> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://powercontext.mintlify.site/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Common agents overview > Choose among Hermes, OpenClaw, WorkBuddy, and Agent Plugin, then keep installation, activation, Server startup, and diagnostics separate. > [!WARNING] > > `powercontext setup ` installs and configures a host integration. It does not start the PowerContext Server. A completed setup is not proof that recall or writes can reach the Server. This section starts with two general-purpose hosts that have first-class setup commands: Hermes and OpenClaw. The other two pages are [WorkBuddy](https://powercontext.mintlify.site/en/common-agents/workbuddy.md) and [Agent Plugin](https://powercontext.mintlify.site/en/common-agents/agent-plugin.md). They connect to the same Server, but their host contracts are different. Pick the host first; do not copy settings from one into the other. ## The four layers Treat installation as four separate layers: 1. **Install** the PowerContext CLI and Server package. 2. **Set up and activate** the host integration. Setup copies or links files; activation makes the host use them. 3. **Run the Server** as a separate process. 4. **Diagnose** the package, Server, and host integration at their own boundaries. A local learning setup starts here: ```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark"}} uv tool install --force "powercontext[cli,server] @ git+https://github.com/oceanbase/powercontext.git@master" powercontext server run ``` The default Server listens on `127.0.0.1:8000` and uses persistent SQLite. It accepts Source capture and explicit Memory operations. Model-backed extraction and managed Skill generation require separate inference configuration. If you want to install both host integrations in one pass, run this in another terminal: ```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark"}} powercontext setup select \ --host hermes \ --host openclaw \ --source oceanbase/powercontext \ --ref master ``` `--host` is repeatable. Setup follows catalog order, continues after one selected host fails, and exits nonzero if any selected install fails. It never silently selects every host. Hermes still needs its generic memory-provider wizard afterward; OpenClaw setup selects the memory slot and restarts its Gateway. Use the comparison table to choose a path, not as a substitute for the host tutorial. Hermes fits work that needs a broader PowerContext surface. OpenClaw exposes only Memory and applies stricter private-session admission. WorkBuddy and Agent Plugin have independent paths; adding either to `setup select` does not create the same automatic behavior. ## Hermes or OpenClaw? The deciding difference is scope, not the number of checkmarks. Hermes exposes more PowerContext operations; OpenClaw narrows the surface to Memory and applies its own session-admission rules. | Capability | Hermes | OpenClaw | | - | - | - | | Minimum host version | **Version-gated:** Hermes Agent `>=0.20.4` | **Version-gated:** OpenClaw `>=2026.8.1-beta.2`; Node 24.15+ is recommended for that host release | | Installed pieces | MemoryProvider plus `/pc` command companion | Linked `memory-powercontext` plugin in the memory slot | | Activation after setup | Run generic `hermes memory setup`, select PowerContext, then restart Hermes | Setup enables the plugin, selects the memory slot, updates the allowlist, and restarts the Gateway | | Automatic recall | Yes | Yes | | Automatic capture | Completed visible user/assistant turn by default | Latest eligible user prompt only; never the full transcript | | Explicit Memory surface | Search, exact get, remember, revise, retire, prepare, capture, list, changes, Flush, and stats | Exactly five tools: search, get, store, revise, and retire | | Other PowerContext planes | Handoff, Experience, Skill, external Skill, Candidate Review, workstream, and trace operations | **Unsupported:** no Handoff, Review, Experience, or Skill operations | | Scope | Explicit configuration, then Workstream binding, then profile/user fallback | Agent scope, or agent-plus-project scope; project mode still contains agent ID | | Conversation eligibility | No group/incognito gate supplied by this integration | Explicit group/channel and incognito are excluded; missing metadata may fall back to session-key heuristics | | Slash commands | `/pc` and `/powercontext`; Gateway slash calls fail closed without caller context | No matching slash-command surface | Hermes is the broader PowerContext client. OpenClaw deliberately exposes only the Memory plane and applies a stricter session-privacy gate. ## Activation is not Server startup For Hermes, setup installs two plugins but does not select PowerContext as the active memory provider. Finish activation with: ```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark"}} hermes memory setup ``` Choose `PowerContext`, complete the provider settings, and restart Hermes. On Hermes 0.20.4, do not use `hermes memory setup powercontext`: that shortcut selects the provider without opening its configuration wizard. OpenClaw setup does more host-side work. It builds the plugin with `pnpm`, installs it with `--link --force`, enables it, selects `plugins.slots.memory`, appends the five tools to `tools.alsoAllow`, and restarts the Gateway. It still does not run PowerContext Server. ## Minimal verification Run package and Server checks separately from host checks: ```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark"}} powercontext doctor powercontext ready powercontext capabilities powercontext doctor hermes powercontext doctor openclaw ``` These commands answer different questions: | Command | Boundary | | - | - | | `powercontext doctor` | Package, Server liveness, and Server readiness; it does not scan agent hosts | | `powercontext ready` | Runtime, database, and inference readiness | | `powercontext capabilities` | Server features that are currently enabled | | `powercontext doctor ` | One host CLI and that integration's installation state; a missing host fails | | `powercontext doctor integrations` | Read-only matrix for the seven first-class hosts; an absent optional host is `missing`, not a failure by itself | `doctor hermes` checks the provider and command companion, but not active-provider selection, provider configuration, Server reachability, or a recall round trip. `doctor openclaw` checks that the plugin reports enabled, loaded, and selected for the memory slot. It does not check host version, endpoint, Gateway token, Server reachability, tool allowlist entries, or a real recall/capture round trip. There is also one aggregate-report edge case: `doctor integrations` currently drops Hermes's `command_plugin` result. Use `doctor hermes` when that companion matters. Installation, activation, and runtime are separate states. A copied plugin can still be inactive; an active plugin can still point at a stopped Server; and a healthy Server says nothing about which Scope the host selected. Diagnose those states in that order, because each has a different repair. ## Execution flow ```mermaid theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark"}} flowchart LR U[User turn] --> H[Host integration] H --> P[Prepare from active Scope] P --> M[Model call] M --> W[Automatic capture or explicit tool] W --> S[PowerContext Server] S --> D[(Artifacts)] ``` Automatic recall and capture are auxiliary paths and normally fail open. Explicit durable writes must report failure to the host. A captured Source is not automatically a Memory: extraction may be disabled, may fail, or may produce no change. ## Negative paths to test * Stop the Server. The host's ordinary task should continue without recalled context, while an explicit write reports an error. * Use an old host version. Setup should reject it before installation. * Complete setup but skip activation. Hermes should not be described as ready merely because its plugin directories exist. * Run `doctor integrations` on a machine without either host. Missing optional CLIs should be reported without turning the aggregate command into a failure. * Switch Scope and search for data from the old Scope. No entry should cross the boundary. * Put a secret in captured text. Neither integration provides complete DLP; privacy policy must prevent the capture rather than relying on heuristic filtering. ## WorkBuddy and Agent Plugin These two pages belong in this chapter, but they are not in the first-class catalog used by `setup select` and `doctor integrations`. | Capability | WorkBuddy | Agent Plugin | | - | - | - | | Automatic event | `UserPromptSubmit` | None | | Injection | `additionalContext` | None; MCP only | | Prompt capture | Yes | No | | Explicit interface | MCP | MCP | | Handoff | MCP + Skill | MCP + Skill | | Permission | Host-gated | Host-gated | | Managed Skill export | Unsupported | Unsupported | | Real-host E2E | Not validated (service-chain only) | Not validated (package contract only) | | Catalog | Dedicated `setup` / `doctor`; not first-class | No setup / doctor | Do not describe WorkBuddy as a `setup select` member. Do not describe Agent Plugin as a host that prepares context automatically. The verification contracts are on [WorkBuddy](https://powercontext.mintlify.site/en/common-agents/workbuddy.md) and [Agent Plugin](https://powercontext.mintlify.site/en/common-agents/agent-plugin.md). ## Other names you may encounter Bub is narrower still in this checkout: it appears as a package/README integration path, not as a first-class host setup and diagnostics entry. LangChain, LangGraph, and Pydantic AI are framework integrations, not hosts in this catalog. ## Current limits * Setup and activation never replace Server supervision. Run the Server under the process manager appropriate to your environment. * A doctor result is a bounded installation diagnostic, not an end-to-end proof. * Automatic capture does not prove extraction or commit. * Full-capability generation, embedding, reranking, and managed Skill generation need explicit inference configuration. * A real Hermes/OpenClaw host-process end-to-end run is **Not validated** by these pages; the claims here come from current implementation and tests. ## Completion checklist * The host meets its minimum version. * PowerContext CLI/Server installation is separate from host setup. * Hermes activation or OpenClaw memory-slot selection is complete. * The Server is running at the configured endpoint. * `doctor`, `ready`, and `capabilities` pass at the Server boundary. * The single-host doctor passes, with its documented limits understood. * Scope isolation has a negative test. * Server outage leaves automatic paths fail-open and explicit writes visible. * Capture policy is acceptable before `autoCapture` or `capture_turns` remains enabled. Continue with [Hermes](https://powercontext.mintlify.site/en/common-agents/hermes.md) for the full provider surface, or [OpenClaw](https://powercontext.mintlify.site/en/common-agents/openclaw.md) for the narrower Memory-only path. Use the matching page for WorkBuddy or the portable Agent Plugin. [Let the agent extend itself](https://powercontext.mintlify.site/en/common-agents/agent-self-extension.md) covers Review and managed export. Hermes, OpenClaw, WorkBuddy, and Agent Plugin **cannot** export. After Review, switch to [Codex](https://powercontext.mintlify.site/en/coding-agents/codex.md) or [Claude Code](https://powercontext.mintlify.site/en/coding-agents/claude-code.md). This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.