OpenClaw: Your AI That Actually Does Things
Meet the open-source AI assistant that lives in your chat apps, remembers everything, and takes action on your behalf.
- Persistent memory: OpenClaw remembers your preferences, past conversations, and context across sessions
- Tool access: It can read files, search the web, check your calendar, send messages, and execute code
- Proactive behavior: Through scheduled heartbeats and cron jobs, it can check things and reach out to you
- Multi-model support: Run Claude, GPT-4, DeepSeek, or local models — your choice
- Get a VPS ($5-10/month from Hetzner, DigitalOcean, or similar)
- Install Node.js and OpenClaw via npm
- Configure your messaging channel (Telegram is the easiest to start)
- Add your LLM API keys
Most AI assistants are stuck in a browser tab. You visit them when you remember, ask a question, get an answer, and close the tab. They don't know your calendar. They can't send emails. They forget everything the moment you leave.
OpenClaw is different.
What Makes OpenClaw Different
OpenClaw is an open-source AI assistant that lives where you already are — WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal, Slack, Discord. It's not an app you have to open. It's a presence in your existing workflow.
But the real power isn't just the chat interface. It's what happens behind the scenes:
Real-World Use Cases
### Personal Assistant
Imagine texting your AI: "What's on my calendar tomorrow and how's the weather?" It checks both and responds in seconds. No app switching. No copy-pasting between services.
### Developer Companion
OpenClaw can access your codebase, run commands, create files, and even make git commits. When you're debugging at 2 AM, you have an always-available pair programmer that remembers your entire project history.
### Business Automation
Set up scheduled tasks: daily email summaries, weekly reports, price monitoring, social media checks. OpenClaw handles the routine so you can focus on what matters.
### Voice Calls
With Twilio integration, OpenClaw can make and receive phone calls. Build voice assistants, automated check-ins, or notification systems — all controlled through natural language.
The Architecture
OpenClaw runs as a Gateway daemon on your server (a $5 VPS works fine). It connects to your messaging platforms through official APIs and plugins. Everything stays on your infrastructure — your data, your control.
The flow is simple: Your message arrives via Telegram or WhatsApp, hits the OpenClaw Gateway on your VPS, gets processed by your chosen LLM (Claude, GPT-4, or a local model), and the response comes back with any tool actions executed along the way.
Getting Started
The quickest path:
Within 30 minutes, you have a personal AI assistant that rivals anything from big tech — except you own it.
The Philosophy
OpenClaw isn't trying to replace you. It's trying to extend you. Every automation, every scheduled check, every quick answer — it's giving you back time and mental energy for the things only humans can do.
The best AI assistant is one you forget is AI. It's just... there. Helping. Remembering. Acting. That's what OpenClaw aims to be.
What's Next
The project is actively developed with new features landing regularly: more channel integrations, enhanced voice capabilities, better memory and context management, and a growing plugin ecosystem for custom tools.
If you've ever wished your AI assistant could just *do things* instead of just *talking about things*, OpenClaw might be exactly what you're looking for.
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*OpenClaw is open source and available at [github.com/openclaw/openclaw](https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw)*