{ "data": { "a": { "slug": "nanobot", "name": "nanobot", "vendor": "HKUDS", "vendorUrl": "https://nanobot.wiki", "kind": "harness", "category": "personal-assistants", "summary": "nanobot is an open-source, self-hosted personal AI agent written in Python by HKUDS. It runs as a gateway on the owner's machine and answers in a web UI, a terminal and chat apps, with tools, memory and scheduled automations.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/nanobot", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/nanobot.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/nanobot.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/nanobot.json", "repo": "https://github.com/HKUDS/nanobot", "license": "MIT", "transports": [], "packages": [ { "registry": "pypi", "name": "nanobot-ai" } ], "auth": "none", "authNotes": "No account with the project. The owner supplies model provider keys or an OAuth sign-in, and bot tokens or mailbox passwords for each channel, in `~/.nanobot/config.json`. The WebUI on localhost needs no password, and binding to all interfaces requires a token.", "pricing": "free", "pricingNotes": "Free under the MIT licence, with nothing to buy from the project. The owner pays the model provider, or nothing with a local model. The optional Render deployment needs a paid Render service.", "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": 49000, "npmWeekly": null, "pypiWeekly": null, "asOf": "2026-10-12" }, "docsUrl": "https://nanobot.wiki/docs/latest/getting-started/nanobot-overview", "llmsTxt": "https://nanobot.wiki/llms.txt", "capabilities": [ "assistant.proactive", "assistant.messaging", "assistant.memory", "assistant.self-hosted", "assistant.accounts", "agent.mcp-client" ], "tags": [ "open-source", "self-hosted", "local", "free", "python", "mit", "llms-txt", "docker", "alpha" ], "lastRelease": "2026-09-15", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 62.4, "grade": "B", "agentReady": false, "rank": 446, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 986, "categoryRank": 6, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 74, "maintenance": 82, "payments": 60, "reliability": 70, "schema": 77, "security": 63, "transparency": 48 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-10-12" }, "negative": -6, "negativeNotes": [ "2026-09-02. GHSA-vc5v-6vwm-wf9m (critical, 9.3, no CVE). Web fetch did not block internal addresses, so cloud metadata and internal services could be read without authentication in versions before 0.3.0. Fixed in 0.3.0 of 25 July and published, -2. https://github.com/HKUDS/nanobot/security/advisories/GHSA-vc5v-6vwm-wf9m", "2026-03-27. GHSA-4gmr-2vc8-7qh3 (CVE-2026-33654, high). A spoofed email could inject instructions through email polling with no user action, up to command execution, in 0.1.4.post5 and earlier. Fixed in 0.1.4.post6 and published, more than six months ago, -2. https://github.com/HKUDS/nanobot/security/advisories/GHSA-4gmr-2vc8-7qh3", "2026-03-11. GHSA-g6cf-xjwr-pm77 (CVE-2026-31977, critical, 9.0). A sender ID containing `|` passed the `allowFrom` check in versions before 0.1.4.post4. Fixed and published, more than six months ago, -1. https://github.com/HKUDS/nanobot/security/advisories/GHSA-g6cf-xjwr-pm77", "2026-04-14 and 2026-05-24. GHSA-v5j3-4q66-58cf (CVE-2026-35589, high, 8.0), cross-site WebSocket hijacking of the WhatsApp bridge, fixed in 0.1.5, and GHSA-3f63-vcp3-hvqr (CVE-2026-48716, high, 8.7), file write through a WhatsApp document name. Both fixed and published, -1 together. https://github.com/HKUDS/nanobot/security/advisories" ], "verdict": "nanobot runs on the owner's machine under the MIT licence, with no telemetry found in its source and memory kept as files the owner can read and restore. No per-action approval step was found, and the shell sandbox and workspace restriction are off by default. Five security advisories were published between March and September 2026, all with fixes.", "bestFor": "A technical owner who wants an assistant on their own machine across many chat apps, with file-based memory and a free choice of model.", "strengths": [ "MIT licence, runs on the owner's machine, and no telemetry code was found in the source at v0.3.5", "Long-term memory is plain files (`USER.md`, `SOUL.md`, `memory/MEMORY.md`) versioned with Git, with `/dream-log` and `/dream-restore` to inspect and roll back", "Chat channels deny unknown senders by default since v0.1.4.post4, with pairing codes the owner approves", "Email requires SPF and DKIM results from a named receiving service since v0.3.5, and mailbox access stays off until `consentGranted` is set", "Optional `bwrap` (Linux) and `seatbelt` (macOS) sandboxes for shell commands, and an SSRF guard on web fetches and HTTP MCP connections" ], "weaknesses": [ "No per-action approval was found in the docs or source. The agent sends messages, runs shell commands and edits files without asking", "`tools.restrictToWorkspace` defaults to false and `tools.exec.sandbox` to empty. Neither sandbox restricts network access, and Windows has none", "Five advisories published from 11 March to 2 September 2026, two rated critical, among them an allowlist bypass and unauthenticated SSRF in web fetch", "SECURITY.md lists plain-text API keys in `config.json`, no rate limiting and limited security event logging as known limitations", "Version 0.3.5 with an Alpha classifier, 214 open issues and 614 open pull requests on 12 October 2026" ], "agentNotes": [ "Set `tools.restrictToWorkspace` to true and `tools.exec.sandbox` to `bwrap` or `seatbelt` before giving it real accounts. Both are off by default", "Run 0.3.0 or later. Earlier versions carry the published SSRF flaw in web fetch (GHSA-vc5v-6vwm-wf9m)", "Keep `allowFrom` narrow on every channel and never set `[\"*\"]` on Email, which has no pairing", "Write secrets as `${VAR}` references in `~/.nanobot/config.json`. Plain values are stored in clear text", "Use `nanobot -m \"...\"` for a one-shot run, and keep `nanobot gateway` running for channels, schedules and heartbeat" ], "metrics": { "kind": "local", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 0, "avgRating": 0, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "B", "methodology": "0.4", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 62.4 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 74, "maintenance": 82, "payments": 60, "reliability": 70, "schema": 77, "security": 63, "transparency": 69 }, "provenanceScore": 27 }, "connect": { "install": "python -m pip install nanobot-ai # or: uv tool install nanobot-ai # then: nanobot webui", "headless": { "command": "nanobot -m \"$TASK\"" } }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/assistant.proactive", "tool": "https://letme.dev/nanobot" }, "area": "frameworks", "provenance": { "legalEntity": "", "domain": "nanobot.wiki", "domainRegistered": "", "endpointOnVendorDomain": null, "terms": "", "privacy": "", "statusPage": "", "changelog": "https://github.com/HKUDS/nanobot/releases", "securityTxt": "none", "checked": "2026-10-12", "notes": [ "No legal entity is named. The repository belongs to the GitHub organisation HKUDS, which a published advisory title calls the Hong Kong University Data Intelligence Lab. pyproject.toml names Xubin Ren and the nanobot contributors as authors.", "nanobot.wiki has no terms or privacy page linked from its home page or llms.txt, and `/.well-known/security.txt` answered with the site's not-found page on 12 October 2026.", "SECURITY.md in the repository asks for reports through a private GitHub advisory or by email and aims to respond within 48 hours.", "There is no hosted endpoint. A gateway answers on its owner's own host." ], "score": 27 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/nanobot.json" }, "answer": "OpenClaw scores 67.1 (B) on agent readiness against nanobot's 62.4 (B), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories.", "b": { "slug": "openclaw", "name": "OpenClaw", "vendor": "OpenClaw Foundation", "vendorUrl": "https://openclaw.ai", "kind": "harness", "category": "personal-assistants", "summary": "Open-source personal AI assistant that runs as a Gateway on the owner's own computer and answers in WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack, iMessage and other chat apps, with desktop and mobile apps. The OpenClaw Foundation maintains it under the MIT licence.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/openclaw", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/openclaw.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/openclaw.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/openclaw.json", "repo": "https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw", "license": "MIT", "transports": [], "packages": [ { "registry": "npm", "name": "openclaw" }, { "registry": "oci", "name": "ghcr.io/openclaw/openclaw" } ], "auth": "mixed", "authNotes": "No OpenClaw account exists. The owner supplies model provider API keys or signs in with a ChatGPT or Claude subscription, and adds a bot token, QR pairing or OAuth grant for each channel and account. Clients reach the Gateway with a token or password (`gateway.auth.mode`), or through a trusted proxy, and paired devices hold their own tokens. Operator scopes (`operator.read`, `operator.write`, `operator.admin` and others) apply to paired clients, but a shared-secret bearer token on `POST /tools/invoke` gets full operator access whatever scopes the caller sends (https://docs.openclaw.ai/gateway/tools-invoke-http-api; https://docs.openclaw.ai/gateway/operator-scopes).", "pricing": "free", "pricingNotes": "Free under the MIT licence, with no paid tier, hosted service or subscription. The owner pays the model provider for usage, or nothing with a local model, plus any search, speech or media API they configure (https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw; https://docs.openclaw.ai/reference/api-usage-costs).", "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": 391800, "npmWeekly": null, "pypiWeekly": null, "asOf": "2026-10-12" }, "docsUrl": "https://docs.openclaw.ai", "llmsTxt": "https://docs.openclaw.ai/llms.txt", "capabilities": [ "assistant.proactive", "assistant.messaging", "assistant.accounts", "assistant.memory", "assistant.self-hosted", "agent.mcp-client" ], "tags": [ "open-source", "self-hosted", "local", "free", "foundation", "llms-txt", "docker", "typescript" ], "lastRelease": "2026-10-12", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 67.1, "grade": "B", "agentReady": false, "rank": 270, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 986, "categoryRank": 4, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 77, "maintenance": 86, "payments": 60, "reliability": 75, "schema": 84, "security": 74, "transparency": 68 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-10-12" }, "negative": -8, "negativeNotes": [ "2026-09-11. The project's security page and GitHub advisory list show 722 advisories published between 31 January and 11 September 2026, 14 critical, 249 high, 390 medium and 69 low, 39 with a CVE. The largest groups are Gateway auth and scopes (182) and exec, sandbox and approvals (160). The project says all 14 critical issues are fixed and disclosed and reports no known compromise of its infrastructure. Fixed and published, which decays the deduction, but the volume and the two areas affected bear directly on an assistant that holds its owner's accounts, -8. https://openclaw.ai/security; https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/security/advisories" ], "verdict": "Self-hosted under the MIT licence, with state, memory and credentials kept on the owner's machine and no paid tier. A fresh install runs tools on the host with full access, no approval prompt and no sandbox, and the project has published 722 security advisories since January 2026, 14 of them critical.", "bestFor": "A technical owner who wants an assistant on their own machine across many chat apps, with their choice of model and files they can read and delete.", "strengths": [ "State, memory and credentials stay under `~/.openclaw` on the owner's machine, and the project sells no hosted service or paid tier", "Memory is plain Markdown files in the workspace, and `openclaw memory forget` removes what a named session contributed", "Four session permission modes (`read-only`, `guarded`, `workspace`, `full`), exec approvals and an optional Docker or Podman tool sandbox", "Unknown direct-message senders get a pairing code by default and are ignored until the owner approves them", "Telemetry is documented field by field. Feature statistics are opt-in and `update.checkOnStart: false` stops every automatic request", "13 stable releases in the 90 days to 12 October 2026, with npm provenance attestations on the published package" ], "weaknesses": [ "Without configuration the default is full access. Host exec runs with no approval and sandboxing is off", "Agents with the message tool can send across conversations and channel providers by default, with no approval step for a send", "722 advisories published between 31 January and 11 September 2026, 14 critical and 249 high, per the project's own security page", "Credentials sit in files and SQLite databases under `~/.openclaw`, protected by file permissions unless the owner configures a secret provider", "The project's own maturity scorecard rates the product at 68 per cent, labelled Alpha", "The privacy policy covers the mobile apps, the Chrome extension and website analytics, and says it does not cover the Gateway" ], "agentNotes": [ "Set a session permission mode of `guarded` or `workspace`, or `tools.exec.mode`, before connecting mail. The default runs host commands without approval", "Turn on `agents.defaults.sandbox` for any agent that reads mail, web pages or attachments. Sandboxing is off by default", "Set `tools.message.crossContext.allowAcrossProviders` and `allowWithinProvider` to `false` to confine sends to the current conversation", "Route incoming mail to a restricted reader agent, as the IMAP and Gmail guides show, and deny `gateway`, `cron`, `sessions_spawn` and `sessions_send` for it", "Run `openclaw security audit` after setup, and treat the Gateway token as an owner credential. `POST /tools/invoke` accepts it with full operator access" ], "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": 67.1 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 77, "maintenance": 86, "payments": 60, "reliability": 75, "schema": 84, "security": 74, "transparency": 82 }, "provenanceScore": 53 }, "connect": { "install": "curl -fsSL https://openclaw.ai/install.sh | bash # or: npm install -g openclaw@latest --allow-scripts=openclaw \u0026\u0026 openclaw onboard --install-daemon" }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/assistant.proactive", "tool": "https://letme.dev/openclaw" }, "area": "frameworks", "provenance": { "legalEntity": "OpenClaw Foundation", "domain": "openclaw.ai", "domainRegistered": "", "endpointOnVendorDomain": null, "terms": "", "privacy": "", "statusPage": "", "changelog": "https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/releases", "securityTxt": "none", "checked": "2026-10-12", "notes": [ "The README and the `LICENSE` file name the OpenClaw Foundation, described as an independent 501(c)(3). Its site at www.openclaw.org gave no address, registration number, board or filings on the page we read.", "No terms of service were found for the software, so the MIT licence stands in.", "The privacy policy at openclaw.ai/privacy, effective 2 August 2026, covers the iOS and Android apps, the Chrome extension and website analytics, and says it does not cover the gateway, server or AI provider the owner connects. It is not linked here for that reason.", "openclaw.ai/.well-known/security.txt returned 404 on 12 October 2026. The repository has a SECURITY.md with private GitHub reporting and security@openclaw.ai.", "There is no hosted endpoint. A Gateway answers on its owner's own host. The daily update check goes to telemetry.openclaw.ai.", "The domain registration date was not looked up." ], "score": 53 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/openclaw.json" }, "facts": [ { "a": "Agent harness", "b": "Agent harness", "name": "Kind" }, { "a": "HKUDS", "b": "OpenClaw Foundation", "name": "Vendor" }, { "a": "no (local only)", "b": "no (local only)", "name": "Hosted endpoint" }, { "a": "", "b": "", "name": "Transports" }, { "a": "None", "b": "OAuth or key", "name": "Auth" }, { "a": "Free", "b": "Free", "name": "Pricing" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "x402" }, { "a": "MIT", "b": "MIT", "name": "Licence" }, { "a": "no", "b": "yes", "name": "Read-only variant documented" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "yes", "name": "llms.txt" }, { "a": "2026-09-15", "b": "2026-10-12", "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": "49k stars", "b": "392k stars", "name": "Popularity" } ], "faq": [ { "answer": "OpenClaw scores 67.1 (B) on agent readiness against nanobot's 62.4 (B), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories.", "question": "Which is better for AI agents, nanobot or OpenClaw?" }, { "answer": "Yes. nanobot is open source (MIT). OpenClaw is open source (MIT).", "question": "Are nanobot and OpenClaw open source?" } ], "goodFor": [ { "aheadOn": null, "also": [ "No key needed to call it" ], "goodFor": "A technical owner who wants an assistant on their own machine across many chat apps, with file-based memory and a free choice of model.", "slug": "nanobot", "watchFor": "No per-action approval was found in the docs or source. The agent sends messages, runs shell commands and edits files without asking" }, { "aheadOn": [ "Reliability, 75 against 70", "Schema \u0026 documentation, 84 against 77", "Security \u0026 auth, 74 against 63", "Transparency \u0026 trust, 68 against 48" ], "also": null, "goodFor": "A technical owner who wants an assistant on their own machine across many chat apps, with their choice of model and files they can read and delete.", "slug": "openclaw", "watchFor": "Without configuration the default is full access. Host exec runs with no approval and sandboxing is off" } ], "job": { "capability": "assistant.proactive", "name": "Assistant proactive" }, "others": [ { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/astrbot-vs-nanobot.json", "title": "AstrBot vs nanobot", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/astrbot-vs-nanobot" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/astrbot-vs-openclaw.json", "title": "AstrBot vs OpenClaw", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/astrbot-vs-openclaw" }, { "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-openclaw.json", "title": "CowAgent vs OpenClaw", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-openclaw" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gaia-vs-nanobot.json", "title": "GAIA vs nanobot", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gaia-vs-nanobot" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gaia-vs-openclaw.json", "title": "GAIA vs OpenClaw", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gaia-vs-openclaw" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-spark-vs-nanobot.json", "title": "Gemini Spark vs nanobot", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-spark-vs-nanobot" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-spark-vs-openclaw.json", "title": "Gemini Spark vs OpenClaw", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-spark-vs-openclaw" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/grok-bot-vs-nanobot.json", "title": "Grok Bot vs nanobot", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/grok-bot-vs-nanobot" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/grok-bot-vs-openclaw.json", "title": "Grok Bot vs OpenClaw", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/grok-bot-vs-openclaw" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/haven-vs-nanobot.json", "title": "Haven vs nanobot", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/haven-vs-nanobot" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/haven-vs-openclaw.json", "title": "Haven vs OpenClaw", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/haven-vs-openclaw" }, { "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-openclaw.json", "title": "Hermes Agent vs OpenClaw", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-openclaw" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/instinct-vs-nanobot.json", "title": "Instinct vs nanobot", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/instinct-vs-nanobot" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/instinct-vs-openclaw.json", "title": "Instinct vs OpenClaw", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/instinct-vs-openclaw" }, { "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-openclaw.json", "title": "IronClaw vs OpenClaw", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-openclaw" }, { "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-openclaw.json", "title": "Leon vs OpenClaw", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/leon-vs-openclaw" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lindy-vs-nanobot.json", "title": "Lindy vs nanobot", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lindy-vs-nanobot" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lindy-vs-openclaw.json", "title": "Lindy vs OpenClaw", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lindy-vs-openclaw" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanobot-vs-nanoclaw.json", "title": "nanobot vs NanoClaw", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanobot-vs-nanoclaw" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanobot-vs-openai-dots.json", "title": "nanobot vs Dots", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanobot-vs-openai-dots" }, { "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/nanobot-vs-poke.json", "title": "nanobot vs Poke", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanobot-vs-poke" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanobot-vs-qwenpaw.json", "title": "nanobot vs QwenPaw", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanobot-vs-qwenpaw" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanobot-vs-zeroclaw.json", "title": "nanobot vs ZeroClaw", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanobot-vs-zeroclaw" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanobot-vs-zo-computer.json", "title": "nanobot vs Zo Computer", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanobot-vs-zo-computer" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanoclaw-vs-openclaw.json", "title": "NanoClaw vs OpenClaw", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanoclaw-vs-openclaw" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-dots-vs-openclaw.json", "title": "Dots vs OpenClaw", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-dots-vs-openclaw" }, { "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/openclaw-vs-poke.json", "title": "OpenClaw vs Poke", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openclaw-vs-poke" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openclaw-vs-qwenpaw.json", "title": "OpenClaw vs QwenPaw", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openclaw-vs-qwenpaw" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openclaw-vs-zeroclaw.json", "title": "OpenClaw vs ZeroClaw", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openclaw-vs-zeroclaw" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openclaw-vs-zo-computer.json", "title": "OpenClaw vs Zo Computer", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openclaw-vs-zo-computer" } ], "scores": [ { "by": 5, "edge": "openclaw", "key": "reliability", "name": "Reliability", "nanobot": 70, "openclaw": 75, "weight": 16 }, { "key": "performance", "name": "Performance", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 7, "edge": "openclaw", "key": "schema", "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation", "nanobot": 77, "openclaw": 84, "weight": 13 }, { "by": 3, "edge": "openclaw", "key": "ergonomics", "name": "Agent ergonomics", "nanobot": 74, "openclaw": 77, "weight": 13 }, { "by": 11, "edge": "openclaw", "key": "security", "name": "Security \u0026 auth", "nanobot": 63, "openclaw": 74, "weight": 14 }, { "by": 0, "edge": "", "key": "payments", "name": "Payments \u0026 pricing", "nanobot": 60, "openclaw": 60, "weight": 10 }, { "key": "tasks", "name": "Task success", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 4, "edge": "openclaw", "key": "maintenance", "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community", "nanobot": 82, "openclaw": 86, "weight": 7 }, { "by": 20, "edge": "openclaw", "key": "transparency", "name": "Transparency \u0026 trust", "nanobot": 48, "openclaw": 68, "weight": 7 } ], "summary": "OpenClaw scores 67.1 (B) on agent readiness against nanobot's 62.4 (B), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Both do assistant proactive.", "verdicts": { "nanobot": "nanobot runs on the owner's machine under the MIT licence, with no telemetry found in its source and memory kept as files the owner can read and restore. No per-action approval step was found, and the shell sandbox and workspace restriction are off by default. Five security advisories were published between March and September 2026, all with fixes.", "openclaw": "Self-hosted under the MIT licence, with state, memory and credentials kept on the owner's machine and no paid tier. A fresh install runs tools on the host with full access, no approval prompt and no sandbox, and the project has published 722 security advisories since January 2026, 14 of them critical." } }, "kind": "anchor.page", "links": { "api": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json", "html": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanobot-vs-openclaw", "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanobot-vs-openclaw.json", "llms": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt", "markdown": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanobot-vs-openclaw.md", "slim": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanobot-vs-openclaw.min.md" }, "markdown": "OpenClaw scores 67.1 (B) on agent readiness against nanobot's 62.4 (B), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Both do assistant proactive.\n\n- nanobot: grade B, 62.4/100, rank #446 of 986. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/nanobot.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/nanobot.json\n- OpenClaw: grade B, 67.1/100, rank #270 of 986. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/openclaw.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/openclaw.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### nanobot (B)\n\nGood for: A technical owner who wants an assistant on their own machine across many chat apps, with file-based memory and a free choice of model.\n\nAlso in its favour:\n- No key needed to call it\n\nWatch for: No per-action approval was found in the docs or source. The agent sends messages, runs shell commands and edits files without asking\n\n### OpenClaw (B)\n\nGood for: A technical owner who wants an assistant on their own machine across many chat apps, with their choice of model and files they can read and delete.\n\nAhead on:\n- Reliability, 75 against 70\n- Schema \u0026 documentation, 84 against 77\n- Security \u0026 auth, 74 against 63\n- Transparency \u0026 trust, 68 against 48\n\nWatch for: Without configuration the default is full access. Host exec runs with no approval and sandboxing is off\n\n\n## Score by category\n\n| Category | Weight | nanobot | OpenClaw | Edge |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 70 | 75 | OpenClaw +5 |\n| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Schema \u0026 documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 77 | 84 | OpenClaw +7 |\n| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 74 | 77 | OpenClaw +3 |\n| Security \u0026 auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 63 | 74 | OpenClaw +11 |\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) | 82 | 86 | OpenClaw +4 |\n| Transparency \u0026 trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 48 | 68 | OpenClaw +20 |\n| Negative events | ≤15 | -6 | -8 | |\n| **Total** | | **62.4 · B** | **67.1 · B** | |\n\n## Facts side by side\n\n| Fact | nanobot | OpenClaw |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Kind | Agent harness | Agent harness |\n| Vendor | HKUDS | OpenClaw Foundation |\n| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |\n| Transports | | |\n| Auth | None | OAuth or key |\n| Pricing | Free | Free |\n| x402 | no | no |\n| Licence | MIT | MIT |\n| Read-only variant documented | no | yes |\n| llms.txt | yes | yes |\n| Last release | 2026-09-15 | 2026-10-12 |\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 | 49k stars | 392k stars |\n\n## Verdicts\n\n**nanobot.** nanobot runs on the owner's machine under the MIT licence, with no telemetry found in its source and memory kept as files the owner can read and restore. No per-action approval step was found, and the shell sandbox and workspace restriction are off by default. Five security advisories were published between March and September 2026, all with fixes.\n\n**OpenClaw.** Self-hosted under the MIT licence, with state, memory and credentials kept on the owner's machine and no paid tier. A fresh install runs tools on the host with full access, no approval prompt and no sandbox, and the project has published 722 security advisories since January 2026, 14 of them critical.\n\n## Before you call either\n\n### nanobot\n\n1. Set `tools.restrictToWorkspace` to true and `tools.exec.sandbox` to `bwrap` or `seatbelt` before giving it real accounts. Both are off by default\n2. Run 0.3.0 or later. Earlier versions carry the published SSRF flaw in web fetch (GHSA-vc5v-6vwm-wf9m)\n3. Keep `allowFrom` narrow on every channel and never set `[\"*\"]` on Email, which has no pairing\n4. Write secrets as `${VAR}` references in `~/.nanobot/config.json`. Plain values are stored in clear text\n5. Use `nanobot -m \"...\"` for a one-shot run, and keep `nanobot gateway` running for channels, schedules and heartbeat\n\n### OpenClaw\n\n1. Set a session permission mode of `guarded` or `workspace`, or `tools.exec.mode`, before connecting mail. The default runs host commands without approval\n2. Turn on `agents.defaults.sandbox` for any agent that reads mail, web pages or attachments. Sandboxing is off by default\n3. Set `tools.message.crossContext.allowAcrossProviders` and `allowWithinProvider` to `false` to confine sends to the current conversation\n4. Route incoming mail to a restricted reader agent, as the IMAP and Gmail guides show, and deny `gateway`, `cron`, `sessions_spawn` and `sessions_send` for it\n5. Run `openclaw security audit` after setup, and treat the Gateway token as an owner credential. `POST /tools/invoke` accepts it with full operator access\n\n## Questions\n\n### Which is better for AI agents, nanobot or OpenClaw?\n\nOpenClaw scores 67.1 (B) on agent readiness against nanobot's 62.4 (B), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories.\n\n### Are nanobot and OpenClaw open source?\n\nYes. nanobot is open source (MIT). OpenClaw is open source (MIT).\n\n\n## For agents\n\n- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanobot-vs-openclaw.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanobot-vs-openclaw.min.md\n- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {\"a\": \"nanobot\", \"b\": \"openclaw\"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare nanobot openclaw`\n- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/nanobot.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/openclaw.json\n\n## Other comparisons with nanobot or OpenClaw\n\n- [AstrBot vs nanobot](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/astrbot-vs-nanobot.md)\n- [AstrBot vs OpenClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/astrbot-vs-openclaw.md)\n- [CowAgent vs nanobot](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-nanobot.md)\n- [CowAgent vs OpenClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cowagent-vs-openclaw.md)\n- [GAIA vs nanobot](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gaia-vs-nanobot.md)\n- [GAIA vs OpenClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gaia-vs-openclaw.md)\n- [Gemini Spark vs nanobot](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-spark-vs-nanobot.md)\n- [Gemini Spark vs OpenClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-spark-vs-openclaw.md)\n- [Grok Bot vs nanobot](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/grok-bot-vs-nanobot.md)\n- [Grok Bot vs OpenClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/grok-bot-vs-openclaw.md)\n- [Haven vs nanobot](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/haven-vs-nanobot.md)\n- [Haven vs OpenClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/haven-vs-openclaw.md)\n- [Hermes Agent vs nanobot](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-nanobot.md)\n- [Hermes Agent vs OpenClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-openclaw.md)\n- [Instinct vs nanobot](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/instinct-vs-nanobot.md)\n- [Instinct vs OpenClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/instinct-vs-openclaw.md)\n- [IronClaw vs nanobot](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-nanobot.md)\n- [IronClaw vs OpenClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ironclaw-vs-openclaw.md)\n- [Leon vs nanobot](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/leon-vs-nanobot.md)\n- [Leon vs OpenClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/leon-vs-openclaw.md)\n- [Lindy vs nanobot](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lindy-vs-nanobot.md)\n- [Lindy vs OpenClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lindy-vs-openclaw.md)\n- [nanobot vs NanoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanobot-vs-nanoclaw.md)\n- [nanobot vs Dots](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanobot-vs-openai-dots.md)\n- [nanobot vs PicoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanobot-vs-picoclaw.md)\n- [nanobot vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanobot-vs-poke.md)\n- [nanobot vs QwenPaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanobot-vs-qwenpaw.md)\n- [nanobot vs ZeroClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanobot-vs-zeroclaw.md)\n- [nanobot vs Zo Computer](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanobot-vs-zo-computer.md)\n- [NanoClaw vs OpenClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanoclaw-vs-openclaw.md)\n- [Dots vs OpenClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-dots-vs-openclaw.md)\n- [OpenClaw vs PicoClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openclaw-vs-picoclaw.md)\n- [OpenClaw vs Poke](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openclaw-vs-poke.md)\n- [OpenClaw vs QwenPaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openclaw-vs-qwenpaw.md)\n- [OpenClaw vs ZeroClaw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openclaw-vs-zeroclaw.md)\n- [OpenClaw vs Zo Computer](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openclaw-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": "nanobot vs OpenClaw", "url": "" } ], "description": "OpenClaw scores 67.1 (B) to nanobot's 62.4 (B) for assistant proactive. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.", "facts": [ "nanobot B 62.4", "OpenClaw B 67.1", "scores" ], "h1": "nanobot vs OpenClaw", "image": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/assets/og/compare-nanobot-vs-openclaw.png", "path": "/compare/nanobot-vs-openclaw", "published": "2026-10-01", "section": "tools", "title": "nanobot vs OpenClaw for AI agents in 2026: scores and prices", "toc": null, "updated": "2026-10-12", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nanobot-vs-openclaw" }, "tokens": { "markdown": 2500, "slim": 480 }, "version": 1 }