{ "data": { "a": { "slug": "ironclaw", "name": "IronClaw", "vendor": "NEAR AI", "vendorUrl": "https://www.ironclaw.com", "kind": "harness", "category": "personal-assistants", "summary": "IronClaw is an open-source personal AI assistant written in Rust by NEAR AI. The owner runs it as a local service with a web interface, Slack and Telegram channels, Google and GitHub extensions, scheduled automations and persistent memory.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/ironclaw", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/ironclaw.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/ironclaw.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/ironclaw.json", "repo": "https://github.com/nearai/ironclaw", "license": "MIT OR Apache-2.0", "transports": [ "http" ], "packages": [], "auth": "mixed", "authNotes": "`ironclaw onboard` writes a bearer token to `~/.ironclaw/reborn/webui-token` and prints a login link that carries it as a `token` query parameter. The same token authorises the web interface and the Responses API with operator rights. Multi-user deployments can add Google or GitHub single sign-on and per-user API tokens with owner, admin or member roles. Connected accounts use OAuth (Google, Slack), a Telegram pairing code, or keys held in the encrypted secret store. The web interface binds to 127.0.0.1:3000 unless `--host` is changed (https://docs.ironclaw.com/using/webui.md).", "pricing": "freemium", "pricingNotes": "Free to self-host under MIT or Apache-2.0, with model usage billed by whichever provider the owner selects, or nothing with Ollama. NEAR AI sells hosted instances on ironclaw.com as Starter (shown as $5 beside $0 a month, 1 agent, $5 credits), Basic at $20 a month (2 agents, $20 credits) and Pro+ at $200 a month (5 agents, $200 credits). The page does not say whether a card is needed. NEAR AI Cloud inference is priced per million tokens on near.ai/pricing (checked 2026-10-12).", "priceSummary": "$20 / mo", "where": "local", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 in the docs or the release notes (checked 2026-10-12).", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": null, "popularity": { "githubStars": 12648, "npmWeekly": null, "pypiWeekly": null, "asOf": "2026-10-12" }, "docsUrl": "https://docs.ironclaw.com", "llmsTxt": "https://docs.ironclaw.com/llms.txt", "capabilities": [ "assistant.proactive", "assistant.messaging", "assistant.accounts", "assistant.memory", "assistant.self-hosted", "agent.mcp-client" ], "tags": [ "open-source", "self-hosted", "rust", "wasm", "telegram", "slack", "gmail", "mcp", "hosted-option", "llms-txt" ], "lastRelease": "2026-09-29", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 66.7, "grade": "B", "agentReady": false, "rank": 288, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 986, "categoryRank": 5, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 69, "maintenance": 74, "payments": 60, "reliability": 67, "schema": 74, "security": 66, "transparency": 75 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-10-12" }, "negative": -2, "negativeNotes": [ "2026-10-12. The ironclaw.com home page lists Discord and Signal among integrations, while the channel docs for the current release say Discord, Signal, WeChat and WeCom are not part of the 1.0 release, which shipped on 27 July 2026. The docs site also says it documents the latest stable release while its heartbeat, cron, shell and WASM pages name settings absent from the 1.4.1 source. A misleading claim, at the minimum, -2. https://www.ironclaw.com/; https://docs.ironclaw.com/channels/overview.md; https://github.com/nearai/ironclaw/blob/ironclaw-v1.4.1/docs/capabilities/routines/heartbeat.mdx" ], "verdict": "Credentials stay in an encrypted store and are injected at the host boundary, and extensions declare per-tool permissions, network targets and OAuth scopes. The global auto-approve setting defaults to on in the 1.4.1 source, so tools marked ask, such as `gmail.send_message`, run unprompted until the owner turns it off.", "bestFor": "One technical owner who wants a self-hosted assistant over Gmail, Calendar, Slack and Telegram with credentials kept out of the model's reach.", "strengths": [ "Dual MIT or Apache-2.0 licence, with installers for seven targets on GitHub releases and no account needed to run it", "Each extension tool declares a default permission, effects, network targets and OAuth scopes in `manifest.toml`. Gmail reads use `gmail.readonly` and sends use `gmail.send`", "Secrets are encrypted with AES-256-GCM per the README, with the master key in the OS keychain, and are injected into requests outside the sandbox", "No analytics library was found in the 1.4.1 source. Trace Commons is opt-in and has no default endpoint", "Six stable releases between 27 July and 29 September 2026, each with dated notes and upgrade steps" ], "weaknesses": [ "Global auto-approve defaults to on in the 1.4.1 source, so tools marked ask (send, trash, delete) run without a prompt. Only financial, approval and budget effects always ask", "The `main` branch has had no commit since 10 September 2026, and open reports filed since mid-September show no replies. 1,363 issues and 183 pull requests are open", "Docs pages for heartbeat, cron, shell and WASM limits name settings such as `HEARTBEAT_ENABLED` and `ALLOW_LOCAL_TOOLS` that do not appear in the 1.4.1 source", "No SECURITY.md, security.txt or published GitHub advisory was found", "The home page lists Discord and Signal integrations, while the channel docs say both are not part of the 1.0 release" ], "agentNotes": [ "Open Settings and turn off global auto-approve, or set send and delete tools to ask each time, before connecting mail or chat accounts", "Install with the release installer and run `ironclaw onboard`. 1.x does not migrate 0.29 data, so use a fresh home directory", "Call `POST /api/v1/responses` with the bearer token from `~/.ironclaw/reborn/webui-token`. Keep under 30 requests in 60 seconds", "Resolve approval and OAuth gates in the web interface. The Responses API fails the turn instead of surfacing them", "Connect MCP servers over HTTP only. The stdio transport is rejected" ], "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": 66.7 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 69, "maintenance": 74, "payments": 60, "reliability": 67, "schema": 74, "security": 66, "transparency": 79 }, "provenanceScore": 71 }, "connect": { "install": "IRONCLAW_RELEASE_TAG=ironclaw-v1.4.1\ncurl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -LsSf \"https://github.com/nearai/ironclaw/releases/download/${IRONCLAW_RELEASE_TAG}/ironclaw-installer.sh\" | sh\nironclaw onboard" }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/assistant.proactive", "tool": "https://letme.dev/ironclaw" }, "area": "frameworks", "unitPrices": [ { "item": "Hosted Basic plan (2 agents, $20 credits)", "unit": "month", "usd": 20, "note": "NEAR AI Cloud, per ironclaw.com" }, { "item": "Hosted Pro+ plan (5 agents, $200 credits)", "unit": "month", "usd": 200, "note": "NEAR AI Cloud, per ironclaw.com" } ], "provenance": { "legalEntity": "Jasnah, Inc. d/b/a NEAR AI", "domain": "ironclaw.com", "domainRegistered": "2018-01-04", "endpointOnVendorDomain": null, "terms": "", "privacy": "https://near.ai/privacy-policy", "statusPage": "", "changelog": "https://github.com/nearai/ironclaw/releases", "securityTxt": "none", "checked": "2026-10-12", "notes": [ "The NEAR AI terms of service (updated 24 September 2026) name Jasnah, Inc. d/b/a NEAR AI under Delaware law and cover NEAR AI Cloud and its API. They do not mention IronClaw or agent hosting, so no terms link is set and the MIT or Apache-2.0 licence stands in for the self-hosted software.", "The privacy policy (updated 4 September 2026) lists ironclaw.com, agent.near.ai, the IronClaw framework and IronHub among what it covers.", "The ironclaw.com home page says Built by Near Foundation and its footer says by NEAR AI.", "security.txt answered 404 on www.ironclaw.com, docs.ironclaw.com and near.ai.", "RDAP for ironclaw.com gives a registration date of 2018-01-04 and Cloudflare, Inc. as registrar, last changed 2026-04-20.", "A self-hosted instance answers on its owner's own host. Hosted instances answer at \u003cinstance-id\u003e.agents.near.ai per the quickstart." ], "score": 71 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/ironclaw.json" }, "answer": "IronClaw scores 66.7 (B) on agent readiness against PicoClaw's 46.1 (D), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories.", "b": { "slug": "picoclaw", "name": "PicoClaw", "vendor": "Sipeed", "vendorUrl": "https://picoclaw.io", "kind": "harness", "category": "personal-assistants", "summary": "PicoClaw is an open-source personal AI assistant from Sipeed, a single Go binary for small Linux boards, desktops and Android, reached through chat apps. Its last commit on the main branch was on 19 August 2026.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/picoclaw", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/picoclaw.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/picoclaw.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/picoclaw.json", "repo": "https://github.com/sipeed/picoclaw", "license": "MIT", "transports": [], "packages": [ { "registry": "oci", "name": "docker.io/sipeed/picoclaw" }, { "registry": "oci", "name": "ghcr.io/sipeed/picoclaw" } ], "auth": "none", "authNotes": "No account with Sipeed. The owner supplies model provider keys, chat bot tokens and search keys, kept in `~/.picoclaw/.security.yml`. The web launcher asks for a password set on first run, stored as a bcrypt hash. Each channel's `allow_from` list decides who may talk to the assistant, and an empty list admits everyone.", "pricing": "free", "pricingNotes": "Free under the MIT licence, with nothing to buy from the project. The owner pays their model provider by usage, or nothing with a local model through Ollama or vLLM. Search keys are optional, and DuckDuckGo search needs none.", "priceSummary": "Free · OSS", "where": "local", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 in the README, docs or source (checked 2026-10-12).", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": null, "popularity": { "githubStars": 30000, "npmWeekly": null, "pypiWeekly": null, "asOf": "2026-10-12" }, "docsUrl": "https://docs.picoclaw.io", "capabilities": [ "assistant.proactive", "assistant.messaging", "assistant.memory", "assistant.self-hosted", "agent.mcp-client" ], "tags": [ "open-source", "self-hosted", "local", "free", "no-card", "go", "docker", "pre-1.0" ], "lastRelease": "2026-07-03", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 46.1, "grade": "D", "agentReady": false, "rank": 879, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 986, "categoryRank": 11, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 66, "maintenance": 22, "payments": 60, "reliability": 54, "schema": 51, "security": 51, "transparency": 56 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-10-12" }, "negative": -7, "negativeNotes": [ "2026-04-25 to 2026-07-19. 15 advisories are listed for PicoClaw in the GitHub Advisory Database. Two are reviewed, CVE-2026-36045 (high, 7.3, command injection past the exec deny list, 0.1.2 and earlier) and CVE-2026-6987 (moderate, injection through the launcher's `/api/gateway/restart`, 0.2.4 and earlier), and 13 unreviewed entries of 10 to 19 July name versions up to 0.2.9. None lists a patched version, the project has published no advisory of its own, and it has no security policy. We read four of the fifteen. Several concern old versions and some fixes are in the git history, so -5. https://github.com/advisories?query=picoclaw", "Current behaviour, checked 2026-10-12. The repository's configuration guide says `tools.exec.allow_remote` defaults to `false`. The source at v0.3.1 and on main sets it to `true`, and the docs site calls fully open the default, so a remote chat can run shell commands on a default install. A misleading claim on a security default, the minimum, -2. https://github.com/sipeed/picoclaw/blob/main/docs/guides/configuration.md; https://github.com/sipeed/picoclaw/blob/main/pkg/config/defaults.go" ], "verdict": "Self-hosted under the MIT licence, with 19 documented chat channels, scheduled and heartbeat tasks, and local file memory. The repository has had no commit since 19 August 2026 and no release since 3 July, and 15 CVEs are listed against it with no advisory or security policy from the project.", "bestFor": "A person who wants a chat-app assistant on a cheap Linux board, an old Android phone or a home server, with reminders, web search and file memory, and who accepts running software its maker calls pre-production.", "strengths": [ "MIT licence, one Go binary for x86-64, ARM, RISC-V, MIPS and LoongArch, with Docker images and an Android APK", "Conversations, memory, scheduled jobs and credentials stay in files under `~/.picoclaw` on the owner's device", "File tools are limited to the workspace by default, and command jobs scheduled from remote chats are refused unless the chat is listed", "MCP client over stdio, SSE and HTTP, with optional search-based tool discovery to keep definitions out of context", "Credentials sit in a separate `.security.yml` with optional AES-256-GCM encryption, and are filtered from tool output before the model sees it" ], "weaknesses": [ "No commit on main since 19 August 2026 and no release since v0.3.1 on 3 July 2026. An issue of 6 October calls the repository unmaintained, with no reply", "15 CVEs are listed in the GitHub Advisory Database (25 April to 19 July 2026). The project has published no advisory and has no SECURITY.md", "No human approval step. The agent sends messages, writes files and runs shell commands without asking, and the hooks guide says waiting for a human reply is not supported", "Shell execution from remote chats is on by default in the source and on the docs site, while the repository's configuration guide says the default is off", "An empty `allow_from` list lets anyone who can message the bot use it, with only a warning in the log" ], "agentNotes": [ "Set `allow_from` to the owner's user ID on every channel before starting the gateway. An empty list accepts messages from anyone", "Set `tools.exec.allow_remote` to `false` unless chats must run shell commands. The shipped default is `true`, whatever docs/guides/configuration.md says", "Set `isolation.enabled` to `true` on Linux (needs `bwrap`) or run in a container. The deny patterns do not inspect child processes", "Use `PICOCLAW_KEY_PASSPHRASE` for credential encryption. One docs page names `PICOCLAW_CREDENTIAL_PASSPHRASE`, which the source does not read", "Treat the README's ClawdChat line (read a remote skill file and follow it) as untrusted third-party instructions" ], "metrics": { "kind": "local", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 0, "avgRating": 0, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "D", "methodology": "0.4", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 46.1 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 66, "maintenance": 22, "payments": 60, "reliability": 54, "schema": 51, "security": 51, "transparency": 58 }, "provenanceScore": 53 }, "connect": { "install": "git clone https://github.com/sipeed/picoclaw.git \u0026\u0026 cd picoclaw \u0026\u0026 docker compose -f docker/docker-compose.yml --profile launcher up # or download a binary from https://picoclaw.io/download/ and run: picoclaw onboard", "headless": { "command": "picoclaw agent -m \"$TASK\"" } }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/assistant.proactive", "tool": "https://letme.dev/picoclaw" }, "area": "frameworks", "provenance": { "legalEntity": "Sipeed", "domain": "picoclaw.io", "domainRegistered": "", "endpointOnVendorDomain": null, "terms": "", "privacy": "", "statusPage": "", "changelog": "https://github.com/sipeed/picoclaw/releases", "securityTxt": "none", "checked": "2026-10-12", "notes": [ "The docs footer reads Copyright 2026 Sipeed and the site says PicoClaw is open-source software by Sipeed. The `LICENSE` file names PicoClaw contributors. No registered company name or address was on the pages read.", "No terms of service or privacy policy is linked from picoclaw.io, docs.picoclaw.io or the repository, so both fields are left out and the MIT licence stands in.", "picoclaw.io/.well-known/security.txt and picoclaw.io/llms.txt answered 403 with a storage Access Denied body, read as absent. docs.picoclaw.io/llms.txt answered 404.", "The repository has no SECURITY.md, and GitHub's policy page says none is set up.", "Self-hosted software with no hosted endpoint. The registration date of picoclaw.io was not looked up." ], "score": 53 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/picoclaw.json" }, "facts": [ { "a": "Agent harness", "b": "Agent harness", "name": "Kind" }, { "a": "NEAR AI", "b": "Sipeed", "name": "Vendor" }, { "a": "no (local only)", "b": "no (local only)", "name": "Hosted endpoint" }, { "a": "HTTP", "b": "", "name": "Transports" }, { "a": "OAuth or key", "b": "None", "name": "Auth" }, { "a": "Freemium", "b": "Free", "name": "Pricing" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "x402" }, { "a": "MIT OR Apache-2.0", "b": "MIT", "name": "Licence" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "Read-only variant documented" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "no", "name": "llms.txt" }, { "a": "2026-09-29", "b": "2026-07-03", "name": "Last release" }, { "a": "no document linked", "b": "no document linked", "name": "Terms last updated" }, { "a": "no date given", "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": "13k stars", "b": "30k stars", "name": "Popularity" } ], "faq": [ { "answer": "IronClaw scores 66.7 (B) on agent readiness against PicoClaw's 46.1 (D), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories.", "question": "Which is better for AI agents, IronClaw or PicoClaw?" }, { "answer": "Yes. IronClaw is open source (MIT OR Apache-2.0). PicoClaw is open source (MIT).", "question": "Are IronClaw and PicoClaw open source?" } ], "goodFor": [ { "aheadOn": [ "Reliability, 67 against 54", "Schema \u0026 documentation, 74 against 51", "Security \u0026 auth, 66 against 51", "Maintenance \u0026 community, 74 against 22", "Transparency \u0026 trust, 75 against 56" ], "also": null, "goodFor": "One technical owner who wants a self-hosted assistant over Gmail, Calendar, Slack and Telegram with credentials kept out of the model's reach.", "slug": "ironclaw", "watchFor": "Global auto-approve defaults to on in the 1.4.1 source, so tools marked ask (send, trash, delete) run without a prompt. Only financial, approval and budget effects always ask" }, { "aheadOn": null, "also": [ "No key needed to call it", "Free to start without a card" ], "goodFor": "A person who wants a chat-app assistant on a cheap Linux board, an old Android phone or a home server, with reminders, web search and file memory, and who accepts running software its maker calls pre-production.", "slug": "picoclaw", "watchFor": "No commit on main since 19 August 2026 and no release since v0.3.1 on 3 July 2026. An issue of 6 October calls the repository unmaintained, with no reply" } ], "job": { "capability": "assistant.proactive", "name": "Assistant proactive" }, "others": [ { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/astrbot-vs-ironclaw.json", "title": "AstrBot vs IronClaw", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/astrbot-vs-ironclaw" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/astrbot-vs-picoclaw.json", "title": "AstrBot vs PicoClaw", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/astrbot-vs-picoclaw" }, { "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-picoclaw.json", "title": "CowAgent vs PicoClaw", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-picoclaw" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gaia-vs-ironclaw.json", "title": "GAIA vs IronClaw", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gaia-vs-ironclaw" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gaia-vs-picoclaw.json", "title": "GAIA vs PicoClaw", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gaia-vs-picoclaw" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-spark-vs-ironclaw.json", "title": "Gemini Spark vs IronClaw", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-spark-vs-ironclaw" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-spark-vs-picoclaw.json", "title": "Gemini Spark vs PicoClaw", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-spark-vs-picoclaw" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/grok-bot-vs-ironclaw.json", "title": "Grok Bot vs IronClaw", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/grok-bot-vs-ironclaw" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/grok-bot-vs-picoclaw.json", "title": "Grok Bot vs PicoClaw", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/grok-bot-vs-picoclaw" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/haven-vs-ironclaw.json", "title": "Haven vs IronClaw", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/haven-vs-ironclaw" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/haven-vs-picoclaw.json", "title": "Haven vs PicoClaw", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/haven-vs-picoclaw" }, { "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-picoclaw.json", "title": "Hermes Agent vs PicoClaw", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-picoclaw" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/instinct-vs-ironclaw.json", "title": "Instinct vs IronClaw", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/instinct-vs-ironclaw" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/instinct-vs-picoclaw.json", "title": "Instinct vs PicoClaw", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/instinct-vs-picoclaw" }, { "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/ironclaw-vs-lindy.json", "title": "IronClaw vs Lindy", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-lindy" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-nanobot.json", "title": "IronClaw vs nanobot", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-nanobot" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-nanoclaw.json", "title": "IronClaw vs NanoClaw", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-nanoclaw" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-openai-dots.json", "title": "IronClaw vs Dots", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-openai-dots" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-openclaw.json", "title": "IronClaw vs OpenClaw", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-openclaw" }, { "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/ironclaw-vs-qwenpaw.json", "title": "IronClaw vs QwenPaw", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-qwenpaw" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-zeroclaw.json", "title": "IronClaw vs ZeroClaw", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-zeroclaw" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-zo-computer.json", "title": "IronClaw vs Zo Computer", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-zo-computer" }, { "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/lindy-vs-picoclaw.json", "title": "Lindy vs PicoClaw", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lindy-vs-picoclaw" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanobot-vs-picoclaw.json", "title": "nanobot vs PicoClaw", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanobot-vs-picoclaw" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanoclaw-vs-picoclaw.json", "title": "NanoClaw vs PicoClaw", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanoclaw-vs-picoclaw" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-dots-vs-picoclaw.json", "title": "Dots vs PicoClaw", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-dots-vs-picoclaw" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openclaw-vs-picoclaw.json", "title": "OpenClaw vs PicoClaw", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openclaw-vs-picoclaw" }, { "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/picoclaw-vs-qwenpaw.json", "title": "PicoClaw vs QwenPaw", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/picoclaw-vs-qwenpaw" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/picoclaw-vs-zeroclaw.json", "title": "PicoClaw vs ZeroClaw", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/picoclaw-vs-zeroclaw" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/picoclaw-vs-zo-computer.json", "title": "PicoClaw vs Zo Computer", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/picoclaw-vs-zo-computer" } ], "scores": [ { "by": 13, "edge": "ironclaw", "ironclaw": 67, "key": "reliability", "name": "Reliability", "picoclaw": 54, "weight": 16 }, { "key": "performance", "name": "Performance", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 23, "edge": "ironclaw", "ironclaw": 74, "key": "schema", "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation", "picoclaw": 51, "weight": 13 }, { "by": 3, "edge": "ironclaw", "ironclaw": 69, "key": "ergonomics", "name": "Agent ergonomics", "picoclaw": 66, "weight": 13 }, { "by": 15, "edge": "ironclaw", "ironclaw": 66, "key": "security", "name": "Security \u0026 auth", "picoclaw": 51, "weight": 14 }, { "by": 0, "edge": "", "ironclaw": 60, "key": "payments", "name": "Payments \u0026 pricing", "picoclaw": 60, "weight": 10 }, { "key": "tasks", "name": "Task success", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 52, "edge": "ironclaw", "ironclaw": 74, "key": "maintenance", "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community", "picoclaw": 22, "weight": 7 }, { "by": 19, "edge": "ironclaw", "ironclaw": 75, "key": "transparency", "name": "Transparency \u0026 trust", "picoclaw": 56, "weight": 7 } ], "summary": "IronClaw scores 66.7 (B) on agent readiness against PicoClaw's 46.1 (D), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Both do assistant proactive.", "verdicts": { "ironclaw": "Credentials stay in an encrypted store and are injected at the host boundary, and extensions declare per-tool permissions, network targets and OAuth scopes. The global auto-approve setting defaults to on in the 1.4.1 source, so tools marked ask, such as `gmail.send_message`, run unprompted until the owner turns it off.", "picoclaw": "Self-hosted under the MIT licence, with 19 documented chat channels, scheduled and heartbeat tasks, and local file memory. The repository has had no commit since 19 August 2026 and no release since 3 July, and 15 CVEs are listed against it with no advisory or security policy from the project." } }, "kind": "anchor.page", "links": { "api": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json", "html": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-picoclaw", "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-picoclaw.json", "llms": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt", "markdown": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-picoclaw.md", "slim": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-picoclaw.min.md" }, "markdown": "IronClaw scores 66.7 (B) on agent readiness against PicoClaw's 46.1 (D), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Both do assistant proactive.\n\n- IronClaw: grade B, 66.7/100, rank #288 of 986. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/ironclaw.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/ironclaw.json\n- PicoClaw: grade D, 46.1/100, rank #879 of 986. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/picoclaw.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/picoclaw.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### IronClaw (B)\n\nGood for: One technical owner who wants a self-hosted assistant over Gmail, Calendar, Slack and Telegram with credentials kept out of the model's reach.\n\nAhead on:\n- Reliability, 67 against 54\n- Schema \u0026 documentation, 74 against 51\n- Security \u0026 auth, 66 against 51\n- Maintenance \u0026 community, 74 against 22\n- Transparency \u0026 trust, 75 against 56\n\nWatch for: Global auto-approve defaults to on in the 1.4.1 source, so tools marked ask (send, trash, delete) run without a prompt. Only financial, approval and budget effects always ask\n\n### PicoClaw (D)\n\nGood for: A person who wants a chat-app assistant on a cheap Linux board, an old Android phone or a home server, with reminders, web search and file memory, and who accepts running software its maker calls pre-production.\n\nAlso in its favour:\n- No key needed to call it\n- Free to start without a card\n\nWatch for: No commit on main since 19 August 2026 and no release since v0.3.1 on 3 July 2026. An issue of 6 October calls the repository unmaintained, with no reply\n\n\n## Score by category\n\n| Category | Weight | IronClaw | PicoClaw | Edge |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 67 | 54 | IronClaw +13 |\n| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Schema \u0026 documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 74 | 51 | IronClaw +23 |\n| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 69 | 66 | IronClaw +3 |\n| Security \u0026 auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 66 | 51 | IronClaw +15 |\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) | 74 | 22 | IronClaw +52 |\n| Transparency \u0026 trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 75 | 56 | IronClaw +19 |\n| Negative events | ≤15 | -2 | -7 | |\n| **Total** | | **66.7 · B** | **46.1 · D** | |\n\n## Facts side by side\n\n| Fact | IronClaw | PicoClaw |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Kind | Agent harness | Agent harness |\n| Vendor | NEAR AI | Sipeed |\n| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |\n| Transports | HTTP | |\n| Auth | OAuth or key | None |\n| Pricing | Freemium | Free |\n| x402 | no | no |\n| Licence | MIT OR Apache-2.0 | MIT |\n| Read-only variant documented | no | no |\n| llms.txt | yes | no |\n| Last release | 2026-09-29 | 2026-07-03 |\n| Terms last updated | no document linked | no document linked |\n| Privacy policy last updated | no date given | 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 | 13k stars | 30k stars |\n\n## Verdicts\n\n**IronClaw.** Credentials stay in an encrypted store and are injected at the host boundary, and extensions declare per-tool permissions, network targets and OAuth scopes. The global auto-approve setting defaults to on in the 1.4.1 source, so tools marked ask, such as `gmail.send_message`, run unprompted until the owner turns it off.\n\n**PicoClaw.** Self-hosted under the MIT licence, with 19 documented chat channels, scheduled and heartbeat tasks, and local file memory. The repository has had no commit since 19 August 2026 and no release since 3 July, and 15 CVEs are listed against it with no advisory or security policy from the project.\n\n## Before you call either\n\n### IronClaw\n\n1. Open Settings and turn off global auto-approve, or set send and delete tools to ask each time, before connecting mail or chat accounts\n2. Install with the release installer and run `ironclaw onboard`. 1.x does not migrate 0.29 data, so use a fresh home directory\n3. Call `POST /api/v1/responses` with the bearer token from `~/.ironclaw/reborn/webui-token`. Keep under 30 requests in 60 seconds\n4. Resolve approval and OAuth gates in the web interface. The Responses API fails the turn instead of surfacing them\n5. Connect MCP servers over HTTP only. The stdio transport is rejected\n\n### PicoClaw\n\n1. Set `allow_from` to the owner's user ID on every channel before starting the gateway. An empty list accepts messages from anyone\n2. Set `tools.exec.allow_remote` to `false` unless chats must run shell commands. The shipped default is `true`, whatever docs/guides/configuration.md says\n3. Set `isolation.enabled` to `true` on Linux (needs `bwrap`) or run in a container. The deny patterns do not inspect child processes\n4. Use `PICOCLAW_KEY_PASSPHRASE` for credential encryption. One docs page names `PICOCLAW_CREDENTIAL_PASSPHRASE`, which the source does not read\n5. Treat the README's ClawdChat line (read a remote skill file and follow it) as untrusted third-party instructions\n\n## Questions\n\n### Which is better for AI agents, IronClaw or PicoClaw?\n\nIronClaw scores 66.7 (B) on agent readiness against PicoClaw's 46.1 (D), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories.\n\n### Are IronClaw and PicoClaw open source?\n\nYes. IronClaw is open source (MIT OR Apache-2.0). PicoClaw is open source (MIT).\n\n\n## For agents\n\n- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-picoclaw.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-picoclaw.min.md\n- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {\"a\": \"ironclaw\", \"b\": \"picoclaw\"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare ironclaw picoclaw`\n- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/ironclaw.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/picoclaw.json\n\n## Other comparisons with IronClaw or PicoClaw\n\n- [AstrBot vs IronClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/astrbot-vs-ironclaw.md)\n- [AstrBot vs PicoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/astrbot-vs-picoclaw.md)\n- [CowAgent vs IronClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-ironclaw.md)\n- [CowAgent vs PicoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-picoclaw.md)\n- [GAIA vs IronClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gaia-vs-ironclaw.md)\n- [GAIA vs PicoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gaia-vs-picoclaw.md)\n- [Gemini Spark vs IronClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-spark-vs-ironclaw.md)\n- [Gemini Spark vs PicoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-spark-vs-picoclaw.md)\n- [Grok Bot vs IronClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/grok-bot-vs-ironclaw.md)\n- [Grok Bot vs PicoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/grok-bot-vs-picoclaw.md)\n- [Haven vs IronClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/haven-vs-ironclaw.md)\n- [Haven vs PicoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/haven-vs-picoclaw.md)\n- [Hermes Agent vs IronClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-ironclaw.md)\n- [Hermes Agent vs PicoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-picoclaw.md)\n- [Instinct vs IronClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/instinct-vs-ironclaw.md)\n- [Instinct vs PicoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/instinct-vs-picoclaw.md)\n- [IronClaw vs Leon](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-leon.md)\n- [IronClaw vs Lindy](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-lindy.md)\n- [IronClaw vs nanobot](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-nanobot.md)\n- [IronClaw vs NanoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-nanoclaw.md)\n- [IronClaw vs Dots](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-openai-dots.md)\n- [IronClaw vs OpenClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-openclaw.md)\n- [IronClaw vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-poke.md)\n- [IronClaw vs QwenPaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-qwenpaw.md)\n- [IronClaw vs ZeroClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-zeroclaw.md)\n- [IronClaw vs Zo Computer](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-zo-computer.md)\n- [Leon vs PicoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/leon-vs-picoclaw.md)\n- [Lindy vs PicoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lindy-vs-picoclaw.md)\n- [nanobot vs PicoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanobot-vs-picoclaw.md)\n- [NanoClaw vs PicoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanoclaw-vs-picoclaw.md)\n- [Dots vs PicoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-dots-vs-picoclaw.md)\n- [OpenClaw vs PicoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openclaw-vs-picoclaw.md)\n- [PicoClaw vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/picoclaw-vs-poke.md)\n- [PicoClaw vs QwenPaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/picoclaw-vs-qwenpaw.md)\n- [PicoClaw vs ZeroClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/picoclaw-vs-zeroclaw.md)\n- [PicoClaw vs Zo Computer](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/picoclaw-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": "IronClaw vs PicoClaw", "url": "" } ], "description": "IronClaw scores 66.7 (B) to PicoClaw's 46.1 (D) for assistant proactive. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.", "facts": [ "IronClaw B 66.7", "PicoClaw D 46.1", "scores" ], "h1": "IronClaw vs PicoClaw", "image": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/assets/og/compare-ironclaw-vs-picoclaw.png", "path": "/compare/ironclaw-vs-picoclaw", "published": "2026-10-01", "section": "tools", "title": "IronClaw vs PicoClaw for AI agents in 2026: scores and prices", "toc": null, "updated": "2026-10-12", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-picoclaw" }, "tokens": { "markdown": 2550, "slim": 530 }, "version": 1 }