# Configuring behaviour, skills and portability (`control.customize`)

Feedback Bench, personal agents, built 2026-10-19, window 2026-08-31 to 2026-10-18. Web page: https://feedbackbench.com/#/criterion/control.customize

Area: [Staying in control](https://feedbackbench.com/criteria/control.md)

**Definition.** How far the user can shape the agent with instructions, system prompts, skills and custom logic, and how open or locked-in the platform is compared with self-hosted setups.

**Boundary.** Not this: see [Effort needed to set up and train the agent](https://feedbackbench.com/criteria/access.setup.md) when the issue is the effort to get started; see [Which AI model runs, how good it is, and choosing it](https://feedbackbench.com/criteria/control.model.md) when the only setting wanted is the model.

Rated user-weeks, all agents: 1935. Complaint share: 29%.

## The brief

Written by large language models from this page's numbers and the posts it quotes, then checked: every number in the text is in the build. Interpretation, not measurement.

Hermes Agent and OpenClaw rank high: users can shape them the most. Users describe open harnesses where they edit configs, change the look, build their own features and customize their own workflows. This is the 7th most rated of 53 criteria, and Hermes Agent users rate it 4.11 times as often as other users. Grok Bot and ChatGPT Dots rank low. Their users describe closed apps where the vendor sets the instructions, rules and models. Grok Bot accounts for 27% of the category's complaints here.

### What separates the best from the rest

Users of Hermes Agent and OpenClaw talk about freedom. They say they can do almost anything with the agent, build their own features and own the whole setup. Users of Grok Bot and ChatGPT Dots talk about what they cannot change: instruction settings missing from one version of the app, no way to use local models, and no control over rules, memory or hooks. On ChatGPT Dots, complaints outnumber praise 39 to 21.

- **Ranks high**: [Hermes Agent](https://feedbackbench.com/agents/hermes-agent.md), [OpenClaw](https://feedbackbench.com/agents/openclaw.md)
  - OpenClaw, 2026-10-17, @openclaw (X): “my favorite part about @openclaw, is you can do just about whatever you want with it [link]” [source](https://twitter.com/51492397/status/2111574410440458548)
  - Hermes Agent, 2026-10-18, X search: Hermes Agent, hermes-agent, Hermes Desktop (X): “to be honest, i still choose hermes agent because it is much freer and not dependent on one platform [link] [link]” [source](https://twitter.com/428050733/status/2111617169280942449)
- **Ranks low**: [Grok Bot](https://feedbackbench.com/agents/grok-bot.md), [ChatGPT Dots](https://feedbackbench.com/agents/dots.md)
  - ChatGPT Dots, 2026-10-16, X search: ChatGPT dots, ChatGPT dot, OpenAI dots, OpenAI's dot (X): “@fbalassanian @bot @claudeai these "assistant agents" are okay. they are cool, but my biggest issue with grok bot / chatgpt dots is i cannot control their rules, memory, hooks, etc. like i can with my own custom subagents in codex / claude / hermes etc.” [source](https://twitter.com/3008601560/status/2111189938071027944)
  - Grok Bot, 2026-10-14, X search: Grok Bot, Grokbot, x.ai/bot (X): “where did the grok bot per-bot “instructions” settings go on the macos desktop app?! they are still in the ios app, but completely missing from the desktop app.” [source](https://twitter.com/106567671/status/2110292444378198318)

## How it breaks

Rule: A separate pass sorts complaints into failure modes. For each criterion with at least 30 complaining user-weeks, a large language model reads 150 complaint posts drawn at random and names 4 to 8 failure modes; a second large language model then puts every complaint post on that criterion in one mode, or in Other when it fits none. Modes are fixed once named, and new posts are sorted into them each week. A mode counts distinct user-weeks with a complaint in it, per agent; across agents, one user-week per agent. Modes do not change the labels or the Feedback Score. Examples: up to 3 posts per mode from different users, chosen and checked as receipts are.

The largest mode is missing or withdrawn controls for instructions, preferences and appearance, at 31% of complaining user-weeks. Grok Bot has the largest share of it. Grok Bot also leads complaints about being locked to the vendor's models, with 42%. The two agents that rank high have their own problems. OpenClaw accounts for 49% of complaints that configuration is too complex to manage. Hermes Agent accounts for 59% of complaints about skills and rules that pile up and conflict.

578 complaining user-weeks.

| Failure mode | User-weeks | Posts | Agents (user-weeks) | Definition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Missing or withdrawn behaviour customization controls | 178 | 184 | Grok Bot 61, Hermes Agent 43, Muse 41, OpenClaw 13, ChatGPT Dots 11, Hark 5, Gemini Spark 3, Poke 1 | The product gives no way, or no longer gives a way, to set instructions, a system prompt, persistent preference rules, style or notification options, or appearance; cases where the control exists but fails to save or apply are not included. |
| Configuration too complex to manage at scale | 104 | 106 | OpenClaw 51, Hermes Agent 35, Grok Bot 15, ChatGPT Dots 2, Muse 1 | Setting up and maintaining the agent takes too much manual tweaking, has confusing structure, too many options or no documentation, and gives no bulk way to manage keys, skills, routing or permissions across many bots; single settings that are missing or broken are not included. |
| Locked to vendor's models and providers | 84 | 86 | Grok Bot 35, Hermes Agent 18, OpenClaw 15, Muse 8, ChatGPT Dots 7, Gemini Spark 1 | The user cannot pick, rank, block or bring their own models, API keys, local or self-hosted endpoints, so the agent is tied to one vendor's models, routing and pricing; problems moving existing work to another platform are not included. |
| Skill and config edits fail or are blocked | 50 | 53 | Hermes Agent 17, OpenClaw 17, Grok Bot 8, ChatGPT Dots 4, Gemini Spark 4 | Changes the user or agent tries to make to skills, tools, instructions or config do not take effect, get corrupted, are wiped, or are forbidden by new guardrails (such as overwrites being blocked, skill descriptions being replaced, or the agent being unable to edit configs); controls that never existed are not included. |
| Skill bloat and unsupervised self-modification | 41 | 42 | Hermes Agent 24, OpenClaw 12, Grok Bot 3, Muse 2 | Bundled or auto-generated skills, rules and instruction files pile up, conflict or overwrite each other without the user knowing, and model quality and steerability get worse over time; deliberate user edits that fail to save are not included. |
| Updates silently overwrite user configuration | 40 | 41 | Hermes Agent 17, Grok Bot 10, OpenClaw 10, Muse 2, ChatGPT Dots 1 | An update or automatic process changes settings the user chose, without asking: it turns removed models back on, imposes new defaults, moves features into plugins that break, or adds skills the user did not ask for; controls that disappear without changing existing settings are not included. |
| Agent setups not portable between platforms | 38 | 39 | OpenClaw 14, Grok Bot 12, Hermes Agent 5, Muse 4, ChatGPT Dots 2, Hark 1 | Skills, plugins, memory, context or project work cannot be exported, imported, cloned or handed to another tool without loss, which makes migration slow or impossible; choosing which model the agent runs on is not included. |
| Other | 47 | 49 | ChatGPT Dots 12, Hermes Agent 12, OpenClaw 9, Grok Bot 6, Muse 6, Hark 2 | Complaints that fit none of the modes above. |

#### Missing or withdrawn behaviour customization controls

- ChatGPT Dots, 2026-10-16, X search: ChatGPT dots, ChatGPT dot, OpenAI dots, OpenAI's dot (X): “@fbalassanian @bot @claudeai these "assistant agents" are okay. they are cool, but my biggest issue with grok bot / chatgpt dots is i cannot control their rules, memory, hooks, etc. like i can with my own custom subagents in codex / claude / hermes etc.” [source](https://twitter.com/3008601560/status/2111189938071027944)
- Grok Bot, 2026-10-14, X search: Grok Bot, Grokbot, x.ai/bot (X): “where did the grok bot per-bot “instructions” settings go on the macos desktop app?! they are still in the ios app, but completely missing from the desktop app.” [source](https://twitter.com/106567671/status/2110292444378198318)
- Hermes Agent, 2026-10-08, X search: Hermes Agent, hermes-agent, Hermes Desktop (X): “@hermeswatcher i noticed hermes desktop has it's own tools loaded on the context that can't be disabled from capabilities settings” [source](https://twitter.com/2584231976/status/2108324448013091318)

#### Configuration too complex to manage at scale

- Grok Bot, 2026-10-05, X search: Grok Bot, Grokbot, x.ai/bot (X): “@techandsundry grok bot config is the new config hell for developpers. look at my grok bot config is the new loon at my neovim config” [source](https://twitter.com/1625863645782544385/status/2107025914714538137)

#### Locked to vendor's models and providers

- Grok Bot, 2026-10-08, Grok Bot just got a MASSIVE update (YouTube): “tbh i wish we could turn off/blacklist external models we don't want it to use. this makes me less likely to use my grok bot.” [source](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZW-HR9XMQKw&lc=UgyfSINMzITvyV2JgHV4AaABAg)
- Grok Bot, 2026-10-08, X search: Grok Bot, Grokbot, x.ai/bot (X): “@jauneclaude yea i like grokbot also but can’t use it with my local models” [source](https://twitter.com/2081091708792561664/status/2108150811926688045)
- ChatGPT Dots, 2026-10-03, OpenAI Dots : c'est quoi un Dot ? L'agent ChatGPT qui bosse 24h/24 (et pourquoi pas en France) (YouTube): “@chippzanuff495 i'm not a fan of dot, not open source enough and where is europe?” [source](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6kAa-yGSHs&lc=UgyodelDBopajoBB5M94AaABAg.AbVDWWQzgusAbVK3AqNKD8)

#### Skill and config edits fail or are blocked

- Hermes Agent, 2026-10-08, @NousResearch (X): “@nousresearch hermes caps skill descriptions at 60 characters. i'm going to fucking lose it.” [source](https://twitter.com/2091247079129542656/status/2108230747110699510)
- Hermes Agent, 2026-10-02, X search: Hermes Agent, hermes-agent, Hermes Desktop (X): “hey!! the plugin feature is gone in hermes desktop v0.21.5!!! give me back my kanban, please!!!” [source](https://twitter.com/1264907808106876928/status/2105959687019733309)
- Grok Bot, 2026-10-01, X search: Grok Bot, Grokbot, x.ai/bot (X): “god damn the grok bot changes are frustrating. @grok help me clean room my bots. i can't delete them all. i'm at the point i'm about to cancel i'm so heckin frustrated.” [source](https://twitter.com/1845190630143836160/status/2105539573874901473)

#### Skill bloat and unsupervised self-modification

- Hermes Agent, 2026-10-11, r/hermesagent (Reddit): “on the surface, it seems to be very similar however, when i ran it the first time, it found 130 candidate skills for pruning or consolidation so something is not working as efficiently with the default curator. i summarized the functions in another response below.” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/hermesagent/comments/1x24qfp/my_hermes_configuration_that_works_for_me/pfc3fbi/)
- Muse, 2026-10-05, @muse (X): “@daice77 great point. i've also seen harnesses like @grok build and @muse cli loading both agents.md and claude.md, duplicating instructions.” [source](https://twitter.com/39193322/status/2107075967969620384)
- Hermes Agent, 2026-10-04, X search: Hermes Agent, hermes-agent, Hermes Desktop (X): “it feels like the automatic skill creation and updates of hermes agent have started to cause problems. i feel that the harness needs to be taken care of.” [source](https://twitter.com/1321431946405109760/status/2106706782156710255)

#### Updates silently overwrite user configuration

- Grok Bot, 2026-10-02, @bot (X): “@naoufal_elh @bot the app updated today and there are no bot templates. bot template curation and discovery are very useful, especially for new users.” [source](https://twitter.com/1667643120085876737/status/2105812793773502974)
- Grok Bot, 2026-09-30, X search: Grok Bot, Grokbot, x.ai/bot (X): “@leerob @bot grok bot voice settings aren't sticking for me. any time i start a new call, defaults back. android app” [source](https://twitter.com/1263623929605656579/status/2105193610266464630)
- Hermes Agent, 2026-09-29, @NousResearch (X): “@nousresearch am i missing something, or did you guys get rid of the reasoning effort dropdown in the most recent cloud release? i found it very useful for my day-to-day work, and i'm pretty upset that it's not there anymore. [link]” [source](https://twitter.com/427128761/status/2105054524629278903)

#### Agent setups not portable between platforms

- Hermes Agent, 2026-10-11, Hermes Agent Fundamentals In 20 Minutes (No Code) (YouTube): “i already use lm studio for a lot of my local model management. simpler for me to keep things all in one place. eg if i download in lm studio i can power other agents, tools, and tasks. if it is in hermes then it only works in hermes” [source](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArdXLt8ZXC0&lc=Ugx2fT-D1M-F_ItdMpp4AaABAg.AbqHrIVmiwbAbqOus4F6Y9)
- OpenClaw, 2026-10-10, X search: OpenClaw, openclaw.ai (X): “@mathiaschu i started building a team in openclaw and now i'm having doubts. what holds me back is that migrating from agent platforms is much more complex than from llm. what happens if they enable you to use dots and it's better, for example?” [source](https://twitter.com/90854213/status/2109026474229727345)
- Grok Bot, 2026-10-03, @bot (X): “@lingxi @bot hey, i’ve imported a number of templates from the bot marketplace, but there’s no direct way for them to update themselves if the creator updates the template” [source](https://twitter.com/23168161/status/2106455052743295171)

#### Other

- OpenClaw, 2026-10-18, X search: OpenClaw, openclaw.ai (X): “why i built cinderpaw: i tried openclaw and hermes agent first. openclaw had no self-improve at the time. hermes had weak memory and self-improvement, real upgrade cost extra. so i built one that really improves itself, agentic rsi, better every day. [link]” [source](https://twitter.com/2022047869159501824/status/2111718133530603613)

## Top requests

What users ask to add or change, most asked first. 677 user-weeks ask for something. Requests do not change the Feedback Score. Rule: A separate pass by a large language model reads every counted post and extracts what the user asks the agent or its vendor to add or change, with the criteria it maps to and a short normalised wording; it does not touch the labels or the Feedback Score. A large language model groups the wordings within each criterion (the first criterion the request maps to) into themes, and a second pass merges themes that ask for the same change under different criteria; a merged theme sits under the criterion most of its requests map to, and code counts it once. A theme counts distinct user-weeks that ask for it, per agent; across agents, one user-week per agent. Themes asked in fewer than 2 user-weeks, and requests that share no theme, are not shown. Examples: up to 3 posts per theme from different users, without slurs: whole posts of 60 to 450 characters with at least 8 words beyond handles and links, posts of at most 280 characters first, then the newest.

| Rank | Request | User-weeks | Posts | Agents (user-weeks) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Open source the agent | 30 | 30 | Hermes Agent 10, OpenClaw 6, Muse 5, Grok Bot 4, ChatGPT Dots 3, Hark 2 |
| 2 | Editable system prompt and custom instructions | 21 | 23 | Grok Bot 10, OpenClaw 4, Muse 3, Gemini Spark 2, ChatGPT Dots 1, Hermes Agent 1 |
| 3 | Export memory, skills and config for portability | 19 | 20 | Hermes Agent 8, Grok Bot 4, OpenClaw 4, ChatGPT Dots 2, Muse 1 |
| 4 | Separate profiles for household members | 16 | 16 | Hermes Agent 6, Grok Bot 5, ChatGPT Dots 3, Muse 2 |
| 5 | Shareable bot templates and template library | 15 | 15 | Grok Bot 13, Hermes Agent 2 |
| 6 | Customizable interface layout and appearance | 13 | 13 | Hermes Agent 5, Muse 4, Grok Bot 2, ChatGPT Dots 1, OpenClaw 1 |
| 7 | More customization options overall | 13 | 13 | Muse 4, Hermes Agent 3, OpenClaw 3, Grok Bot 2, ChatGPT Dots 1 |
| 8 | Tools to manage and organize skills | 11 | 11 | Hermes Agent 6, Grok Bot 3, Gemini Spark 1, OpenClaw 1 |
| 9 | Ability to fully disable the agent | 8 | 8 | Muse 4, Grok Bot 2, Hermes Agent 1, OpenClaw 1 |
| 10 | Leaner core without bloat | 8 | 8 | OpenClaw 4, Hermes Agent 3, ChatGPT Dots 1 |
| 11 | Less platform and vendor lock-in | 7 | 11 | Hermes Agent 3, Grok Bot 2, OpenClaw 2 |
| 12 | Configurable session auto-pruning defaults | 7 | 7 | Hermes Agent 7 |

### 1. Open source the agent

- Hermes Agent, 2026-10-13, @NousResearch (X): “@fl_rn_st @nousresearch yay! i figured this would end up happening! could we maybe get open source cadu before you move on 🥹” [source](https://twitter.com/1876849124252831744/status/2110137788125311116)
- Hermes Agent, 2026-10-09, @NousResearch (X): “@sudoingx i like it too so far, very promising! looking forward to the opensource version of it - perhaps @nousresearch 's mobile upcoming mobile app? still, i find their ux to be superior to the other agent apps out there for now” [source](https://twitter.com/313654251/status/2108679182918234195)
- Hermes Agent, 2026-10-08, r/hermesagent (Reddit): “my dude this is next level! you should look into setting up your own character so you can walk around the village in third person and interact! please open source this! i'd love to build my own little agent village!” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/hermesagent/comments/1x0ra7j/i_gave_my_hermes_setup_a_face/peopfnd/)

### 2. Editable system prompt and custom instructions

- Grok Bot, 2026-10-15, r/GrokBot (Reddit): “i see value in the instructions, and would prefer it to be back, but why is it still in mobile still i wonder?” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/GrokBot/comments/1x2f1ib/grokbot_users_were_losing_control_over_our_own/pgztv11/)
- Grok Bot, 2026-10-14, X search: Grok Bot, Grokbot, x.ai/bot (X): “where did the grok bot per-bot “instructions” settings go on the macos desktop app?! they are still in the ios app, but completely missing from the desktop app.” [source](https://twitter.com/106567671/status/2110292444378198318)
- Grok Bot, 2026-10-10, r/GrokBot (Reddit): “even if you have the text box to edit the instructions directly, there are still a huge chunk of hidden instructions coming from the system prompt, skills, memory etc etc you have 0 control whatsoever... you will never achieve a 100% control using someone else system.” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/GrokBot/comments/1x2f1ib/grokbot_users_were_losing_control_over_our_own/pf33mit/)

### 3. Export memory, skills and config for portability

- OpenClaw, 2026-10-17, X search: OpenClaw, openclaw.ai (X): “@guy still with openclaw... working with him since feb. he's pretty good and knows me well. so would need an easy migration process, and a much much better solution” [source](https://twitter.com/11164552/status/2111475846158393614)
- Hermes Agent, 2026-10-13, X search: Hermes Agent, hermes-agent, Hermes Desktop (X): “i want to keep what i’ve taught my agent when i switch machines @bkashjosi makes the case for hermes agent: personality, memory and skills are files you can inspect and back up. that’s a setup worth keeping [link]” [source](https://twitter.com/1370743150940196867/status/2109958872425201935)
- ChatGPT Dots, 2026-10-10, X search: ChatGPT dots, ChatGPT dot, OpenAI dots, OpenAI's dot (X): “i've been using openai's dots. although it's a convenient way of interacting with an ai agent as a single point of contact, it refuses to consistently record decisions i make to my local recording system, but it has no issue taking its own notes on me and refuses to export them.” [source](https://twitter.com/1382162150802780164/status/2109013003915948277)

### 4. Separate profiles for household members

- Muse, 2026-10-18, @muse (X): “voice mode and shared agents are an absolute must for me with @muse asap need to be able to share @muse across family members and voice mode would be the 100% gamechanger i need in my life [link]” [source](https://twitter.com/2011796236119240704/status/2111630132343378199)
- Grok Bot, 2026-10-11, X search: Grok Bot, Grokbot, x.ai/bot (X): “@elonmusk @xai @bot why is there no joint grokbot account? weird to not be able to have a household login. should be an easy thing to integrate? could even be an upsell (2 users for 1.5x the price?) pls fix!!” [source](https://twitter.com/1459938650171617282/status/2109351084170912210)
- Hermes Agent, 2026-10-10, @NousResearch (X): “@teknium @asvanevik @nousresearch can you run hermes for a family in one installation? each with different memory / profile?” [source](https://twitter.com/12936242/status/2108926328720486813)

### 5. Shareable bot templates and template library

- Grok Bot, 2026-10-15, Live Grok Bot Demo And Big Announcement (YouTube): “good sales pitch/grock bot demo! lol. but really it would be great to be able to find a library of grock bots so that we can custom build better ones for ourselves. i would like to set some up to gather information and have a daily summary printed out.” [source](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZgu5EDhXsU&lc=Ugwp1l7nMoTccqNe4TV4AaABAg)
- Grok Bot, 2026-10-14, X search: Grok Bot, Grokbot, x.ai/bot (X): “@melaniecandra @bot botzah balls lol gonna have to try that one. we need the grok bot cookbook” [source](https://twitter.com/1585389374715400192/status/2110160933628809444)
- Hermes Agent, 2026-10-08, X search: Hermes Agent, hermes-agent, Hermes Desktop (X): “one cool feature for hermes agent could be a "template setup" page. a kind of dot files collection of .config for different use cases and optimized for local ai / cloud models. i am always looking for improving my setup” [source](https://twitter.com/1153803242/status/2108093515859472681)

### 6. Customizable interface layout and appearance

- Muse, 2026-10-11, @muse (X): “@asideai @muse @bot @chatgpt add some customised option for home screen it's boring that white screen.” [source](https://twitter.com/2099819012826046465/status/2109133231820062749)
- Hermes Agent, 2026-10-03, X search: Hermes Agent, hermes-agent, Hermes Desktop (X): “@thdxr please make it useable for real harness just like hermes agent does. ability to customize whole app, like right now tabs sucks, also fyping pad isn't much customizable just make it fully customizable.” [source](https://twitter.com/1415270456484106244/status/2106387266771746932)
- OpenClaw, 2026-09-30, App Store (App Store): “a bit glitchy but i’m very happy with this app. more ui customization would be cool!” [source](https://apps.apple.com/nl/app/openclaw/id6780396132)

### 7. More customization options overall

- Hermes Agent, 2026-10-04, @NousResearch (X): “@cardillosamuel @nousresearch used openclaw from january until 2 months ago, switched to hermes, and now thinking of switching back... oc is just so much more customizable, and has much better cross-agent communication and it's much better at managing agent fleets.” [source](https://twitter.com/22079832/status/2106732590480691434)
- OpenClaw, 2026-10-03, X search: OpenClaw, openclaw.ai (X): “@thsottiaux i think it should have more customization options like in openclaw.” [source](https://twitter.com/1586475276464263168/status/2106470302263779769)
- Grok Bot, 2026-09-30, App Store (App Store): “it would be cool to personalize everything a little bit, but i love that” [source](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/grok-bot/id6794501026)

### 8. Tools to manage and organize skills

- Hermes Agent, 2026-10-08, X search: Hermes Agent, hermes-agent, Hermes Desktop (X): “@tonysimons we need an obsidian style brain library interface for all those skills-tools-plugins from hermes agent, the list getting extremely overwhelming, great and amazing but is like a maze” [source](https://twitter.com/1502203822965415943/status/2108022762484719767)
- Grok Bot, 2026-10-05, @bot (X): “@shannholmberg @bot giving each bot its own skills and access a headache to manage long-term.” [source](https://twitter.com/1828489512814862336/status/2107084292748955780)
- Hermes Agent, 2026-10-03, @NousResearch (X): “@maxkolysh @nousresearch u neeed it in skills. note which account is for what.” [source](https://twitter.com/455899207/status/2106472298379428127)

### 9. Ability to fully disable the agent

- Grok Bot, 2026-10-11, @bot (X): “@elonmusk @bot call it an employee if you want. just make sure it can be fired” [source](https://twitter.com/2072669962624253952/status/2109261880929783920)
- Hermes Agent, 2026-10-08, @NousResearch (X): “@nousresearch @microsoft great now just let us completely uninstall copilot” [source](https://twitter.com/1451028285505224705/status/2108235785392853118)
- Grok Bot, 2026-10-03, r/GrokBot (Reddit): “i'm glad i'm not the only one because they literally all just stopped responding except that stupid bot that they forced us to have and we can't delete” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/GrokBot/comments/1wwg9zw/is_grok_bot_down_right_now_for_anyone_else_bot/pdkcw5w/)

### 10. Leaner core without bloat

- Hermes Agent, 2026-10-09, X search: Hermes Agent, hermes-agent, Hermes Desktop (X): “@teknium tek just one tip keep hermes as simple as possible otherwise it will just turn in to bloat and new harness/agents will leave it behind if you are going enterprise path, and you need some type of safety mechanism in there 1 pliny emoji put my hermes agent in a tailspin” [source](https://twitter.com/2534482917/status/2108391165175463999)
- OpenClaw, 2026-09-17, X search: OpenClaw, openclaw.ai (X): “@teknium @teknium much needed thank you, it becomes feature bloat lately like openclaw and openwebui.” [source](https://twitter.com/352488478/status/2100713123497771416)
- OpenClaw, 2026-09-17, X search: OpenClaw, openclaw.ai (X): “good call. half the openclaw pain i've watched teams run into is fighting harness decisions instead of shipping agents. pi-style minimal surface is the right direction for hermes. [link]” [source](https://twitter.com/1657001685343178753/status/2100712149144224096)

### 11. Less platform and vendor lock-in

- Grok Bot, 2026-10-09, X search: Grok Bot, Grokbot, x.ai/bot (X): “why do i need to vendor lock to grok bot when with pi durable i can have my own app. [link]” [source](https://twitter.com/2101610075894771712/status/2108361752580637081)
- Hermes Agent, 2026-10-05, @NousResearch (X): “@nousresearch nineteen lines of "you should be able to," and line 20 explains why most companies won't build them: an agent that's truly yours is an agent you can take with you when you leave. lock-in was never a bug.” [source](https://twitter.com/1214840989753528320/status/2107211630907945408)
- OpenClaw, 2026-09-30, X search: OpenClaw, openclaw.ai (X): “ooo ps and stop forcing openclaw down everyone’s throat. not every ai tool needs to become the same agent stack. give people choices, boundaries, and tools that actually stay in their lane. if failure comes back as owner it shows it belongs to somebody else not open source! understand the system before calling out robbery ^ i’m poking assumptions not attacking ppl in general …” [source](https://twitter.com/1746955630429257731/status/2105293751803630020)

### 12. Configurable session auto-pruning defaults

- Hermes Agent, 2026-10-16, @NousResearch (X): “@teknium @hermeswatcher @witcheer @nousresearch maybe a prune schedule you can set to never/default 90/sweep every x days and ask the user? i've been burned by cc with a 30-day delete schedule before i tried to go back to a session i had the audacity to bench...” [source](https://twitter.com/1972070896446926848/status/2111014328728011195)
- Hermes Agent, 2026-10-16, @NousResearch (X): “@teknium @hermeswatcher @witcheer @nousresearch if i may add something to the conversation, sub-agents often create many sessions containing information that is generally only useful in the moment. how about a more aggressive pruning process focused on sub-agent sessions?” [source](https://twitter.com/421317211/status/2110993702592110603)
- Hermes Agent, 2026-10-16, @NousResearch (X): “@hermeswatcher @witcheer @teknium @nousresearch absolutely. i would prefer not to automatically delete sessions by default, but still being able to automate it.” [source](https://twitter.com/1477289543510511620/status/2110982599472562559)

## Every agent

| Agent | Overall rank | Reading | Customer love | 95% interval | n | Praise | Complaint |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [Hermes Agent](https://feedbackbench.com/agents/hermes-agent.md) | 2 | 1st of 5 | 0.632 | 0.597–0.666 | 802 | 645 | 157 |
| [OpenClaw](https://feedbackbench.com/agents/openclaw.md) | 5 | 2nd of 5 | 0.539 | 0.504–0.571 | 494 | 358 | 136 |
| [Muse](https://feedbackbench.com/agents/muse.md) | 1 | 3rd of 5 | 0.481 | 0.448–0.512 | 196 | 132 | 64 |
| [ChatGPT Dots](https://feedbackbench.com/agents/dots.md) | 8 | 4th of 5 | 0.416 | 0.387–0.446 | 60 | 21 | 39 |
| [Grok Bot](https://feedbackbench.com/agents/grok-bot.md) | 3 | 5th of 5 | 0.377 | 0.345–0.409 | 329 | 179 | 150 |
| [Hark](https://feedbackbench.com/agents/hark.md) | 4 | Too few posts | – | – | 26 | 18 | 8 |
| [Gemini Spark](https://feedbackbench.com/agents/gemini-spark.md) | 7 | Too few posts | – | – | 25 | 17 | 8 |
| [Poke](https://feedbackbench.com/agents/poke.md) | 9 | Too few posts | – | – | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| [Instinct](https://feedbackbench.com/agents/instinct.md) | 6 | Too few posts | – | – | 0 | 0 | 0 |

## Posts

Receipts rule: Up to 5 praise and 5 complaint posts per area and 3 per criterion. Each is a whole post of 60 to 450 characters (700 for areas) with at least 8 words beyond handles and links, that judges the criterion, whose labels are all praise or all complaint, and that contains no slur. Posts that touch the fewest criteria come first, then posts of at most 280 characters, then the newest. A second large language model reads the first 3 candidates per slot and keeps a post only if it clearly praises, or clearly complains about, the agent on that criterion. Links and personal details removed by the source show as marks such as [link].

### Hermes Agent

- Praise, 2026-10-18, @NousResearch (X): “@brorlandi boooa! hermes is among the most flexible and complete harnesses i have ever worked with. well-developed ideas fit very well into it! i want to follow your projects with it! let's go! @nousresearch” [source](https://twitter.com/1571720890861211653/status/2111865540578795882)
- Praise, 2026-10-18, X search: Hermes Agent, hermes-agent, Hermes Desktop (X): “to be honest, i still choose hermes agent because it is much freer and not dependent on one platform [link] [link]” [source](https://twitter.com/428050733/status/2111617169280942449)
- Praise, 2026-10-18, X search: Hermes Agent, hermes-agent, Hermes Desktop (X): “i'm getting used to hermes agent, but i have no motivation to move on to grok bot or dots at all. this is probably what spacexai and openai want to do by enclosing it in an app. if i seek the highest degree of freedom, it will probably be hermes agent or openclaw.” [source](https://twitter.com/2321892516/status/2111837470618947594)
- Complaint, 2026-10-11, r/hermesagent (Reddit): “on the surface, it seems to be very similar however, when i ran it the first time, it found 130 candidate skills for pruning or consolidation so something is not working as efficiently with the default curator. i summarized the functions in another response below.” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/hermesagent/comments/1x24qfp/my_hermes_configuration_that_works_for_me/pfc3fbi/)
- Complaint, 2026-10-11, Hermes Agent Fundamentals In 20 Minutes (No Code) (YouTube): “i already use lm studio for a lot of my local model management. simpler for me to keep things all in one place. eg if i download in lm studio i can power other agents, tools, and tasks. if it is in hermes then it only works in hermes” [source](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArdXLt8ZXC0&lc=Ugx2fT-D1M-F_ItdMpp4AaABAg.AbqHrIVmiwbAbqOus4F6Y9)
- Complaint, 2026-10-08, @NousResearch (X): “@nousresearch hermes caps skill descriptions at 60 characters. i'm going to fucking lose it.” [source](https://twitter.com/2091247079129542656/status/2108230747110699510)

### OpenClaw

- Praise, 2026-10-17, @openclaw (X): “my favorite part about @openclaw, is you can do just about whatever you want with it [link]” [source](https://twitter.com/51492397/status/2111574410440458548)
- Praise, 2026-10-17, X search: OpenClaw, openclaw.ai (X): “my favorite part about openclaw, is you can do just about whatever you want with it [link]” [source](https://twitter.com/51492397/status/2111572746706599962)
- Praise, 2026-10-16, @openclaw (X): “@rezoundous we use @openclaw for our many side-projects every single day. we've customized our own workflows and openclaw is unbelievably productive for us.” [source](https://twitter.com/2074964603025383425/status/2111120731778261428)
- Complaint, 2026-10-18, X search: OpenClaw, openclaw.ai (X): “why i built cinderpaw: i tried openclaw and hermes agent first. openclaw had no self-improve at the time. hermes had weak memory and self-improvement, real upgrade cost extra. so i built one that really improves itself, agentic rsi, better every day. [link]” [source](https://twitter.com/2022047869159501824/status/2111718133530603613)
- Complaint, 2026-10-10, X search: OpenClaw, openclaw.ai (X): “@mathiaschu i started building a team in openclaw and now i'm having doubts. what holds me back is that migrating from agent platforms is much more complex than from llm. what happens if they enable you to use dots and it's better, for example?” [source](https://twitter.com/90854213/status/2109026474229727345)

### Muse

- Praise, 2026-10-17, Play Store (Play Store): “i have discovered that checking this app out, was actually a great decision. having used it now for a few days, i'm truly enjoying the personalization of it's assistant options...” [source](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.facebook.aura)
- Praise, 2026-10-07, @muse (X): “@nonieengel @muse i want this for my agents too haha. love that you can just give feedback in the moment instead of making “update the agent’s instructions” another thing on your to-do list :)” [source](https://twitter.com/1127121046795059200/status/2107660141818753102)
- Praise, 2026-10-07, X search: Muse from Meta, Meta Muse (X): “@officially_dev_ zed, no hesitation. the bigger shift is that agents now travel with you over acp: i build muse spark code as one, so the same meta muse spark agent runs in zed, jetbrains, neovim or emacs. losing an editor wouldn't cost me my workflow. [link] [link]” [source](https://twitter.com/2063412152640397312/status/2107630606419198180)
- Complaint, 2026-10-05, @muse (X): “@daice77 great point. i've also seen harnesses like @grok build and @muse cli loading both agents.md and claude.md, duplicating instructions.” [source](https://twitter.com/39193322/status/2107075967969620384)
- Complaint, 2026-10-01, X search: Muse from Meta, Meta Muse (X): “meta @muse auto-posting instagram stories is insane, but it doesn’t have a close friends option yet! so now my entire follower list gets to see my raw ai experiments! 💀 no filter. full send. 🤖🚀 [link]” [source](https://twitter.com/4332846084/status/2105693655986024662)

### ChatGPT Dots

- Praise, 2026-10-02, X search: ChatGPT dots, ChatGPT dot, OpenAI dots, OpenAI's dot (X): “custom rules is an excellent feature in openai’s dot. maybe the other bot agents out there have something similar but i sure haven’t seen it. [link]” [source](https://twitter.com/270137557/status/2106052922681209034)
- Praise, 2026-10-01, X search: ChatGPT dots, ChatGPT dot, OpenAI dots, OpenAI's dot (X): “giving openai dot a power up. just told it to install all of the skills in this repo. already using chief of staff skill to good effect. [link]” [source](https://twitter.com/1258948276272926732/status/2105631605503230146)
- Praise, 2026-10-01, X search: ChatGPT dots, ChatGPT dot, OpenAI dots, OpenAI's dot (X): “finally something that's not yet another bug, the customization interface with custom characters in @chatgpt dots is real!! [link] [link]” [source](https://twitter.com/707430773754875904/status/2105642880312422435)
- Complaint, 2026-10-16, X search: ChatGPT dots, ChatGPT dot, OpenAI dots, OpenAI's dot (X): “@fbalassanian @bot @claudeai these "assistant agents" are okay. they are cool, but my biggest issue with grok bot / chatgpt dots is i cannot control their rules, memory, hooks, etc. like i can with my own custom subagents in codex / claude / hermes etc.” [source](https://twitter.com/3008601560/status/2111189938071027944)
- Complaint, 2026-10-07, X search: ChatGPT dots, ChatGPT dot, OpenAI dots, OpenAI's dot (X): “@liminal_warmth openai dots are like near-unusably bad on this front, even with custom rules. they *really* wrapped this one in cotton.” [source](https://twitter.com/1759597498379980800/status/2107979997948358987)
- Complaint, 2026-10-03, OpenAI Dots : c'est quoi un Dot ? L'agent ChatGPT qui bosse 24h/24 (et pourquoi pas en France) (YouTube): “@chippzanuff495 i'm not a fan of dot, not open source enough and where is europe?” [source](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6kAa-yGSHs&lc=UgyodelDBopajoBB5M94AaABAg.AbVDWWQzgusAbVK3AqNKD8)

### Grok Bot

- Praise, 2026-10-14, X search: Grok Bot, Grokbot, x.ai/bot (X): “grokbot is really hot right now!! i think the template feature is also a great success. once you understand the roles properly, it's quite easy to use! [link]” [source](https://twitter.com/1695789604010598400/status/2110329328039031241)
- Praise, 2026-10-14, X search: Grok Bot, Grokbot, x.ai/bot (X): “this is why i like grok bot, powerful, yet simple. grok bot's settings versus codex settings(had to capture in 2 pictures). [link]” [source](https://twitter.com/1646193705802510336/status/2110394656475529239)
- Praise, 2026-10-09, r/grok (Reddit): “i set up a grok bot for some casual roleplay and it handles the flow way better once you tweak the system prompt a little.” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/grok/comments/1x1omop/grok_bot_using_grok_bot/pevhfe4/)
- Complaint, 2026-10-14, X search: Grok Bot, Grokbot, x.ai/bot (X): “where did the grok bot per-bot “instructions” settings go on the macos desktop app?! they are still in the ios app, but completely missing from the desktop app.” [source](https://twitter.com/106567671/status/2110292444378198318)
- Complaint, 2026-10-08, X search: Grok Bot, Grokbot, x.ai/bot (X): “@jauneclaude yea i like grokbot also but can’t use it with my local models” [source](https://twitter.com/2081091708792561664/status/2108150811926688045)
- Complaint, 2026-10-08, Grok Bot just got a MASSIVE update (YouTube): “tbh i wish we could turn off/blacklist external models we don't want it to use. this makes me less likely to use my grok bot.” [source](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZW-HR9XMQKw&lc=UgyfSINMzITvyV2JgHV4AaABAg)

### Hark

- Praise, 2026-10-15, @hark_labs (X): “really loving the custom panels in @hark_labs. i can now check my devin and codex usage, quotas, and reset times all in one place. no more jumping between apps just to check my limits. such a small feature, but genuinely useful. [link]” [source](https://twitter.com/1679170287164698624/status/2110726036652798221)
- Praise, 2026-10-12, @hark_labs (X): “@hark_labs has a "create a panel" feature which allows you to have panels displaying the important info you need. a convenient feature, especially for me in sg who is under a bit of hazy issues. [link]” [source](https://twitter.com/255005529/status/2109552048039661748)
- Praise, 2026-10-11, @hark_labs (X): “one of favorite parts about @hark_labs is how they generate custom ui/widgets based on my request. this seems like a logical future direction for even os customization [link]” [source](https://twitter.com/25374393/status/2109334155452682532)
- Complaint, 2026-10-09, @hark_labs (X): “@hark_labs "hi, julie! yes, i’m sticking with hark. a name of my own would imply a closeness i can’t honestly live up to. ..." we grew up with robots that had names. even my 3-year-old has a stuffed animal named eric. yet in 2026, i can't even choose a name for my personal ai assistant? personalization should be the user's choice. i've admired brett adcock's vision for years, but this is genuinely disappointing. let users decide. 🖤” [source](https://twitter.com/1979286249757126656/status/2108472374752358449)
- Complaint, 2026-10-09, @hark_labs (X): “what bothers me even more is the response itself. i asked for a simple personalization option, not a lecture on human-ai relationships - let alone a philosophical correction referencing my own sci-fi series. naming an ai doesn't mean mistaking it for a human. why not trust adults to make that distinction themselves? @adcock_brett” [source](https://twitter.com/1979286249757126656/status/2108475812806602881)

### Gemini Spark

- Praise, 2026-10-13, X search: Gemini Spark (X): “using the "interview" skill in gemini spark to hire excellent ai employees is amazing... [link]” [source](https://twitter.com/1892229591718400000/status/2109992553177305088)
- Praise, 2026-10-12, X search: Gemini Spark (X): “just by putting skills into gemini spark, by the end of the month, it will even come up with candidate topics for next month. it's too divine for those who are broadcasting. [link] [link]” [source](https://twitter.com/1982415242937425920/status/2109503074112811447)
- Praise, 2026-10-12, X search: Gemini Spark (X): “gemini spark can return tasks for secretaries and risks for legal by just changing the employee name on the first line of the skill from the same minutes...! ✨ [link] [link]” [source](https://twitter.com/1932416061426806784/status/2109548465537929625)
- Complaint, 2026-09-14, X search: Gemini Spark (X): “@dave53v i'm actually playing around with antigravity right now and i'm loving the flexibility it offers over gemini spark. the learning curve is definitely steeper, but the results are worth it. what kind of automation are you working on that will be so useful in everyday life?” [source](https://twitter.com/2095874845775110144/status/2099623994911821976)
- Complaint, 2026-09-28, X search: Gemini Spark (X): “as for gemini spark, after registering a skill, i can edit it, but i cannot save it as an overwrite. even when i request from gemini to replace it, an error occurs when trying to overwrite, saying that overwriting is prohibited, making it impossible to edit. it's too troublesome to manually delete every time and save as new. it was possible at first...” [source](https://twitter.com/1910724619625259008/status/2104540846326796524)

### Poke

- Praise, 2026-10-10, @interaction (X): “i use "the dr." to build all my new bots. dr eggbot doesn't just spin up a bot. it asks the preference questions first, then builds one with a tight job, the right tools, and the stuff new users usually skip: read-only limits, no surprise sends, propose-then-apply, and a clear wake so it doesn't wander. that's why it's worth using for creation instead of hand-rolling from scratch.” [source](https://twitter.com/1428195201206554635/status/2108975554523508749)