🦞 OpenClaw — The AI that actually does things for you.
Your private, self-hosted, autonomous personal AI assistant that lives in your messaging apps (WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord, Slack, iMessage, Signal & more), remembers everything, acts proactively, and executes real tasks on your behalf.
From clearing your inbox and scheduling meetings to checking you in for flights, summarizing documents, running terminal commands, controlling smart devices, pushing code, or even building new skills autonomously — OpenClaw turns natural language into real-world action.
Fully open-source, privacy-first, runs locally on your hardware (Mac, Linux, Windows, Raspberry Pi, VPS), bring-your-own-LLM (Claude, GPT, local models & more). No subscriptions, no cloud lock-in.
Perfect if you're searching for:
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- Why OpenClaw?
- Key Features
- How It Works
- Getting Started
- Supported Platforms & Integrations
- Security & Privacy
- Community & Skills
- Contributing
- License
- Acknowledgments
Most AI chatbots just talk.
OpenClaw acts.
Born in late 2025 (originally as Clawdbot → Moltbot → now OpenClaw), it exploded to become one of the fastest-growing open-source projects ever — crossing massive GitHub stars in days thanks to its agentic power, persistent memory, and ability to feel like a real digital employee.
- Runs locally → full data ownership & privacy
- Proactive heartbeat — it can message you first when something important happens
- Self-improving — autonomously writes code to create new tools/skills
- Integrates deeply with your life via messaging apps & computer access
- Community-driven — thousands of developers building skills & extensions
"OpenClaw is the closest thing to JARVIS we've seen in open source." — Community member
- 🎯 Autonomous Task Execution — send emails, manage calendar, book flights, research, automate workflows
- 🧠 Persistent Long-Term Memory — remembers preferences, context, history across all sessions
- 💬 Multi-Channel Access — chat via WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord, Slack, iMessage, Signal & more
- 🔧 Tool & Skill System — extensible via plugins/skills (email, files, browser, terminal, smart home…)
- ⚡ Proactive Behavior — heartbeat system notifies you of important events automatically
- 🛡️ Self-Hosted & Private — runs on your machine, no data leaves unless you allow it
- 🤖 Bring Your Own Model — Claude, GPT, Gemini, Llama, Mistral, local LLMs…
- 🔄 Self-Extending — can write & install new code/skills to solve novel problems
- Gateway — local control plane routes messages, manages sessions & memory
- LLM Brain — powerful model (e.g. Claude Opus/Sonnet) reasons & plans
- Tools & Skills — execute actions (read/write files, send messages, run commands…)
- Channels — talk to your assistant from any supported messaging app
- Heartbeat — periodic proactive checks & notifications
Your assistant lives 24/7 on your hardware, always ready, always remembering.
# 1. Clone the repo
git clone https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw.git
cd openclaw
# 2. Follow the quickstart (Docker recommended for easiest setup)
docker compose up -d
# 3. Open the Control UI
# http://localhost:18789 (or your-ip:18789) — add your LLM API key
# 4. Connect a messaging channel (WhatsApp/Telegram/etc.)
# Follow in-app instructions
# Full docs: https://docs.openclaw.aiDetailed guides: Quick Start | Docker | Mac M4 | Security Best Practices
- OS: macOS, Linux, Windows, Raspberry Pi, VPS
- Messaging: WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord, Slack, iMessage, Signal, SMS (via bridges)
- LLMs: Anthropic Claude, OpenAI GPT, Google Gemini, local models (Ollama, LM Studio…)
- Tools: Email (Gmail/Outlook), Calendar, Files, Terminal, Browser, Smart Home, Todoist, Notion, Spotify, Hue…
- Extensibility: Molthub / OpenClaw Skills Registry for community plugins
OpenClaw gives powerful system access — treat it with care.
- Runs locally — your data stays yours
- Granular permissions per skill/tool
- Audit logs of all actions
- Sandboxing options available
- Warning: Only grant access you trust. Review community security guides.
See: Security Model | Best Practices
Join thousands building the future of personal AI agents:
- 🌐 Website: https://openclaw.ai
- 📖 Docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai
- 💬 Discord / Community: Check openclaw.ai
- 🔍 Skills Registry: https://clawdhub.com (or molthub)
- Awesome List: https://github.com/VoltAgent/awesome-openclaw-skills
Star ⭐ the repo if you're excited about autonomous open-source AI!
We welcome contributions — code, skills, docs, bug reports, ideas.
- Fork & branch
- Make changes
- Open PR with clear description
See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.
MIT License — see LICENSE
Individual dependencies & skills may have their own licenses.
- Creator: Peter Steinberger (@steipete)
- Inspired by early experiments → Clawdbot → Moltbot → OpenClaw
- Huge thanks to the explosive community that made this one of the fastest-growing open-source AI projects ever
🦞 Let's build the future of personal AI — together!
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