OpenClaw - Your Personal AI Assistant That Actually Does Things

Q: Is my data private and secure with OpenClaw?

Yes. OpenClaw runs entirely on your own infrastructure. Your conversations, data, and AI context never leave your devices unless you explicitly configure external integrations. You maintain complete control over your data and privacy.

Q: How much does OpenClaw cost?

OpenClaw is completely free and open-source. You only pay for the infrastructure you choose to run it on and any AI model API costs if you use cloud-based models. You can also run it entirely free with local AI models.

The Evolution of OpenClaw

From a weekend project to a community-driven open-source platform with over 100,000 GitHub stars

November 2025

Clawd is Born

What started as WhatsApp Relay became Clawd, a playful pun on Claude with a claw. The project quickly gained traction in the developer community as a self-hosted AI assistant that actually performs tasks.

January 27, 2026

Molting to Moltbot

Following a trademark request from Anthropic, the community came together in a 5am Discord brainstorm. Moltbot was chosen, representing growth as lobsters shed their shells to become something bigger.

January 29, 2026

Welcome to OpenClaw

After thorough trademark searches and community input, OpenClaw emerges. The name captures what the project has become: Open source, open to everyone, community-driven while honoring our lobster heritage.

Why OpenClaw Stands Out

Unlike SaaS assistants where your data lives on someone else's servers, OpenClaw runs where you choose

Privacy-First Architecture

Your assistant runs on your machine, whether that is your laptop, homelab, or VPS. Your infrastructure. Your keys. Your data. No cloud dependencies unless you choose them.

Works Where You Work

Chat with your AI assistant through WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord, Slack, Google Chat, Teams, or Twitch. No need to learn a new interface or switch apps.

Actually Takes Action

Not just a chatbot. OpenClaw clears your inbox, sends emails, manages your calendar, checks you in for flights, and automates repetitive tasks without manual intervention.

Open Source and Extensible

Built by the community, for the community. Over 100,000 GitHub stars and growing. Customize, extend, and contribute to make it yours. Full transparency in every line of code.

Persistent Memory

Your context and skills live on your computer, not in a walled garden. The AI remembers your preferences, workflows, and past conversations across all sessions.

Proactive Automation

Set up cron jobs, reminders, and background tasks. Your AI assistant works 24/7, even when you are not actively chatting with it. True hands-free automation.

What You Can Do With OpenClaw

From personal productivity to team collaboration, OpenClaw adapts to your needs

Email Management

Automatically sort, respond to, and archive emails. Clear your inbox while you sleep with intelligent filtering and automated responses.

Calendar Coordination

Schedule meetings, send reminders, and manage your time across multiple calendars. Never miss an appointment again.

Travel Automation

Check in for flights, track bookings, and get travel updates without lifting a finger. Your personal travel concierge.

Code Assistance

Run tests, capture errors through webhooks, resolve issues, and open pull requests autonomously. DevOps on autopilot.

Smart Home Control

Manage smart home devices, set routines, and automate your living space. Voice control meets intelligent automation.

Team Collaboration

Use as a company assistant, family coordinator, or team tool with shared context. One assistant for everyone.

What People Are Saying

Join thousands of users who have transformed their productivity with OpenClaw

"Setup OpenClaw yesterday. All I have to say is, wow. The fact that it can just keep building upon itself just by talking to it in Discord is crazy. The future is already here."

@jonahships_

Developer

"I tried to build my own AI assistant bots before, and I am very impressed how many hard things OpenClaw gets right. Persistent memory, persona onboarding, comms integration, heartbeats. The end result is AWESOME."

@AryehDubois

Tech Enthusiast

"I've been saying for like six months that even if LLMs suddenly stopped improving, we could spend years discovering new transformative uses. OpenClaw feels like that kind of just had to glue all the parts together leap forward."

@markjaquith

WordPress Core Developer

"Why OpenClaw is nuts: your context and skills live on YOUR computer, not a walled garden. It's open source. Growing community building skills. Only weeks old and constantly improving. Memory is amazing, context persists 24/7."

@danpeguine

Early Adopter

"Separate Claude subscription plus OpenClaw, managing sessions I can kick off anywhere, autonomously running tests on my app and capturing errors through webhooks then resolving them and opening PRs. The future is here."

@nateliason

Entrepreneur

"A smart model with eyes and hands at a desk with keyboard and mouse. You message it like a coworker and it does everything a person could do with that Mac mini. That's what you have now."

@nathanclark_

Tech Analyst

Frequently Asked Questions

Everything you need to know about OpenClaw

What is OpenClaw and how is it different from other AI assistants?

OpenClaw is a self-hosted, open-source AI assistant that runs on your own devices. Unlike cloud-based assistants like Siri or Alexa, your data never leaves your control. It integrates with the chat apps you already use like WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord, and Slack, and can actually perform tasks like managing emails, calendars, and automating workflows, not just answer questions.

Why did OpenClaw change its name from Clawdbot and Moltbot?

The project started as Clawd in November 2025. After a trademark request from Anthropic, it was renamed to Moltbot in January 2026. The final evolution to OpenClaw happened on January 29, 2026, after thorough trademark searches. The name OpenClaw better represents the project's open-source, community-driven nature while honoring the lobster heritage.

What platforms and chat apps does OpenClaw support?

OpenClaw works with WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord, Slack, Google Chat, Microsoft Teams, and Twitch. You can communicate with your AI assistant through any of these platforms without learning a new interface. The assistant responds in the same chat app you are already using.

Do I need technical knowledge to set up OpenClaw?

While OpenClaw is designed for developers and tech-savvy users, the setup process has been streamlined with native installers for macOS and Docker support for Linux and Windows. Basic command-line knowledge is helpful, but the community provides extensive documentation and support to help you get started.

Is my data private and secure with OpenClaw?

Yes. OpenClaw runs entirely on your own infrastructure, whether that is your laptop, a Mac Mini, a home server, or a VPS you control. Your conversations, data, and AI context never leave your devices unless you explicitly configure external integrations. You maintain complete control over your data and privacy.

What AI models does OpenClaw support?

OpenClaw supports multiple AI models including Claude from Anthropic, Gemini from Google, KIMI K2.5, Xiaomi MiMo-V2-Flash, and other popular language models. You can choose to use cloud-based models or run entirely offline with local models, depending on your privacy and performance requirements.

Can OpenClaw really automate tasks or is it just a chatbot?

OpenClaw goes far beyond simple chatbots. It can actively perform tasks such as clearing your inbox, sending emails, managing calendar appointments, checking you in for flights, running code tests, opening pull requests, controlling smart home devices, and executing scheduled background jobs. It has persistent memory and can work proactively 24/7.

How much does OpenClaw cost?

OpenClaw is completely free and open-source. The software itself costs nothing. You only pay for the infrastructure you choose to run it on like your own computer or cloud server, and any AI model API costs if you use cloud-based models. You can also run it entirely free with local AI models.

Your Personal AI Assistant That Actually Does Things