/leon-vs-openclaw.json", "title": "Leon vs OpenClaw", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/leon-vs-openclaw" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/leon-vs-picoclaw.json", "title": "Leon vs PicoClaw", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/leon-vs-picoclaw" }, { "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/leon-vs-qwenpaw.json", "title": "Leon vs QwenPaw", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/leon-vs-qwenpaw" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/leon-vs-zeroclaw.json", "title": "Leon vs ZeroClaw", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/leon-vs-zeroclaw" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/leon-vs-zo-computer.json", "title": "Leon vs Zo Computer", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/leon-vs-zo-computer" } ], "scores": [ { "by": 25, "edge": "hermes-agent", "hermes-agent": 57, "key": "reliability", "leon": 32, "name": "Reliability", "weight": 16 }, { "key": "performance", "name": "Performance", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 47, "edge": "hermes-agent", "hermes-agent": 80, "key": "schema", "leon": 33, "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation", "weight": 13 }, { "by": 23, "edge": "hermes-agent", "hermes-agent": 80, "key": "ergonomics", "leon": 57, "name": "Agent ergonomics", "weight": 13 }, { "by": 41, "edge": "hermes-agent", "hermes-agent": 75, "key": "security", "leon": 34, "name": "Security \u0026 auth", "weight": 14 }, { "by": 0, "edge": "", "hermes-agent": 60, "key": "payments", "leon": 60, "name": "Payments \u0026 pricing", "weight": 10 }, { "key": "tasks", "name": "Task success", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 69, "edge": "hermes-agent", "hermes-agent": 84, "key": "maintenance", "leon": 15, "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community", "weight": 7 }, { "by": 3, "edge": "hermes-agent", "hermes-agent": 63, "key": "transparency", "leon": 60, "name": "Transparency \u0026 trust", "weight": 7 } ], "summary": "Hermes Agent scores 67.9 (B) on agent readiness against Leon's 41 (E), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Both do assistant proactive.", "verdicts": { "hermes-agent": "Card payments always ask first and are refused in unattended sessions, and the messaging gateway denies every sender until an allowlist is set. Shell commands run on the host by default with a model judging risk, and sending mail through the Google Workspace skill is held back only by an instruction to the model.", "leon": "Connected-app credentials are encrypted per profile and the Gmail connection is read-only. The 2.0 Developer Preview has no tagged release, runs tools and a 30-minute proactive pulse with no approval step, listens on every network interface with client authentication off, and sends telemetry by default." } }, "kind": "anchor.page", "links": { "api": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json", "html": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-leon", "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-leon.json", "llms": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt", "markdown": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-leon.md", "slim": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-leon.min.md" }, "markdown": "Hermes Agent scores 67.9 (B) on agent readiness against Leon's 41 (E), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Both do assistant proactive.\n\n- Hermes Agent: grade B, 67.9/100, rank #244 of 986. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/hermes-agent.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/hermes-agent.json\n- Leon: grade E, 41/100, rank #934 of 986. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/leon.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/leon.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### Hermes Agent (B)\n\nGood for: A technical owner who wants one always-on agent across chat apps with memory and scheduled jobs, on their own machine or a small server, with any model.\n\nAhead on:\n- Reliability, 57 against 32\n- Schema \u0026 documentation, 80 against 33\n- Agent ergonomics, 80 against 57\n- Security \u0026 auth, 75 against 34\n- Maintenance \u0026 community, 84 against 15\n\nWatch for: The default terminal backend runs commands on the host, and the default `smart` mode lets an auxiliary model approve commands it rates low-risk\n\n### Leon (E)\n\nGood for: A developer who wants a self-hosted assistant with memory, computer use and a local model, and who will read the source.\n\nAlso in its favour:\n- No incidents deducted, where Hermes Agent loses 3 points for them\n\nWatch for: No tagged release of the core since 1.0.0-beta.8 on 1 May 2023. The 2.0 Developer Preview is installed by cloning the develop branch\n\n\n## Score by category\n\n| Category | Weight | Hermes Agent | Leon | Edge |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 57 | 32 | Hermes Agent +25 |\n| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Schema \u0026 documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 80 | 33 | Hermes Agent +47 |\n| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 80 | 57 | Hermes Agent +23 |\n| Security \u0026 auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 75 | 34 | Hermes Agent +41 |\n| Payments \u0026 pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 60 | 60 | even |\n| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Maintenance \u0026 community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 84 | 15 | Hermes Agent +69 |\n| Transparency \u0026 trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 63 | 60 | Hermes Agent +3 |\n| Negative events | ≤15 | -3 | 0 | |\n| **Total** | | **67.9 · B** | **41 · E** | |\n\n## Facts side by side\n\n| Fact | Hermes Agent | Leon |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Kind | Agent harness | Agent harness |\n| Vendor | Nous Research | Louis Grenard (Leon AI) |\n| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |\n| Transports | | |\n| Auth | None | None |\n| Pricing | Free | Free |\n| x402 | no | no |\n| Licence | MIT | MIT |\n| Read-only variant documented | no | no |\n| llms.txt | yes | no |\n| Last release | 2026-10-11 | 2023-05-01 |\n| Terms last updated | no document linked | no document linked |\n| Privacy policy last updated | no document linked | no document linked |\n| Customer content may train models | | |\n| Terms restrict automated access | | |\n| Terms restrict benchmarking | | |\n| Terms or service can change without notice | | |\n| Arbitration or class-action waiver | | |\n| Popularity | 253k stars | 18k stars |\n\n## Verdicts\n\n**Hermes Agent.** Card payments always ask first and are refused in unattended sessions, and the messaging gateway denies every sender until an allowlist is set. Shell commands run on the host by default with a model judging risk, and sending mail through the Google Workspace skill is held back only by an instruction to the model.\n\n**Leon.** Connected-app credentials are encrypted per profile and the Gmail connection is read-only. The 2.0 Developer Preview has no tagged release, runs tools and a 30-minute proactive pulse with no approval step, listens on every network interface with client authentication off, and sends telemetry by default.\n\n## Before you call either\n\n### Hermes Agent\n\n1. Set `approvals.mode: manual` before giving it real accounts. The default `smart` lets an auxiliary model approve commands\n2. Run the gateway with `terminal.backend: docker` or the project's Docker image when it reads mail, web pages or group chats\n3. Set `memory.write_approval: true` and `skills.write_approval: true` to review what it saves about the owner\n4. Leave `approvals.cron_mode` and `approvals.unattended_mode` at `deny` for scheduled and webhook runs\n5. Set `TELEGRAM_ALLOWED_USERS` or the matching allowlist per channel. Never set `GATEWAY_ALLOW_ALL_USERS=true`\n\n### Leon\n\n1. Clone the develop branch for 2.0. `npm install --global @leon-ai/cli` and docs.getleon.ai install and describe the legacy 1.0 betas\n2. Set `client_interface.auth.enabled: true` and a `LEON_PROFILE_TOKEN` before the machine joins a shared network. The server binds 0.0.0.0\n3. Set `telemetry_enabled: false` and `runtime.pulse_enabled: false` in the profile `config.yml` for an unattended or private run\n4. Use `availability.tools.allowed` to limit tools. Shell, file writes, computer use and browser control are otherwise available to the agent with no approval prompt\n5. Back up `LEON_CONNECTIONS_ENCRYPTION_KEY` from the profile `.env`. Without it the stored connections cannot be read\n\n## Questions\n\n### Which is better for AI agents, Hermes Agent or Leon?\n\nHermes Agent scores 67.9 (B) on agent readiness against Leon's 41 (E), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories.\n\n### Are Hermes Agent and Leon open source?\n\nYes. Hermes Agent is open source (MIT). Leon is open source (MIT).\n\n\n## For agents\n\n- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-leon.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-leon.min.md\n- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {\"a\": \"hermes-agent\", \"b\": \"leon\"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare hermes-agent leon`\n- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/hermes-agent.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/leon.json\n\n## Other comparisons with Hermes Agent or Leon\n\n- [AstrBot vs Hermes Agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/astrbot-vs-hermes-agent.md)\n- [AstrBot vs Leon](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/astrbot-vs-leon.md)\n- [CowAgent vs Hermes Agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-hermes-agent.md)\n- [CowAgent vs Leon](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-leon.md)\n- [GAIA vs Hermes Agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gaia-vs-hermes-agent.md)\n- [GAIA vs Leon](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gaia-vs-leon.md)\n- [Gemini Spark vs Hermes Agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-spark-vs-hermes-agent.md)\n- [Gemini Spark vs Leon](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-spark-vs-leon.md)\n- [Grok Bot vs Hermes Agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/grok-bot-vs-hermes-agent.md)\n- [Grok Bot vs Leon](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/grok-bot-vs-leon.md)\n- [Haven vs Hermes Agent](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/haven-vs-hermes-agent.md)\n- [Haven vs Leon](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/haven-vs-leon.md)\n- [Hermes Agent vs Instinct](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-instinct.md)\n- [Hermes Agent vs IronClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-ironclaw.md)\n- [Hermes Agent vs Lindy](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-lindy.md)\n- [Hermes Agent vs nanobot](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-nanobot.md)\n- [Hermes Agent vs NanoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-nanoclaw.md)\n- [Hermes Agent vs Dots](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-openai-dots.md)\n- [Hermes Agent vs OpenClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-openclaw.md)\n- [Hermes Agent vs PicoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-picoclaw.md)\n- [Hermes Agent vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-poke.md)\n- [Hermes Agent vs QwenPaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-qwenpaw.md)\n- [Hermes Agent vs ZeroClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-zeroclaw.md)\n- [Hermes Agent vs Zo Computer](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-zo-computer.md)\n- [Instinct vs Leon](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/instinct-vs-leon.md)\n- [IronClaw vs Leon](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-leon.md)\n- [Leon vs Lindy](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/leon-vs-lindy.md)\n- [Leon vs nanobot](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/leon-vs-nanobot.md)\n- [Leon vs NanoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/leon-vs-nanoclaw.md)\n- [Leon vs Dots](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/leon-vs-openai-dots.md)\n- [Leon vs OpenClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/leon-vs-openclaw.md)\n- [Leon vs PicoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/leon-vs-picoclaw.md)\n- [Leon vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/leon-vs-poke.md)\n- [Leon vs QwenPaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/leon-vs-qwenpaw.md)\n- [Leon vs ZeroClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/leon-vs-zeroclaw.md)\n- [Leon vs Zo Computer](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/leon-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": "Hermes Agent vs Leon", "url": "" } ], "description": "Hermes Agent scores 67.9 (B) to Leon's 41 (E) for assistant proactive. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.", "facts": [ "Hermes Agent B 67.9", "Leon E 41", "scores" ], "h1": "Hermes Agent vs Leon", "image": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/assets/og/compare-hermes-agent-vs-leon.png", "path": "/compare/hermes-agent-vs-leon", "published": "2026-10-01", "section": "tools", "title": "Hermes Agent vs Leon for AI agents in 2026: scores and prices", "toc": null, "updated": "2026-10-12", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-leon" }, "tokens": { "markdown": 2500, "slim": 480 }, "version": 1 }