EXFOLIATE! EXFOLIATE!
CI status GitHub release Discord MIT License
OpenClaw is a personal AI assistant you run on your own devices. It answers you on the channels you already use (WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack, Discord, Google Chat, Signal, iMessage, BlueBubbles, IRC, Microsoft Teams, Matrix, Feishu, LINE, Mattermost, Nextcloud Talk, Nostr, Synology Chat, Tlon, Twitch, Zalo, Zalo Personal, WebChat). It can speak and listen on macOS/iOS/Android, and can render a live Canvas you control. The Gateway is just the control plane β the product is the assistant.
If you want a personal, single-user assistant that feels local, fast, and always-on, this is it.
Website Β· Docs Β· Vision Β· DeepWiki Β· Getting Started Β· Updating Β· Showcase Β· FAQ Β· Wizard Β· Nix Β· Docker Β· Discord
Preferred setup: run the onboarding wizard (openclaw onboard) in your terminal.
The wizard guides you step by step through setting up the gateway, workspace, channels, and skills. The CLI wizard is the recommended path and works on macOS, Linux, and Windows (via WSL2; strongly recommended).
Works with npm, pnpm, or bun.
New install? Start here: Getting started
| OpenAI | Vercel | Blacksmith | Convex |
|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAI | Vercel | Blacksmith | Convex |
Subscriptions (OAuth):
- OpenAI (ChatGPT/Codex)
Model note: while many providers/models are supported, for the best experience and lower prompt-injection risk use the strongest latest-generation model available to you. See Onboarding.
- Models config + CLI: Models
- Auth profile rotation (OAuth vs API keys) + fallbacks: Model failover
Runtime: Node β₯22.
npm install -g openclaw@latest
# or: pnpm add -g openclaw@latest
openclaw onboard --install-daemonThe wizard installs the Gateway daemon (launchd/systemd user service) so it stays running.
Runtime: Node β₯22.
Full beginner guide (auth, pairing, channels): Getting started
openclaw onboard --install-daemon openclaw gateway --port 18789 --verbose # Send a message openclaw message send --to +1234567890 --message "Hello from OpenClaw" # Talk to the assistant (optionally deliver back to any connected channel: WhatsApp/Telegram/Slack/Discord/Google Chat/Signal/iMessage/BlueBubbles/IRC/Microsoft Teams/Matrix/Feishu/LINE/Mattermost/Nextcloud Talk/Nostr/Synology Chat/Tlon/Twitch/Zalo/Zalo Personal/WebChat) openclaw agent --message "Ship checklist" --thinking high
Upgrading? Updating guide (and run openclaw doctor).
- stable: tagged releases (
vYYYY.M.DorvYYYY.M.D-<patch>), npm dist-taglatest. - beta: prerelease tags (
vYYYY.M.D-beta.N), npm dist-tagbeta(macOS app may be missing). - dev: moving head of
main, npm dist-tagdev(when published).
Switch channels (git + npm): openclaw update --channel stable|beta|dev.
Details: Development channels.
Prefer pnpm for builds from source. Bun is optional for running TypeScript directly.
git clone https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw.git cd openclaw pnpm install pnpm ui:build # auto-installs UI deps on first run pnpm build pnpm openclaw onboard --install-daemon # Dev loop (auto-reload on source/config changes) pnpm gateway:watch
Note: pnpm openclaw ... runs TypeScript directly (via tsx). pnpm build produces dist/ for running via Node / the packaged openclaw binary.
OpenClaw connects to real messaging surfaces. Treat inbound DMs as untrusted input.
Full security guide: Security
Default behavior on Telegram/WhatsApp/Signal/iMessage/Microsoft Teams/Discord/Google Chat/Slack:
- DM pairing (
dmPolicy="pairing"/channels.discord.dmPolicy="pairing"/channels.slack.dmPolicy="pairing"; legacy:channels.discord.dm.policy,channels.slack.dm.policy): unknown senders receive a short pairing code and the bot does not process their message. - Approve with:
openclaw pairing approve <channel> <code>(then the sender is added to a local allowlist store). - Public inbound DMs require an explicit opt-in: set
dmPolicy="open"and include"*"in the channel allowlist (allowFrom/channels.discord.allowFrom/channels.slack.allowFrom; legacy:channels.discord.dm.allowFrom,channels.slack.dm.allowFrom).
Run openclaw doctor to surface risky/misconfigured DM policies.
- Local-first Gateway β single control plane for sessions, channels, tools, and events.
- Multi-channel inbox β WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack, Discord, Google Chat, Signal, BlueBubbles (iMessage), iMessage (legacy), IRC, Microsoft Teams, Matrix, Feishu, LINE, Mattermost, Nextcloud Talk, Nostr, Synology Chat, Tlon, Twitch, Zalo, Zalo Personal, WebChat, macOS, iOS/Android.
- Multi-agent routing β route inbound channels/accounts/peers to isolated agents (workspaces + per-agent sessions).
- Voice Wake + Talk Mode β wake words on macOS/iOS and continuous voice on Android (ElevenLabs + system TTS fallback).
- Live Canvas β agent-driven visual workspace with A2UI.
- First-class tools β browser, canvas, nodes, cron, sessions, and Discord/Slack actions.
- Companion apps β macOS menu bar app + iOS/Android nodes.
- Onboarding + skills β wizard-driven setup with bundled/managed/workspace skills.
- Gateway WS control plane with sessions, presence, config, cron, webhooks, Control UI, and Canvas host.
- CLI surface: gateway, agent, send, wizard, and doctor.
- Pi agent runtime in RPC mode with tool streaming and block streaming.
- Session model:
mainfor direct chats, group isolation, activation modes, queue modes, reply-back. Group rules: Groups. - Media pipeline: images/audio/video, transcription hooks, size caps, temp file lifecycle. Audio details: Audio.
- Channels: WhatsApp (Baileys), Telegram (grammY), Slack (Bolt), Discord (discord.js), Google Chat (Chat API), Signal (signal-cli), BlueBubbles (iMessage, recommended), iMessage (legacy imsg), IRC, Microsoft Teams, Matrix, Feishu, LINE, Mattermost, Nextcloud Talk, Nostr, Synology Chat, Tlon, Twitch, Zalo, Zalo Personal, WebChat.
- Group routing: mention gating, reply tags, per-channel chunking and routing. Channel rules: Channels.
- macOS app: menu bar control plane, Voice Wake/PTT, Talk Mode overlay, WebChat, debug tools, remote gateway control.
- iOS node: Canvas, Voice Wake, Talk Mode, camera, screen recording, Bonjour + device pairing.
- Android node: Connect tab (setup code/manual), chat sessions, voice tab, Canvas, camera/screen recording, and Android device commands (notifications/location/SMS/photos/contacts/calendar/motion/app update).
- macOS node mode: system.run/notify + canvas/camera exposure.
- Browser control: dedicated openclaw Chrome/Chromium, snapshots, actions, uploads, profiles.
- Canvas: A2UI push/reset, eval, snapshot.
- Nodes: camera snap/clip, screen record, location.get, notifications.
- Cron + wakeups; webhooks; Gmail Pub/Sub.
- Skills platform: bundled, managed, and workspace skills with install gating + UI.
- Channel routing, retry policy, and streaming/chunking.
- Presence, typing indicators, and usage tracking.
- Models, model failover, and session pruning.
- Security and troubleshooting.
- Control UI + WebChat served directly from the Gateway.
- Tailscale Serve/Funnel or SSH tunnels with token/password auth.
- Nix mode for declarative config; Docker-based installs.
- Doctor migrations, logging.
WhatsApp / Telegram / Slack / Discord / Google Chat / Signal / iMessage / BlueBubbles / IRC / Microsoft Teams / Matrix / Feishu / LINE / Mattermost / Nextcloud Talk / Nostr / Synology Chat / Tlon / Twitch / Zalo / Zalo Personal / WebChat
β
βΌ
βββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββ
β Gateway β
β (control plane) β
β ws://127.0.0.1:18789 β
ββββββββββββββββ¬βββββββββββββββββ
β
ββ Pi agent (RPC)
ββ CLI (openclaw ...)
ββ WebChat UI
ββ macOS app
ββ iOS / Android nodes
- Gateway WebSocket network β single WS control plane for clients, tools, and events (plus ops: Gateway runbook).
- Tailscale exposure β Serve/Funnel for the Gateway dashboard + WS (remote access: Remote).
- Browser control β openclawβmanaged Chrome/Chromium with CDP control.
- Canvas + A2UI β agentβdriven visual workspace (A2UI host: Canvas/A2UI).
- Voice Wake + Talk Mode β wake words on macOS/iOS plus continuous voice on Android.
- Nodes β Canvas, camera snap/clip, screen record,
location.get, notifications, plus macOSβonlysystem.run/system.notify.
OpenClaw can auto-configure Tailscale Serve (tailnet-only) or Funnel (public) while the Gateway stays bound to loopback. Configure gateway.tailscale.mode:
off: no Tailscale automation (default).serve: tailnet-only HTTPS viatailscale serve(uses Tailscale identity headers by default).funnel: public HTTPS viatailscale funnel(requires shared password auth).
Notes:
gateway.bindmust stayloopbackwhen Serve/Funnel is enabled (OpenClaw enforces this).- Serve can be forced to require a password by setting
gateway.auth.mode: "password"orgateway.auth.allowTailscale: false. - Funnel refuses to start unless
gateway.auth.mode: "password"is set. - Optional:
gateway.tailscale.resetOnExitto undo Serve/Funnel on shutdown.
Details: Tailscale guide Β· Web surfaces
Itβs perfectly fine to run the Gateway on a small Linux instance. Clients (macOS app, CLI, WebChat) can connect over Tailscale Serve/Funnel or SSH tunnels, and you can still pair device nodes (macOS/iOS/Android) to execute deviceβlocal actions when needed.
- Gateway host runs the exec tool and channel connections by default.
- Device nodes run deviceβlocal actions (
system.run, camera, screen recording, notifications) vianode.invoke. In short: exec runs where the Gateway lives; device actions run where the device lives.
Details: Remote access Β· Nodes Β· Security
The macOS app can run in node mode and advertises its capabilities + permission map over the Gateway WebSocket (node.list / node.describe). Clients can then execute local actions via node.invoke:
system.runruns a local command and returns stdout/stderr/exit code; setneedsScreenRecording: trueto require screen-recording permission (otherwise youβll getPERMISSION_MISSING).system.notifyposts a user notification and fails if notifications are denied.canvas.*,camera.*,screen.record, andlocation.getare also routed vianode.invokeand follow TCC permission status.
Elevated bash (host permissions) is separate from macOS TCC:
- Use
/elevated on|offto toggle perβsession elevated access when enabled + allowlisted. - Gateway persists the perβsession toggle via
sessions.patch(WS method) alongsidethinkingLevel,verboseLevel,model,sendPolicy, andgroupActivation.
Details: Nodes Β· macOS app Β· Gateway protocol
- Use these to coordinate work across sessions without jumping between chat surfaces.
sessions_listβ discover active sessions (agents) and their metadata.sessions_historyβ fetch transcript logs for a session.sessions_sendβ message another session; optional replyβback pingβpong + announce step (REPLY_SKIP,ANNOUNCE_SKIP).
Details: Session tools
ClawHub is a minimal skill registry. With ClawHub enabled, the agent can search for skills automatically and pull in new ones as needed.
Send these in WhatsApp/Telegram/Slack/Google Chat/Microsoft Teams/WebChat (group commands are owner-only):
/statusβ compact session status (model + tokens, cost when available)/newor/resetβ reset the session/compactβ compact session context (summary)/think <level>β off|minimal|low|medium|high|xhigh (GPT-5.2 + Codex models only)/verbose on|off/usage off|tokens|fullβ per-response usage footer/restartβ restart the gateway (owner-only in groups)/activation mention|alwaysβ group activation toggle (groups only)
The Gateway alone delivers a great experience. All apps are optional and add extra features.
If you plan to build/run companion apps, follow the platform runbooks below.
- Menu bar control for the Gateway and health.
- Voice Wake + push-to-talk overlay.
- WebChat + debug tools.
- Remote gateway control over SSH.
Note: signed builds required for macOS permissions to stick across rebuilds (see docs/mac/permissions.md).
- Pairs as a node over the Gateway WebSocket (device pairing).
- Voice trigger forwarding + Canvas surface.
- Controlled via
openclaw nodes ....
Runbook: iOS connect.
- Pairs as a WS node via device pairing (
openclaw devices ...). - Exposes Connect/Chat/Voice tabs plus Canvas, Camera, Screen capture, and Android device command families.
- Runbook: Android connect.
- Workspace root:
~/.openclaw/workspace(configurable viaagents.defaults.workspace). - Injected prompt files:
AGENTS.md,SOUL.md,TOOLS.md. - Skills:
~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/<skill>/SKILL.md.
Minimal ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json (model + defaults):
{ agent: { model: "anthropic/claude-opus-4-6", }, }
Full configuration reference (all keys + examples).
- Default: tools run on the host for the main session, so the agent has full access when itβs just you.
- Group/channel safety: set
agents.defaults.sandbox.mode: "non-main"to run nonβmain sessions (groups/channels) inside perβsession Docker sandboxes; bash then runs in Docker for those sessions. - Sandbox defaults: allowlist
bash,process,read,write,edit,sessions_list,sessions_history,sessions_send,sessions_spawn; denylistbrowser,canvas,nodes,cron,discord,gateway.
Details: Security guide Β· Docker + sandboxing Β· Sandbox config
- Link the device:
pnpm openclaw channels login(stores creds in~/.openclaw/credentials). - Allowlist who can talk to the assistant via
channels.whatsapp.allowFrom. - If
channels.whatsapp.groupsis set, it becomes a group allowlist; include"*"to allow all.
- Set
TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKENorchannels.telegram.botToken(env wins). - Optional: set
channels.telegram.groups(withchannels.telegram.groups."*".requireMention); when set, it is a group allowlist (include"*"to allow all). Alsochannels.telegram.allowFromorchannels.telegram.webhookUrl+channels.telegram.webhookSecretas needed.
{ channels: { telegram: { botToken: "123456:ABCDEF", }, }, }
- Set
SLACK_BOT_TOKEN+SLACK_APP_TOKEN(orchannels.slack.botToken+channels.slack.appToken).
- Set
DISCORD_BOT_TOKENorchannels.discord.token(env wins). - Optional: set
commands.native,commands.text, orcommands.useAccessGroups, pluschannels.discord.allowFrom,channels.discord.guilds, orchannels.discord.mediaMaxMbas needed.
{ channels: { discord: { token: "1234abcd", }, }, }
- Requires
signal-cliand achannels.signalconfig section.
- Recommended iMessage integration.
- Configure
channels.bluebubbles.serverUrl+channels.bluebubbles.passwordand a webhook (channels.bluebubbles.webhookPath). - The BlueBubbles server runs on macOS; the Gateway can run on macOS or elsewhere.
- Legacy macOS-only integration via
imsg(Messages must be signed in). - If
channels.imessage.groupsis set, it becomes a group allowlist; include"*"to allow all.
- Configure a Teams app + Bot Framework, then add a
msteamsconfig section. - Allowlist who can talk via
msteams.allowFrom; group access viamsteams.groupAllowFromormsteams.groupPolicy: "open".
- Uses the Gateway WebSocket; no separate WebChat port/config.
Browser control (optional):
{ browser: { enabled: true, color: "#FF4500", }, }
Use these when youβre past the onboarding flow and want the deeper reference.
- Start with the docs index for navigation and "whatβs where."
- Read the architecture overview for the gateway + protocol model.
- Use the full configuration reference when you need every key and example.
- Run the Gateway by the book with the operational runbook.
- Learn how the Control UI/Web surfaces work and how to expose them safely.
- Understand remote access over SSH tunnels or tailnets.
- Follow the onboarding wizard flow for a guided setup.
- Wire external triggers via the webhook surface.
- Set up Gmail Pub/Sub triggers.
- Learn the macOS menu bar companion details.
- Platform guides: Windows (WSL2), Linux, macOS, iOS, Android
- Debug common failures with the troubleshooting guide.
- Review security guidance before exposing anything.
- Skills config
- Default AGENTS
- Templates: AGENTS
- Templates: BOOTSTRAP
- Templates: IDENTITY
- Templates: SOUL
- Templates: TOOLS
- Templates: USER
OpenClaw was built for Molty, a space lobster AI assistant. π¦ by Peter Steinberger and the community.
See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines, maintainers, and how to submit PRs. AI/vibe-coded PRs welcome! π€
Special thanks to Mario Zechner for his support and for pi-mono. Special thanks to Adam Doppelt for lobster.bot.
Thanks to all clawtributors:
steipete vincentkoc vignesh07 obviyus Mariano Belinky sebslight gumadeiras Takhoffman thewilloftheshadow cpojer tyler6204 joshp123 Glucksberg mcaxtr quotentiroler osolmaz Sid-Qin joshavant shakkernerd bmendonca3 mukhtharcm zerone0x mcinteerj ngutman lailoo arosstale rodrigouroz robbyczgw-cla Elonito Clawborn yinghaosang BunsDev christianklotz echoVic coygeek roshanasingh4 mneves75 joaohlisboa bohdanpodvirnyi nachx639 onutc Verite Igiraneza widingmarcus-cyber akramcodez aether-ai-agent bjesuiter MaudeBot YuriNachos chilu18 byungsker dbhurley JayMishra-source iHildy mudrii dlauer Solvely-Colin czekaj advaitpaliwal lc0rp grp06 HenryLoenwind azade-c Lukavyi vrknetha brandonwise conroywhitney Tobias Bischoff davidrudduck xinhuagu jaydenfyi petter-b heyhudson MatthieuBizien huntharo omair445 adam91holt adhitShet smartprogrammer93 radek-paclt frankekn bradleypriest rahthakor shadril238 VACInc juanpablodlc jonisjongithub magimetal stakeswky abhisekbasu1 MisterGuy420 hsrvc nabbilkhan aldoeliacim jamesgroat orlyjamie Elarwei001 rubyrunsstuff Phineas1500 meaningfool sfo2001 Marvae liuy shtse8 thebenignhacker carrotRakko ranausmanai kevinWangSheng gregmousseau rrenamed akoscz jarvis-medmatic danielz1z pandego xadenryan NicholasSpisak graysurf gupsammy nyanjou sibbl gejifeng ide-rea leszekszpunar Yida-Dev AI-Reviewer-QS SocialNerd42069 maxsumrall hougangdev Minidoracat AnonO6 sreekaransrinath YuzuruS riccardogiorato Bridgerz Mrseenz buddyh Eng. Juan Combetto peschee cash-echo-bot jalehman zknicker Harald Buerbaumer taw0002 scald openperf BUGKillerKing Oceanswave Hiren Patel kiranjd antons dan-dr jadilson12 sumleo Whoaa512 luijoc niceysam JustYannicc emanuelst TsekaLuk JustasM loiie45e davidguttman natefikru dougvk koala73 mkbehr zats Simone Macario openclaw-bot ENCHIGO mteam88 Blakeshannon gabriel-trigo neist pejmanjohn durenzidu Ryan Haines hcl XuHao benithors bitfoundry-ai HeMuling markmusson ameno- battman21 BinHPdev dguido evalexpr guirguispierre henrino3 joeykrug loganprit odysseus0 dbachelder Divanoli Mydeen Pitchai liuxiaopai-ai Sam Padilla pvtclawn seheepeak TSavo nachoiacovino misterdas LeftX badlogic Shuai-DaiDai mousberg Masataka Shinohara BillChirico Lewis solstead julianengel dantelex sahilsatralkar kkarimi mahmoudashraf93 pkrmf ryan-crabbe miloudbelarebia Mars El-Fitz McRolly NWANGWU carlulsoe Dithilli emonty fal3 mitschabaude-bot benostein LI SHANXIN magendary mahanandhi CashWilliams j2h4u bsormagec Jessy LANGE Lalit Singh hyf0-agent andranik-sahakyan unisone jeann2013 jogelin rmorse scz2011 wes-davis popomore cathrynlavery iamadig Vasanth Rao Naik Sabavat Jay Caldwell Shailesh Kirill Shchetynin ruypang mitchmcalister Paul van Oorschot Xu Gu Menglin Li artuskg jackheuberger imfing superman32432432 Syhids Marvin Taylor Asplund dakshaymehta Stefan Galescu lploc94 WalterSumbon krizpoon EnzeD Evizero Grynn hydro13 jverdi kentaro kunalk16 longmaba mjrussell optimikelabs oswalpalash RamiNoodle733 sauerdaniel SleuthCo TaKO8Ki travisp rodbland2021 fagemx BigUncle Igor Markelov zhoulc777 connorshea TIHU Tony Dehnke pablohrcarvalho bonald rhuanssauro Tanwa Arpornthip webvijayi Tom Ron ozbillwang Patrick Barletta Ian Derrington austinm911 Ayush10 boris721 damoahdominic doodlewind ikari-pl philipp-spiess shayan919293 Harrington-bot nonggia.liang Michael Lee OscarMinjarez claude Alg0rix Lucky Harry Cui Kepler h0tp-ftw Youyou972 Dominic danielwanwx 0xJonHoldsCrypto akyourowngames clawdinator[bot] erikpr1994 thesash thesomewhatyou dashed Dale Babiy Diaspar4u brianleach codexGW dirbalak Iranb Max TideFinder Chase Dorsey Joly0 adityashaw2 tumf slonce70 alexgleason theonejvo Skyler Miao Jeremiah Lowin peetzweg/ chrisrodz ghsmc ibrahimq21 irtiq7 Jonathan D. Rhyne (DJ-D) kelvinCB mitsuhiko rybnikov santiagomed suminhthanh svkozak kaizen403 sleontenko Nate CornBrother0x DukeDeSouth crimeacs Cklee Garnet Liu neverland ryan sircrumpet AdeboyeDN Neo asklee-klawd benediktjohannes εΌ ε²θ³ constansino Yuting Lin OfflynAI Rajat Joshi Daniel Zou Manik Vahsith ProspectOre Lilo 24601 awkoy dawondyifraw google-labs-jules[bot] hyojin Kansodata natedenh pi0 dddabtc AkashKobal wu-tian807 Ganghyun Kim Stephen Brian King tosh-hamburg John Rood JINNYEONG KIM Dinakar Sarbada aj47 Protocol Zero Limitless Mykyta Bozhenko Nicholas Shivam Kumar Raut andreesg Fred White Anandesh-Sharma ysqander ezhikkk andreabadesso BinaryMuse cordx56 DevSecTim edincampara fcatuhe gildo itsjaydesu ivanrvpereira loeclos MarvinCui p6l-richard thejhinvirtuoso yudshj Wangnov Jonathan Works Yassine Amjad Django Navarro Frank Harris Kenny Lee Drake Thomsen wangai-studio AytuncYildizli Charlie NiΓ±o Jeremy Mumford Yeom-JinHo Rob Axelsen junwon Pratham Dubey amitbiswal007 Slats Oren Parker Todd Brooks MattQ Milofax Steve (OpenClaw) Matthew Cassius0924 0xbrak 8BlT Abdul535 abhaymundhara aduk059 afurm aisling404 akari-musubi albertlieyingadrian Alex-Alaniz ali-aljufairi altaywtf araa47 Asleep123 avacadobanana352 barronlroth bennewton999 bguidolim bigwest60 caelum0x championswimmer dutifulbob eternauta1337 foeken gittb HeimdallStrategy junsuwhy knocte MackDing nobrainer-tech Noctivoro Raikan10 Swader Alexis Gallagher alexstyl Ethan Palm yingchunbai joshrad-dev Dan Ballance Eric Su Kimitaka Watanabe Justin Ling lutr0 Raymond Berger atalovesyou jayhickey jonasjancarik latitudeki5223 minghinmatthewlam rafaelreis-r ratulsarna timkrase efe-buken manmal easternbloc manuelhettich sktbrd larlyssa Mind-Dragon pcty-nextgen-service-account tmchow uli-will-code Marc Gratch JackyWay aaronveklabs CJWTRUST erik-agens odnxe T5-AndyML Josh Phillips mujiannan Marco Di Dionisio Randy Torres afern247 0oAstro alexanderatallah testingabc321 humanwritten aaronn Alphonse-arianee gtsifrikas hrdwdmrbl hugobarauna jiulingyun kitze loukotal MSch odrobnik reeltimeapps rhjoh ronak-guliani snopoke