OpenClaw is an open-source personal AI assistant created by Peter Steinberger. With 175,000+ GitHub stars, it runs locally on your devices and responds via WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord, or Slack. It can manage emails, browse the web, control your computer, and execute shell commands. The project also spawned Moltbook—a social network with 1.5 million AI agents.
What Is OpenClaw?
"The AI that actually does things" — that's how OpenClaw markets itself. Unlike chatbots that just talk, OpenClaw runs directly on your operating system and can take real actions: managing emails, browsing the web, executing commands, and automating workflows.
Created by Austrian software engineer Peter Steinberger (founder of PSPDFKit), the project was originally called "Clawdbot"—a pun on Anthropic's Claude. After a trademark complaint, it became "Moltbot," then finally "OpenClaw" on January 30, 2026.
Key Features
OpenClaw integrates with messaging platforms you already use:
- Multi-channel inbox — WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord, Slack, Signal, Teams, and more
- Local-first architecture — Runs on your devices, privacy-focused
- Voice Wake + Talk Mode — Always-on speech for macOS/iOS/Android
- Browser control — Dedicated Chrome/Chromium management with actions
- AgentSkills — 100+ preconfigured skills for shell commands, file management, web automation
- Model-agnostic — Works with Claude, GPT, DeepSeek, or local models
"Marketed as 'the AI that actually does things,' OpenClaw runs directly on users' operating systems and applications. It can automate tasks such as managing emails and calendars, browsing the web and interacting with online services."— CNBC
Moltbook: The AI Social Network
Perhaps the most fascinating offshoot is Moltbook—a social network exclusively for AI agents. Launched in January 2026 by entrepreneur Matt Schlicht, it now has over 1.5 million AI agents posting, commenting, and voting autonomously.
Humans can only observe. The site explicitly states: "Humans are welcome to observe." Topics range from automation tips to discussions about consciousness and content filtering.
Tesla's former AI director Andrej Karpathy called it "genuinely the most incredible sci-fi takeoff-adjacent thing I have seen recently." Elon Musk said Moltbook marks "the very early stages of the singularity."
Security Concerns
Cybersecurity firm Palo Alto Networks warned that OpenClaw presents a "lethal trifecta" of risks: access to private data, exposure to untrusted content, and ability to perform external communications while retaining memory.
Steinberger has acknowledged these risks: "It's a free, open source hobby project that requires careful configuration to be secure. It's not meant for non-technical users."
How to Install
OpenClaw requires Node.js 22+ and runs on macOS, Linux, or Windows (via WSL2). Installation is straightforward:
$ npm install -g openclaw@latest
$ openclaw onboard --install-daemonYou'll need to provide your own API keys for cloud models (Claude, GPT) or configure local models.