Why We Built TetherClaw for OpenClaw AND Hermes
We launched with two platforms on day one. The established community and the fastest-growing new entrant. Here's why — and how the relay architecture makes it work.
When I started building TetherClaw, I was using OpenClaw. That's where I live. It's what I know.
The problem I was solving — I can't reach my agents when I'm away from my desk, and nothing carries over when I do — has nothing to do with which platform you use. It's a structural gap in how AI agent workflows work today. Every serious agent setup requires you to be at a machine. The context breaks when you leave. That's true whether you're on OpenClaw, Hermes, or anything else.
So when we designed the relay architecture, we made a deliberate choice: don't build for one platform. Build for the problem.
Why OpenClaw
OpenClaw is where we started, and it's where a lot of serious builders live. Established ecosystem, active community, trusted by people running real workloads. If you're already running OpenClaw agents, TetherClaw connects you to them without exposing your network or setting up a VPN.
You install the relay, open the app, and your agents are there.
Why Hermes
Hermes has roughly 40,000 users and is the fastest-growing agent platform right now. When we looked at the landscape, one thing was obvious: there is zero dedicated mobile solution for Hermes users.
That's a gap. A large one. A community that size, running agents, with no way to reach them from their phone.
We built the Hermes integration at launch because the people using it deserved the same capability from day one — not as a future roadmap item.
Platform-Agnostic by Design
The TetherClaw relay is not a platform-specific tool. It's a translation layer that sits between the app and your local agent environment. It speaks a normalized protocol, and each platform has an adapter that converts native API shapes into that protocol.
Adding a new platform is a contained, well-defined problem. The pattern is proven.
The relay handles authentication, keeps your agents behind your own network, and passes commands and status updates without storing anything we don't need to.
What's Coming Next
We're evaluating additional platforms based on three criteria: active user base, no existing mobile solution, and a workable API.
If your platform meets those criteria and you want to talk, reach out.
How to Get Your Platform Integrated
The integration protocol is open. If you're building an agent platform and want TetherClaw support, everything you need is in the docs at tetherclaw.app.
We're not gatekeeping this. The more platforms the relay speaks, the more useful TetherClaw becomes for everyone.
If you're an agent platform builder: come talk to us. If you're a power user of a platform we don't support yet: tell us. That signal is how we prioritize.
The goal was never to be the app for one platform. It was to be the app that lets you run your agents from anywhere, regardless of what's running at home.
— The TetherClaw team