Migrating Between OpenClaw and Hermes Agent (or Running Both)

You can migrate between OpenClaw and Hermes Agent, but there is no clean data import - the two share no memory format, plugin system, or channel bridge. Your model keys, local models, and server hardening carry over; everything else is a re-setup. Many people skip the choice entirely and run both, using each for what it does best.

If you already run one of these and keep eyeing the other, this guide is for you. It covers exactly what moves with you, what you rebuild from scratch, how to switch without losing your working setup, and the case for keeping both running at once. It works the same in both directions, so read it whichever way you are heading.

What are you actually moving between?

The two projects sound like competitors, and on a feature list they overlap. In practice they occupy different jobs, and that shapes every migration decision.

OpenClaw is a self-hosted assistant gateway. It is a Node.js service (currently v2026.7.1, MIT-licensed, roughly $6-11/month all-in) that lives inside your chat apps - WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord, iMessage, Slack - and actually does things: runs commands, drives a browser, touches files, reads your calendar. It is multi-provider, so it happily pairs with OpenAI, Claude, Gemini, or a local Ollama model. Its superpower is reach: your assistant is one message away, wherever you already chat.

Hermes Agent is a self-hosted agent runtime from Nous Research. It is a headless VPS service (MIT-licensed, runs on a $5 VPS) that pairs with any model and auto-detects your Ollama models, applying per-model tool-call parsers so local models actually call tools reliably. Its distinguishing feature is a learning loop - repeated tasks become reusable skills - backed by multiple layers of persistent memory that survive across sessions. Its superpower is not reach, it is accumulation: it gets better at your recurring work over time.

So the honest framing is that OpenClaw is the front door that does things and Hermes Agent is the brain that learns. Migrating from one to the other is less an upgrade than a change of job. That is worth knowing before you unplug anything. Our full OpenClaw vs Hermes Agent breakdown goes deeper on the feature-by-feature side.

What transfers and what does not?

Here is the core of it. Some of your setup is genuinely portable because it belongs to you, not to the software. The rest is project-specific and has to be rebuilt.

The pattern is clear once you see it: anything that is really yours - your accounts, your models, your server - moves without friction. Anything the software created to represent your history or capabilities stays behind. That is why the right mental model is re-setup and re-connect, not data import. If you go in expecting to carry your memory across, you will be disappointed; if you go in expecting a clean rebuild on familiar foundations, it is a smooth afternoon.

One thing worth its own line: on OpenClaw, that non-transferable memory and those channel connections are exactly what you should have backed up. If you have not set that up, our OpenClaw backup and restore guide is the 20-minute insurance policy - do it before you touch anything.

How do you migrate safely?

The golden rule is never to tear down the working thing before the new thing answers. Run them in parallel, test, then cut over. Here is the checklist, and it reads the same in both directions.

1. Back up first. Archive the current config, environment variables, and any memory or data directories. Even though memory will not transfer, a backup means you can roll back if you change your mind mid-switch.
2. Stand up the new runtime alongside the old one. Install it on the same VPS on a different port, or on a second VPS. Do not remove the old instance yet - it is your fallback.
3. Re-point your model provider. Paste the same API keys into the new config, and point it at your existing Ollama models if you run local.
4. Rebuild the project-specific layer. Moving to OpenClaw, that means re-connecting your channels (WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord). Moving to Hermes Agent, it means enabling memory and letting the learning loop start re-forming skills from your recurring tasks.
5. Test in parallel. Run real tasks against the new instance while the old one still handles live traffic. Confirm tool calls fire, models respond, and (for OpenClaw) channels deliver.
6. Cut over, then retire the old one. Once the new runtime is answering reliably, move your traffic across, watch it for a day or two, then shut the old instance down.

The whole discipline is the same one we recommend for any OpenClaw migration to a new VPS: keep the old instance alive until the new one is proven. The only difference here is that the new instance is a different piece of software, so “proven” includes rebuilding the channels or the memory layer, not just restoring a backup.

Should you run both?

For a lot of people, the best answer is not either/or. Because OpenClaw and Hermes Agent solve different problems, running both gives you the messaging reach of one and the persistent, skill-building autonomy of the other. Use OpenClaw as the chat-app front door you talk to all day, and let Hermes Agent handle the background work that benefits from accumulated memory - the recurring research, the multi-step tasks you would rather not re-explain every time.

Running both is straightforward if you respect a few boundaries:

• Isolate ports. Give each service its own port so they never collide. This is the single most common cause of a broken dual setup.
• Separate reverse-proxy routes. Route each behind its own subdomain or path in nginx, each with its own TLS. They should never share an upstream.
• Watch resource usage. Two Node-and-Python services plus local models will strain a bare $5 VPS. Size up to a 2GB or larger instance, or split them across two boxes - especially if Ollama is doing the inference.
• Keep credentials separate. Even with the same API keys, keep each service’s config and secrets in its own directory so a change to one never disturbs the other.

Done this way, both run happily on the same server, and you get the front door and the brain without choosing.

When does each move make sense?

To make this concrete, here is when each direction is the right call.

Move to OpenClaw (or add it) when your priority is reach - you want to talk to your assistant from WhatsApp or Telegram, have it run commands and touch files, and you value being one message away over long-term memory. It is also the friendlier starting point if you are new to self-hosting; our managed OpenClaw vs self-hosted breakdown covers whether to run it yourself or have it installed.

Move to Hermes Agent (or add it) when your priority is depth - you have recurring, multi-step work that would benefit from an agent that remembers across sessions and turns repeated tasks into reusable skills. Its layered persistent memory and learning loop are the point, and they pay off most on work you do again and again. If you are heading this way, our self-host Hermes Agent guide walks through the VPS setup.

Run both when you want messaging reach and persistent autonomous work at the same time and your VPS (or budget for a second one) can carry the load. This is the setup power users tend to land on once they have lived with each for a while.

The bottom line

A migration between OpenClaw and Hermes Agent is a re-setup, not a data transfer. Your keys, your models, and your hardened server come with you; your memory, skills, and channels get rebuilt on the other side. That sounds like more work than it is - the reusable foundations are exactly the parts that took the longest to get right the first time, and they carry over untouched.

Before you decide, be honest about which job you are actually hiring for: the front door that does things, the brain that learns, or both. If it is both, run both. If you would rather not spend the afternoon on ports, proxies, and re-connecting channels, that is exactly what our upgrades and migrations service exists for - we will move you cleanly in either direction, or stand up both side by side, and a free consultation will tell you which setup fits your workload within one business day.