CowAgent
Open-source personal AI assistant that plans tasks, uses tools, and keeps memory across chat platforms.
- Stars
- 47.8k
- Forks
- 10.4k
- Licence
- MIT
- Language
- Python
- Last update
- 4 days ago
- Type
- App
What it is
CowAgent is an open-source AI assistant meant to run 24/7 on a personal computer or server. It can plan multi-step tasks, use tools and skills, keep long-term memory and a knowledge base, and be reached through a web console or chat apps such as WeChat, Feishu, DingTalk, Telegram and Slack. You connect it to a model provider of your choice, such as Claude, GPT, Gemini or DeepSeek.
- Chat with an assistant on WeChat, Feishu, Telegram or Slack that uses your chosen model
- Install skills from the Skill Hub or GitHub to extend what the assistant can do
- Run scheduled or unfinished tasks through the built-in scheduler and tools
- Build a small team of agents with separate roles and models in a shared conversation
Great for
- People who want a self-hosted personal assistant reachable from their everyday chat apps
- Developers who want an extensible agent framework with skills and MCP support
- Users who want to switch between several LLM providers without rewriting setup
- Teams experimenting with shared multi-agent conversations
Not ideal for
- Users who need a simple hosted service with no setup, since the README centers on self-hosting or a separate online option
- People who are uncomfortable giving an AI agent access to their computer and external accounts, because it can control files, terminal and browser
- Users who only need a basic chatbot, since the feature set is broad and heavier to run
How to get it
- 1
Install with a package manager
You'll need: Docker (for the Docker option) · Bash or PowerShell (for the one-line installers)
Linux / macOS one-line installer
bash <(curl -fsSL https://cdn.link-ai.tech/code/cow/run.sh)Windows (PowerShell) one-line installer
irm https://cdn.link-ai.tech/code/cow/run.ps1 | iexDocker setup
curl -O https://cdn.link-ai.tech/code/cow/docker-compose.yml && docker compose up -d - 2
Run it
- Run the one-line installer for your operating system, or start the Docker setup
- Open http://localhost:9899 in a browser to reach the Web console
- In the Web console, configure a model provider and connect a channel
- Install a skill or chat with the Agent to test it
- 3
Get the most out of it
- Use the cow CLI (cow start, cow status, cow logs, cow update) to manage the service
- Install skills from Skill Hub, GitHub or ClawHub to extend capabilities
- Set web_password and web_host in config.json before exposing the console on a server
- Create a team of agents with separate roles and models for complex tasks
- Connect IM channels such as WeChat, Feishu or Telegram to use the assistant where you already work
Downloads
Strengths
- Supports many model providers and lets you route chat, vision, speech and embeddings to different vendors
- Offers a one-line installer, Docker option and desktop client for different setups
- MIT licensed with a large community and active development
Trade-offs
- Broad permissions (files, terminal, browser) raise security and privacy considerations that the user must manage
- The README is truncated and does not fully document every configuration option, so confidence in details is limited
- Running it 24/7 on a server requires opening a port and setting a web password, which adds setup work
How it compares
| Project | Stars | Type | Level | Updated | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CowAgent (this) | 47.8k | App | intermediate | 4 days ago | People who want a self-hosted personal assistant reachable from their everyday chat apps |
| openclaw | 394k | App | intermediate | 4 days ago | People who want an AI assistant that runs on their own machine rather than a hosted service |
| nanobot | 49.8k | App | intermediate | 4 days ago | People who want a self-hosted personal assistant they can inspect and customize |
| oh-my-pi | 37.5k | CLI | intermediate | 4 days ago | Developers who want an AI agent working inside a terminal on their own codebase |
| jcode | 21.4k | CLI | intermediate | 4 days ago | Developers who want several AI coding agents working on one repo at the same time |
| edict | 17k | AI model / agent | advanced | 1 months ago | Developers already running OpenClaw who want a multi-agent workflow with visible task history |
Stats synced from GitHub. The assessment above was drafted with AI from the project's README on 2026-10-29 and may miss recent changes — check the README before relying on a command. MIT licence: free to use, modify and distribute, including commercially, as long as you keep the copyright notice.