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 22+, an API key (Anthropic recommended), and 5 minutes.

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 with Canvas support.

Quick start

Step 1: Install OpenClaw

    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](./start/quickstart.md).

## Dashboard

Open the browser Control UI after the Gateway starts.

- Local default: [http://127.0.0.1:18789/](http://127.0.0.1:18789/)
- Remote access: [Web surfaces](./web.md) and [Tailscale](./gateway/tailscale.md)

<p align="center">
  <img src="whatsapp-openclaw.jpg" alt="OpenClaw" width="420" />
</p>

## 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:

```json5
{
  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 and Canvas.
Help: Common fixes and troubleshooting entry point.

Learn more

Full feature list: Complete channel, routing, and media capabilities.
Multi-agent routing: Workspace isolation and per-agent sessions.
Security: Tokens, allowlists, and safety controls.
Troubleshooting: Gateway diagnostics and common errors.
About and credits: Project origins, contributors, and license.

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