OpenClaw

Key Features

• Local-First & Privacy-Centric: While most AI agents rely on cloud-hosted “walled gardens,” OpenClaw runs on your own machine (macOS, Windows or Linux). Your conversation history, configuration and long-term memory (stored in MEMORY.md) stay under your control.
• Multi-Channel Messaging Integration: You don’t need a new app to talk to OpenClaw. It integrates directly with the messaging platforms you use daily, e.g., WhatsApp, Microsoft Teams.
• Persistent Context & Long-Term Memory: OpenClaw solves the “amnesia” problem of standard LLMs. It proactively records facts about your life, like your flight preferences, your boss’s name, or your dietary restrictions, and uses this context to inform every future action without needing to be reminded.
• “Lobster” Workflow Engine: The built-in engine, Lobster, allows users to create deterministic pipelines. It can chain together multiple sub-agents (e.g., a “Researcher” agent findings being passed to a “Writer” agent) to complete high-level objectives autonomously.
• ClawHub & Skills Ecosystem: OpenClaw’s capabilities are infinitely expandable through “Skills.” Via ClawHub, users can install community-made plugins that allow the agent to control smart home devices, interact with GitHub, manage crypto wallets, or scrape specific web data.

Company Background

OpenClaw was founded in late 2025 by Peter Steinberger, a renowned Austrian developer and the founder of PSPDFKit. What began as a “WhatsApp Relay” hobby project quickly spiraled into one of the fastest-growing repositories in GitHub history, amassing over 100,000 stars in just months.

The project’s rapid evolution is visible in its branding history; originally launched as Clawdbot, it was renamed Moltbot following trademark discussions with Anthropic (makers of Claude), before finally settling on OpenClaw in early 2026. In February 2026, Steinberger announced he was joining OpenAI, leading to the project’s transition into an independent open-source foundation to ensure its longevity as a community-driven tool.

User Experience

The OpenClaw user experience is designed for power users and “vibe coders” rather than casual consumers.

• The Interface: There is no “shiny” web dashboard. Interaction happens primarily through a Command Line Interface (CLI) for setup and your favorite messaging apps for daily use.
• The “Proactive” Feel: Once configured, the UX shifts from “searching for answers” to “receiving updates.” You might receive a Telegram message saying, “I noticed an urgent email from your landlord and drafted a reply based on our previous conversation. Should I send it?”
• Technical Barrier: The initial setup requires comfort with terminal commands and Docker. It is often described as “building your own engine”, labor-intensive at first, but offering unparalleled performance once running.

Cost

OpenClaw is released under the MIT License, meaning the software itself is 100% free. However, running a “24/7 digital employee” incurs operational costs:

• Hosting: Most users run OpenClaw on a Raspberry Pi at home (one-time cost) or a Virtual Private Server (VPS) like DigitalOcean or AWS to keep it online 24/7.
• AI Model Tokens: You pay for what you use. Heavy browser automation (which takes screenshots) or using premium models like Claude 3.5 Opus can increase costs.

To minimize costs, many users configure OpenClaw to use DeepSeek or GPT-4o-mini for routine tasks and only “wake up” expensive models for complex reasoning.

In summary, OpenClaw represents a significant evolution from reactive AI chatbots toward proactive AI agents that can act on your behalf. Unlike traditional assistants that wait for prompts, OpenClaw can operate persistently, maintain context and execute multi-step workflows across connected systems. Its self-hosted nature provides greater control and customization, making it attractive for developers and power users. However, because it requires deep access to credentials, files and external services, strong monitoring and credential management are essential to mitigate operational and cyber risks.