OpenClaw 🦞

OpenClaw

“EXFOLIATE! EXFOLIATE!” — A space lobster, probably

Any OS gateway for AI agents across WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord, iMessage, and more.
Send a message, get an agent response from your pocket. Plugins add Mattermost and more.

  • Get Started — Install OpenClaw and bring up the Gateway in minutes.
  • Run the Wizard — Guided setup with openclaw onboard and pairing flows.
  • Open the Control UI — Launch the browser dashboard for chat, config, and sessions.

What is OpenClaw?

OpenClaw is a self-hosted gateway that connects your favorite chat apps — WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord, iMessage, and more — to AI coding agents like Pi. You run a single Gateway process on your own machine (or a server), and it becomes the bridge between your messaging apps and an always-available AI assistant.

Who is it for? Developers and power users who want a personal AI assistant they can message from anywhere — without giving up control of their data or relying on a hosted service.

What makes it different?

  • Self-hosted: runs on your hardware, your rules
  • Multi-channel: one Gateway serves WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord, and more simultaneously
  • Agent-native: built for coding agents with tool use, sessions, memory, and multi-agent routing
  • Open source: MIT licensed, community-driven

What do you need? Node 24 (recommended), or Node 22 LTS (22.16+) for compatibility, an API key from your chosen provider, and 5 minutes. For best quality and security, use the strongest latest-generation model available.

How it works

flowchart LR
  A["Chat apps + plugins"] --> B["Gateway"]
  B --> C["Pi agent"]
  B --> D["CLI"]
  B --> E["Web Control UI"]
  B --> F["macOS app"]
  B --> G["iOS and Android nodes"]

The Gateway is the single source of truth for sessions, routing, and channel connections.

Key capabilities

  • Multi-channel gateway — WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord, and iMessage with a single Gateway process.
  • Plugin channels — Add Mattermost and more with extension packages.
  • Multi-agent routing — Isolated sessions per agent, workspace, or sender.
  • Media support — Send and receive images, audio, and documents.
  • Web Control UI — Browser dashboard for chat, config, sessions, and nodes.
  • Mobile nodes — Pair iOS and Android nodes for Canvas, camera, and voice-enabled workflows.

Quick start

Step 1: Install OpenClaw

```bash
npm install -g openclaw@latest
```

Step 2: Onboard and install the service

```bash
openclaw onboard --install-daemon
```

Step 3: Pair WhatsApp and start the Gateway

```bash
openclaw channels login
openclaw gateway --port 18789
```

Need the full install and dev setup? See Quick start.

Dashboard

Open the browser Control UI after the Gateway starts.

OpenClaw

Configuration (optional)

Config lives at ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json.

  • If you do nothing, OpenClaw uses the bundled Pi binary in RPC mode with per-sender sessions.
  • If you want to lock it down, start with channels.whatsapp.allowFrom and (for groups) mention rules.

Example:

{
  channels: {
    whatsapp: {
      allowFrom: ["+15555550123"],
      groups: { "*": { requireMention: true } },
    },
  },
  messages: { groupChat: { mentionPatterns: ["@openclaw"] } },
}

Start here

  • Docs hubs — All docs and guides, organized by use case.
  • Configuration — Core Gateway settings, tokens, and provider config.
  • Remote access — SSH and tailnet access patterns.
  • Channels — Channel-specific setup for WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord, and more.
  • Nodes — iOS and Android nodes with pairing, Canvas, camera, and device actions.
  • Help — Common fixes and troubleshooting entry point.

Learn more

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