A phone receiving a 'home assistant still up' message, a small agent in a sandbox box, and a homelab rack.

Why I'm Testing Hermes Instead of OpenClaw

I wanted an agent to watch my lab. Something I could text that would notice when my Home Assistant box went sideways and tell me about it in plain English. Everyone pointed me at OpenClaw, the self-hosted agent that “actually does things,” the one people leave running on a Mac mini in a closet. I almost ran it. Then I did what I always do before handing something shell access: read about what happens when it has a bad day. And I closed the tab. ...

June 14, 2026 · 5 min · Jeff Ward