I built an open-source alternative to Claude Cowork

In plain words

Valmis is an open-source AI agent platform designed to automate work tasks while prioritizing security. It integrates with over 100 apps and services, making it suitable for teams needing reliable automation with actual coworkers rather than personal assistants. The system uses a dockerized proxy architecture that isolates agent runtime from direct API access, allowing credentials to be managed securely on the host machine while the agent container can operate without internet access.

written from the facts on this page · September 2026

From the sources

Valmis is an OpenClaw alternative that is designed for work. You can think of it as an open-source alternative to Claude Cowork. You can connect to more than 100 business and productivity apps with your AI agent. The system is designed with security in mind, meaning the agent never gets access to your API credentials. All requests are made via proxy. Agents are dockerized so they can't access your host files. Valmis is designed to run on the cloud and collaborate with humans to get work done.

The AI Agent designed for work with security in mind. - valmishq/valmis

In the maker’s words, at launch

Hey HN, A few months ago, I tried to automate some of my work with the popular AI agent OpenClaw, and then I quickly realized how difficult it is to get it to work with APIs and third-party services securely, which is essential for a lot of work-related tasks. Then I realized OpenClaw is more of a personal assistant…

• 
  OpenClawJan 2026 · openclaw.ai · ▲836

  The AI that actually does things

• 
  BudaMay 2026 · buda.im · ▲197

  Run a full AI agent team in the cloud — no hardware, no setup. Persistent memory, browser automation, parallel agents. The OpenClaw alternative built for teams. Start free.

• KO
  Klaus – OpenClaw on a VM, batteries includedMar 2026 · klausai.com · ▲160

  We are Bailey and Robbie and we are working on Klaus (https://klausai.com/): hosted OpenClaw that is secure and powerful out of the box. Running OpenClaw requires setting up a cloud VM or local container (a pain) or giving OpenClaw root access to your machine (insecure). Many basic integrations (eg Slack, Google Workspace) require you to create your own OAuth app. We make running OpenClaw simple by giving each user their own EC2 instance, preconfigured with keys for OpenRouter, AgentMail, and Orthogonal. And we have OAuth apps to make it easy to integrate with Slack and Google…

• 
  Atomic2023 · github.com · ▲140

  Hey HN, I’ve been building Atom (https://github.com/rush86999/atom), an open-source, self-hosted AI automation platform. I built this because while tools like OpenClaw are excellent for one-off scripts and personal tasks, I found them difficult to use for complex business workflows (e.g., managing invoices or SaaS ops). The main issue was State Blindness: the agent would fire a command and assume it worked, without "seeing" if the UI or state actually updated. I just shipped a new architecture to solve this called Canvas AI Accessibility. The Technical Concept: Instead of…

• 
  Remote OpenClawJul 2026 · codexmarketplaces.com · ▲81

  13,000+ MCP servers, skills & plugins for AI coding agents

• 
  VidClawFeb 2026 · vidclaw.com · ▲102

  I run an OpenClaw agent named Jimmy. Jimmy handles SEO tracking, content writing, and code tasks for my projects. Managing it all entirely through chat got messy fast. Thus I built VidClaw. It's a self-hosted dashboard that gives you: - Kanban board where you drag tasks and the agent picks them up automatically - Real-time token usage - Model switching - Soul editor - Skills manager - Activity calendar The whole thing binds to localhost only — you access it through an SSH tunnel. No accounts, no cloud, no tracking. Your data stays on your machine. Stack: React + Vite + Tailwind on the…

• 
  Spira Maxima▲578

  Video model that turns script into viral social media videos

  AI · 18d ago · spira.ai

• 
  Rill Browser▲540

  The browser where Claude Code and Codex work beside you

  AI · 18d ago · rill.love

• 
  Germany's new sovereign AI model Kolibri▲424

  Kolibri is Aleph Alpha

  AI · 20d ago · tej.as

• 
  Giving Opus 5.5 a simulated paint canvas▲392

  Paintings by AI models: programs run through a simulation of oil paint.

  AI · 21d ago · stillwet.art

• 
  PixVerse R2▲381

  A real-time world model you can explore and change

  AI · 30d ago · world.pixverse.video

• 
  Beam.win▲378

  Run AI agents on one Mac and use its windows on another

  AI · 4d ago · beam.win

• IR
  I replaced a $120k bowling center system with $1,600 in ESP32s▲2,935

  I might be the only SRE on Earth with his own bowling center. It's a more in-depth gig than you'd think. My family and I bought an abandoned 8-lane bowling center in the rural mid-west. In our small town there weren't many recreation options for families. You've heard of a food desert? This is an R&R desert. It had been abandoned for a good reason. The roof leaks, the electrical system was constantly surging, and my 70-year-old bowling equipment (still) doesn't work perfectly. The system that keeps your score is particularly interesting to me. It's the thing you watch during your game, but…

  Life & fun · Jul 2026

• 
  Elevators▲1,680

  How elevators push your buttons

  Life & fun · Jul 2026 · john.fun

• 
  18 Words▲1,160

  Play 18 Words, the free daily word puzzle. The official home is 18words.com. Tap Play now to open today

  Life & fun · Jul 2026 · 18words.com

• BA
  Bento - An entire PowerPoint in one HTML file (edit+view+data+collab)▲1,033

  Over the past few months, our team has been building more and more slidedecks using web frontend technologies with coding harnesses like Claude Code, but a common complaint is to make even small edits we need to edit the code either manually or via the harness. To avoid this loop, I ended up creating Bento, a single HTML file with everything you need in a slide tool including animations and shared editing. There's no install or cloud login, everything works offline. The default deck is around 560 KB and it doesn't need to fetch anything once you got it. Open it in a browser and then you can…

  Dev tools · Jul 2026 · bento.page

• 
  Getting GLM 5.2 running on my slow computer▲937

  A few days ago I found myself trying out GLM 5.2 and was really positively impressed. The capabilities and security I was getting from this LLM are similar to those I've gotten from models like Claude or GPT, and this really surprised me. But then I thought, "I wonder how it would work on a normal computer like mine," and above all, "I wonder if it would work without going into OOM on a computer like mine." So I started working with the help of agents to test this possibility. I started converting the model to int4, understanding MTP usage, and if possible implementing DSA for long context.…

  AI · Jul 2026 · github.com

• 
  OpenSEO▲928

  Hello! For the last 2 months, I've been building OpenSEO. It's a user friendly UI wrapping the DataForSEO API which has high quality SEO data for keywords, backlinks, AI SEO and competitor research. Instead of paying $100+ per month, you buy DataForSEO credits and pay only for usage. The coolest thing about the project so far has been hearing about what people are building on top of it. People are using coding agents to quickly integrate with Google Search Console, Google Ads and building their own AI SEO and reporting features. Many were already building their own custom solutions around…

  Dev tools · Jul 2026 · openseo.so