Meta Took SOUL.md from Open-Source OpenClaw and Admitted It
Meta has admitted that Muse was "heavily inspired" by Peter Steinberger's open-source OpenClaw project, including the SOUL.md pattern. The contents of the file in both projects turned out to be "nearly identical."
Nat Friedman, head of product at Meta Superintelligence Labs, said that Muse was "heavily inspired" by Peter Steinberger's open-source OpenClaw project. Meta took the file structure and the SOUL.md pattern from it. SOUL.md is a file that defines the agent's personality, communication style, and behavioral limits. The contents of SOUL.md in both projects turned out to be "nearly identical."
SOUL.md works like CLAUDE.md in Claude Code. It is one file that tells the agent who it is and what it must not do. One control point, not a complex configuration. Meta took exactly this for Muse, which currently holds the number one spot in the US App Store.
Source: techcrunch.com
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Author
Evgenii Arsentev
PhD · Chief Executive Officer, digital health
Articles · Latest articles