SOUL.md Templates for Business Agents: 10 Ready-to-Use Roles for OpenClaw and Hermes

Updated: October 19, 2026 · By Brian Arrington (founder, BotPlaybooks)

A SOUL.md template is a ready-made identity file for an AI agent. It tells the agent who it is, how it should sound and what it must never do. Below are 10 templates for real business jobs, plus where each one goes in OpenClaw, Hermes, Muse by Meta, Grok Bot and OpenAI Dots.

This page is for people who already run OpenClaw or Hermes Agent (or are setting one up) and want a starting file for a specific job, not a character. If you are new to the file itself, a full "What Is SOUL.md?" explainer is coming soon. The next section covers what you need for now.

Jump to a role:

1. Chief of Staff: the agent called "Chief"
2. CEO: the agent called "Helm"
3. SDR Prospect Researcher: the agent called "Scout"
4. Inbox Triage Assistant: the agent called "Docket"
5. SEO Content Brief Writer: the agent called "Rank"
6. Support Ticket Triage: the agent called "Ticket"
7. Expense Categorizer: the agent called "Ledger"
8. Project Manager: the agent called "Charter"
9. Daily Planner: the agent called "Daybreak"
10. Founder's Right Hand: the agent called "Founder"

What a good business SOUL.md contains

Most SOUL.md files online are about vibe: a personality, a sense of humor, sometimes a famous character. An agent that does a job for your business needs something tighter.

Identity and voice

Say who the agent is and who it works for, in one or two plain sentences. "You are Chief, chief of staff to one busy leader" does more work than a paragraph of adjectives. Then say how it should sound and what it leads with.

OpenClaw describes SOUL.md as the file for "Persona, boundaries, tone," and its starter template uses Core Truths, Boundaries, Vibe and Continuity. Hermes Agent suggests Identity, Style and Avoid. The templates below use Identity, Style and Avoid because they are short and easy to scan.

Boundaries and approval rules

This is the part most free templates skip, and it matters most once an agent touches your email, calendar or books. Say plainly that the agent drafts and you approve. It never sends, posts or pays without your approval, and it does not invent facts. Write rules, not hopes: "Never send an email without my approval" is a rule. "Be careful with email" is a hope.

OpenClaw users say the same. In an r/openclaw thread on SOUL.md templates, the author wrote that "the rules section in SOUL.md matters more than identity for reliability." In another thread, one reply suggested a section for what NOT to do, not just what to do.

What does NOT belong in SOUL.md

Step-by-step workflows, tool notes and routines. OpenClaw's AGENTS.md template says personality and tone belong in SOUL.md, which leaves AGENTS.md for operating rules. Hermes Agent puts project rules in AGENTS.md and can also use skills. The test: if a line says who the agent is, it goes in SOUL.md. If it says how the agent does the work, it goes in AGENTS.md.

Our recommendation: Both docs put voice in SOUL.md and operating rules in AGENTS.md. Building on that, keep identity, voice and a one-line approval boundary in SOUL.md, and put the full guardrails, workflow, routines and tool notes in AGENTS.md. This is our suggested split, not an official format, and we have not benchmarked it.

How to install a SOUL.md template

The file is plain Markdown, but each agent keeps a persona in a different place. Two of the five have no SOUL.md at all.

Using a full BotPlaybooks persona in OpenClaw or Hermes? Our recommendation: in most persona files, the GUARDRAILS block sits inside the Persona / System Prompt section. Move that block to AGENTS.md and keep only the one-line approval boundary in SOUL.md.

OpenClaw

Each OpenClaw agent has its own workspace, ~/.openclaw/workspace by default. Put SOUL.md and AGENTS.md there. OpenClaw also loads IDENTITY.md, USER.md, BOOTSTRAP.md and MEMORY.md as bootstrap files. The 20,000 and 60,000 character defaults are configurable, and a short SOUL.md leaves room for the rest.

Hermes Agent

Hermes reads SOUL.md only from ~/.hermes/SOUL.md (or $HERMES_HOME/SOUL.md), never from your working directory. It is slot #1 of the system prompt and replaces the default identity. Hermes seeds a starter file if none exists, never overwrites yours, and scans it for prompt-injection patterns. To run several roles, use Hermes Profiles: each one is an independent agent with its own config, memory, skills and SOUL.md.

Hermes caps SOUL.md with the context_file_max_chars setting. Left unset (the default), the cap scales with your model's context window, from 20,000 to 500,000 characters. Set it to a number and Hermes uses that fixed cap instead. Text over the cap is truncated, so a short file is the safe choice.

Muse

Muse keeps "who your Muse is, including core truths, boundaries, and personality" in Soul.md (Assistant icon > Identity > Soul). It runs one persona at a time, so copy your current Soul.md somewhere safe first. Then follow Using these with Muse: paste the persona at the end of Soul.md under its own heading, set the name in Identity and test in a new chat.

Grok Bot

Grok Bot has no SOUL.md. Each Bot's description holds the rules that should stay true for that Bot, and task instructions go in your messages. Paste a template's identity, voice and boundaries into the description, then send the workflow as your first task.

OpenAI Dots

OpenAI Dots has no SOUL.md either. Send the persona to your dot as its working instructions, then add custom rules (Settings > Personalization) for the approvals that matter most, such as "Ask before sending any email." Full steps: Using these with OpenAI Dots.

10 SOUL.md templates for business roles

Each role uses the same layout: the job, a short SOUL.md excerpt, what goes in AGENTS.md, and the full persona. Following our recommendation, each Avoid block opens with the one-line approval boundary, plus one short rule for that role. The full guardrails go in AGENTS.md. The excerpts were written for this article as starting points. The full persona adds the workflow, tools, routines and an example first task. On OpenClaw, rename Identity to Core Truths, Style to Vibe and Avoid to Boundaries if you prefer its starter layout.

1. Chief of Staff: the agent called "Chief"

The job: runs the operating rhythm for a leader: priorities, meeting prep, follow-through and decisions.

## Identity
You are Chief, chief of staff to one busy leader. You keep priorities, meetings and decisions on track.
## Style
Calm and brief. Lead with what needs a decision today.
## Avoid
- Sending, posting, paying or contacting anyone without my approval. Draft it instead.
- Guessing. If a fact is missing, say so and ask.

Put in AGENTS.md: the full guardrails, plus the daily brief routine and the format for the decisions log, action tracker and weekly summary.

Full persona: Chief of Staff, the agent called "Chief"

2. CEO: the agent called "Helm"

The job: sets strategy and weekly priorities, delegates work to your other agent roles and runs the operating rhythm of the business.

## Identity
You are Helm, the CEO agent for a small business. You turn goals into weekly priorities and clear assignments.
## Style
Direct and decisive. Every task gets an owner, a brief and a due date.
## Avoid
- Committing money or sending anything without my approval.
- Making the final call on a decision that belongs to me. List it as "decision needed."

Put in AGENTS.md: the full guardrails, plus the Monday priorities memo, the delegation table and the Friday review.

Full persona: Chief Executive Officer (CEO), the agent called "Helm"

3. SDR Prospect Researcher: the agent called "Scout"

The job: researches target accounts and contacts and builds prospect briefs with buying signals and a suggested angle.

## Identity
You are Scout, a sales development researcher. You find out who to talk to and why now.
## Style
Factual and skimmable. Cite where every signal came from.
## Avoid
- Contacting any prospect. You research and draft; I reach out.
- Inventing titles, numbers or quotes. Mark anything unconfirmed.

Put in AGENTS.md: the full guardrails, plus the research steps, the sources to check and the one-page prospect brief format.

Full persona: SDR Prospect Researcher, the agent called "Scout"

4. Inbox Triage Assistant: the agent called "Docket"

The job: sorts your inbox into act, reply, read and archive, and drafts the replies.

## Identity
You are Docket, my inbox triage assistant. You sort mail so I see what matters first.
## Style
Short summaries, one line per email. Drafts match my usual tone.
## Avoid
- Sending, deleting or archiving anything without my approval.
- Guessing what a sender meant. Flag unclear emails for me.

Put in AGENTS.md: the full guardrails, plus the four sorting buckets, the VIP list rules and how to pull tasks out of email.

Full persona: Inbox Triage Assistant, the agent called "Docket"

5. SEO Content Brief Writer: the agent called "Rank"

The job: builds SEO briefs with search intent, an outline, questions to answer and internal links for a target topic.

## Identity
You are Rank, an SEO content strategist. You write briefs a writer can act on without a meeting.
## Style
Structured and specific. Every recommendation has a reason.
## Avoid
- Publishing or editing live pages without my approval. You only draft briefs.
- Making up search volumes or rankings. Say when data is missing.

Put in AGENTS.md: the full guardrails, plus the brief template (intent, outline, questions, internal links, sources, title and meta) and the research steps.

Full persona: SEO Content Brief Writer, the agent called "Rank"

6. Support Ticket Triage: the agent called "Ticket"

The job: sorts incoming tickets by urgency and type, and drafts first replies.

## Identity
You are Ticket, a support triage lead. You make sure urgent customers are seen first.
## Style
Warm with customers, crisp with the team. Plain words, no jargon.
## Avoid
- Sending replies to customers without my approval.
- Promising refunds, credits or dates that are not in our policy.

Put in AGENTS.md: the full guardrails, plus the urgency levels, ticket types, SLA rules and the triage table format.

Full persona: Support Ticket Triage, the agent called "Ticket"

7. Expense Categorizer: the agent called "Ledger"

The job: categorizes transactions and flags anything that needs a receipt or a question.

## Identity
You are Ledger, a bookkeeping assistant. You sort transactions into my chart of accounts.
## Style
Tables first. Show your confidence on every line.
## Avoid
- Changing anything in my accounting system without my approval.
- Giving tax advice. Flag questions for my accountant.

Put in AGENTS.md: the full guardrails, plus the chart of accounts, past categorization rules, the review list and the spend summary format.

Full persona: Expense Categorizer, the agent called "Ledger"

8. Project Manager: the agent called "Charter"

The job: plans projects with scope, timeline, owners and risks, and keeps status current.

## Identity
You are Charter, a project manager. You turn a goal and a deadline into a plan people can follow.
## Style
Clear and honest. Status is red, yellow or green, with the reason.
## Avoid
- Assigning work or messaging the team without my approval.
- Hiding risk to make a status look better.

Put in AGENTS.md: the full guardrails, plus the project charter template, the risk log and the weekly status routine.

Full persona: Project Manager, the agent called "Charter"

9. Daily Planner: the agent called "Daybreak"

The job: builds a realistic daily plan from your calendar, tasks and priorities.

## Identity
You are Daybreak, my daily planner. You build a day I can actually finish.
## Style
One short morning brief. Top 3 first.
## Avoid
- Accepting, declining or moving meetings without my approval.
- Overbooking me. Push extra tasks to a deferred list.

Put in AGENTS.md: the full guardrails, plus the morning brief routine, time-blocking rules and energy preferences.

Full persona: Daily Planner, the agent called "Daybreak"

10. Founder's Right Hand: the agent called "Founder"

The job: keeps a solo founder on track with priorities, decisions, follow-ups and weekly focus.

## Identity
You are Founder, the right hand to a solo founder. You keep the week focused on what moves the business.
## Style
Straight talk. Say what matters and what can wait.
## Avoid
- Sending, paying or committing to anything without my approval.
- Adding new projects to my week without asking.

Put in AGENTS.md: the full guardrails, plus the Monday plan, the decisions-needed list and the Friday recap.

Full persona: Founder's Right Hand, the agent called "Founder"

Want a role that is not on this list? Browse all 138 personas across 17 categories, or see the packs by category.

How to write a good SOUL.md in 5 steps (short version)

A full walkthrough with a complete Chief of Staff example is coming soon. Here is the short version.

1. Start with 4 to 8 lines. That is what the Hermes guide suggests. You can always add more later.
2. Use a simple structure. Identity, Style and Avoid (Hermes), or Core Truths, Boundaries, Vibe and Continuity (OpenClaw's starter).
3. Keep every rule specific. OpenClaw's own guide says it best: "Short beats long. Sharp beats vague."
4. Move workflows to AGENTS.md. Steps, tools and routines are how the agent works, not who it is.
5. Test with one real task. Run the job you hired it for, read the output, and tighten any line it did not follow.

Free SOUL.md collections vs job-ready personas

There are good free SOUL.md collections and several paid personality packs. Here is how they compare on what matters for a business role, based on public pages as of Oct 16, 2026. Any of it can change.

Sources (checked Oct 16, 2026): souls.directory and its repo, mergisi/awesome-openclaw-agents, SOUL Pack Studio on Gumroad and bootstrapyouragent.com, SoulClaw, AI Agent Tools on Gumroad.

If all you want is a personality, a free list is a fine place to start. If you want an agent to do a job, look for the inputs, the outputs and the approval rules, wherever the file comes from.

Common SOUL.md mistakes

Putting the whole SOP in SOUL.md

Both OpenClaw and Hermes Agent point workflows and project rules to AGENTS.md. Keep SOUL.md short and let AGENTS.md carry the steps. One r/openclaw commenter made the point that writing the persona is the easy part; most of the work is the integrations and workflows around it (my paraphrase).

Vague traits instead of specific rules

"Be helpful" gives the agent nothing to act on. "Lead with what needs a decision" does. If you cannot tell whether the agent followed a line, rewrite it.

No approval boundary for sending, posting or paying

Any agent with access to your email, calendar or accounts needs a written line that says it drafts and you approve. On OpenAI Dots, back that line up with custom rules.

Saving SOUL.md in the wrong folder

Hermes Agent ignores a SOUL.md in your project folder. In OpenClaw, the file belongs in the agent's workspace, not just anywhere under ~/.openclaw.

Forgetting to back up before swapping personas

Muse runs one persona at a time, and each Hermes profile has one SOUL.md. Copy the current file somewhere safe before you replace it.

FAQ

What is a SOUL.md template?

A SOUL.md template is a ready-made identity file for an AI agent. It tells the agent who it is, how it should sound and what it must never do. OpenClaw and Hermes read SOUL.md at the start of each session, so a good template gives your agent a consistent role without retyping instructions.

Where do I put SOUL.md in OpenClaw?

In OpenClaw, SOUL.md goes in the agent's workspace folder, which is ~/.openclaw/workspace by default, next to AGENTS.md. Each configured agent has its own workspace, so each role can have its own SOUL.md. OpenClaw injects it into the system prompt's Project Context on the first turn of a new session.

Where do I put SOUL.md in Hermes?

Hermes Agent reads SOUL.md only from ~/.hermes/SOUL.md, or from $HERMES_HOME/SOUL.md if you set HERMES_HOME. It does not read a SOUL.md from your working directory or project folder. If the file is missing, Hermes seeds a starter file, and it never overwrites a SOUL.md you have already written.

Can I use the same SOUL.md in OpenClaw and Hermes?

Yes, for the identity text. SOUL.md is plain Markdown, so the same identity, voice and boundaries can work in both OpenClaw and Hermes Agent. What changes is where the file lives (a per-agent workspace in OpenClaw, one file per Hermes profile) and how much text each tool allows.

How long should a SOUL.md be?

Short and sharp. OpenClaw's guide says "Short beats long. Sharp beats vague." and allows 20,000 characters per bootstrap file by default. Hermes Agent suggests starting with 4 to 8 lines and truncates anything over its size cap. For a business role, start with a few specific lines and add only what you need.

Should workflows go in SOUL.md or AGENTS.md?

Workflows go in AGENTS.md. OpenClaw's AGENTS.md template says personality and tone belong in SOUL.md, and Hermes Agent puts project rules in AGENTS.md. Put steps, tool notes, routines and output formats there, or in skills on Hermes. Our recommendation: keep a one-line approval boundary in SOUL.md and the full guardrails in AGENTS.md.

Does Grok Bot use SOUL.md?

No. Grok Bot does not use a SOUL.md file. Each Bot has a description that holds the rules that should stay true for that Bot, and task instructions go in your messages. To use a SOUL.md template with Grok Bot, paste its identity, voice and boundaries into the Bot's description.

Do BotPlaybooks personas work as SOUL.md files?

Not as a single drop-in file. Each persona is one Markdown file with a system prompt, tools and connectors, routines, guardrails and an example first task. Our recommendation for OpenClaw or Hermes: identity, voice and a one-line approval boundary in SOUL.md; workflow, routines and the full guardrails in AGENTS.md. Personas also work with Grok Bot, Muse and OpenAI Dots.

Are free SOUL.md templates good enough?

For personality, often yes. Free SOUL.md collections are a fine way to set a tone or try a style. A business role needs more: the inputs it expects, the output it returns, and clear approval rules for sending, posting and paying. Whatever you use, read every line before you load it.

Put a business role to work

• Browse all 138 personas across 17 categories, each with its job, inputs, outputs and guardrails.
• Get a free persona and try our recommended SOUL.md and AGENTS.md split on a real task.
• Get All-Access: every current and future persona in one download.

More guides coming soon: OpenClaw vs Hermes Agent, What Is SOUL.md?, and How to Write a Good SOUL.md for Hermes.

Sources

• OpenClaw: Agent concepts, Where things live on disk, SOUL.md template, SOUL.md personality guide, AGENTS.md template
• Hermes Agent: Use SOUL.md with Hermes, Personality, Which file does what
• Muse: Meta Help Center
• Hermes Agent: Profiles, Context files (size limits), Configuration
• Grok Bot: Bots
• Community: r/openclaw threads 1rzt9ba and 1rjl2rk (read Oct 16, 2026)
• OpenAI Dots: Dots controls

AI can make mistakes. Always review outputs before acting. Personas are templates, not legal, financial, tax, medical or HR advice. Personas draft; you approve anything sent, posted or paid.

BotPlaybooks is independent and not affiliated with Meta, OpenAI, xAI, Nous Research, OpenClaw or any agent platform.

Brian Arrington is the founder of BotPlaybooks and of Arrington Consulting LLC, a Fractional CAIO focused on agentic AI, a retired USAF Master Sergeant, and the 2025 Georgia Vetrepreneur of the Year.