Open-source personal AI assistant that runs on your own machine and connects to chat apps like WhatsApp, Telegram and Slack.
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OpenClaw is an open-source AI assistant created by Peter Steinberger. It runs on the user's own computer through a local Gateway, which acts as the control plane for sessions, tools, events and channel connections. State, memory and credentials are stored on the user's hardware. The assistant can be reached through more than 20 messaging channels, including Discord, iMessage, Slack, Teams, Telegram and WhatsApp. Native apps exist for macOS, iOS, Android, Windows and Linux.
Models and agent harnesses (Claude, Codex, local models) are swappable plugins. Tools, skills and plugins extend what an assistant can do, for example handling inbox, email, calendar and flights. Features mentioned include persistent memory, cron jobs and reminders, background tasks, and voice, Canvas, camera and screen actions through companion apps. A single install can run as a personal assistant or as a shared multi-user setup.
Installation is by a one-line script for macOS, Linux and Windows, or by npm, followed by an onboarding wizard. The README says OpenClaw has no paid tier, hosted service or token. Users pay their chosen model providers. It is stewarded by the OpenClaw Foundation, a 501(c)(3). By default it only checks for new versions, and anonymous statistics are opt-in. Prompts go to the model providers and chat platforms the user configures.
Tools run on the host for the main session unless sandboxing is configured. The project advises treating inbound messages as untrusted and reading the security and sandboxing guides before exposing the Gateway or adding other users. Press coverage describes OpenAI acquiring or hiring the project's creator, but this is not confirmed in the supplied pages.
Watch the moment: the exact second top creators show it. Videos load only when you press play, via youtube-nocookie.com.
Personal AI assistant by Peter Steinberger that Berman credits with starting the 2026 personal-assistant wave. Altman says his own assistant (called Dot) saves him about an hour a day and flags urgent items, but needs more product work, compute and possibly new hardware.
Predecessor agent used as the comparison point; Hermes differs by shipping with many skills and plugins preconfigured and with self-healing. Its identity/soul files and chat app connections are mirrored in Hermes.
Self-hosted AI agent the creator previously used. He says it was costly and difficult to set up and maintain, with security concerns, though it offers the most control.
Viral agent project whose creator Peter Steinberger showed about $1.3M of token spend in a month, building a software factory. He cited ClawSweeper and Clownfish closing over 10,000 issues and ~5,000 PRs in a week.
Mentioned as the open-source project created by Peter Steinberger, who later joined OpenAI; the creator compares that loss of independence to Karpathy joining Anthropic.
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