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| summary: "Top-level overview of OpenClaw, features, and purpose" | |
| read_when: | |
| - Introducing OpenClaw to newcomers | |
| title: "OpenClaw" | |
| # OpenClaw 🦞 | |
| > _"EXFOLIATE! EXFOLIATE!"_ — A space lobster, probably | |
| <p align="center"> | |
| <img | |
| src="/assets/openclaw-logo-text-dark.png" | |
| alt="OpenClaw" | |
| width="500" | |
| class="dark:hidden" | |
| /> | |
| <img | |
| src="/assets/openclaw-logo-text.png" | |
| alt="OpenClaw" | |
| width="500" | |
| class="hidden dark:block" | |
| /> | |
| </p> | |
| <p align="center"> | |
| <strong>Any OS + WhatsApp/Telegram/Discord/iMessage gateway for AI agents (Pi).</strong><br /> | |
| Plugins add Mattermost and more. | |
| Send a message, get an agent response — from your pocket. | |
| </p> | |
| <p align="center"> | |
| <a href="https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw">GitHub</a> · | |
| <a href="https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/releases">Releases</a> · | |
| <a href="/">Docs</a> · | |
| <a href="/start/openclaw">OpenClaw assistant setup</a> | |
| </p> | |
| OpenClaw bridges WhatsApp (via WhatsApp Web / Baileys), Telegram (Bot API / grammY), Discord (Bot API / channels.discord.js), and iMessage (imsg CLI) to coding agents like [Pi](https://github.com/badlogic/pi-mono). Plugins add Mattermost (Bot API + WebSocket) and more. | |
| OpenClaw also powers the OpenClaw assistant. | |
| ## Start here | |
| - **New install from zero:** [Getting Started](/start/getting-started) | |
| - **Guided setup (recommended):** [Wizard](/start/wizard) (`openclaw onboard`) | |
| - **Open the dashboard (local Gateway):** http://127.0.0.1:18789/ (or http://localhost:18789/) | |
| If the Gateway is running on the same computer, that link opens the browser Control UI | |
| immediately. If it fails, start the Gateway first: `openclaw gateway`. | |
| ## Dashboard (browser Control UI) | |
| The dashboard is the browser Control UI for chat, config, nodes, sessions, and more. | |
| Local default: http://127.0.0.1:18789/ | |
| Remote access: [Web surfaces](/web) and [Tailscale](/gateway/tailscale) | |
| <p align="center"> | |
| <img src="whatsapp-openclaw.jpg" alt="OpenClaw" width="420" /> | |
| </p> | |
| ## How it works | |
| ``` | |
| WhatsApp / Telegram / Discord / iMessage (+ plugins) | |
| │ | |
| ▼ | |
| ┌───────────────────────────┐ | |
| │ Gateway │ ws://127.0.0.1:18789 (loopback-only) | |
| │ (single source) │ | |
| │ │ http://<gateway-host>:18793 | |
| │ │ /__openclaw__/canvas/ (Canvas host) | |
| └───────────┬───────────────┘ | |
| │ | |
| ├─ Pi agent (RPC) | |
| ├─ CLI (openclaw …) | |
| ├─ Chat UI (SwiftUI) | |
| ├─ macOS app (OpenClaw.app) | |
| ├─ iOS node via Gateway WS + pairing | |
| └─ Android node via Gateway WS + pairing | |
| ``` | |
| Most operations flow through the **Gateway** (`openclaw gateway`), a single long-running process that owns channel connections and the WebSocket control plane. | |
| ## Network model | |
| - **One Gateway per host (recommended)**: it is the only process allowed to own the WhatsApp Web session. If you need a rescue bot or strict isolation, run multiple gateways with isolated profiles and ports; see [Multiple gateways](/gateway/multiple-gateways). | |
| - **Loopback-first**: Gateway WS defaults to `ws://127.0.0.1:18789`. | |
| - The wizard now generates a gateway token by default (even for loopback). | |
| - For Tailnet access, run `openclaw gateway --bind tailnet --token ...` (token is required for non-loopback binds). | |
| - **Nodes**: connect to the Gateway WebSocket (LAN/tailnet/SSH as needed); legacy TCP bridge is deprecated/removed. | |
| - **Canvas host**: HTTP file server on `canvasHost.port` (default `18793`), serving `/__openclaw__/canvas/` for node WebViews; see [Gateway configuration](/gateway/configuration) (`canvasHost`). | |
| - **Remote use**: SSH tunnel or tailnet/VPN; see [Remote access](/gateway/remote) and [Discovery](/gateway/discovery). | |
| ## Features (high level) | |
| - 📱 **WhatsApp Integration** — Uses Baileys for WhatsApp Web protocol | |
| - ✈️ **Telegram Bot** — DMs + groups via grammY | |
| - 🎮 **Discord Bot** — DMs + guild channels via channels.discord.js | |
| - 🧩 **Mattermost Bot (plugin)** — Bot token + WebSocket events | |
| - 💬 **iMessage** — Local imsg CLI integration (macOS) | |
| - 🤖 **Agent bridge** — Pi (RPC mode) with tool streaming | |
| - ⏱️ **Streaming + chunking** — Block streaming + Telegram draft streaming details ([/concepts/streaming](/concepts/streaming)) | |
| - 🧠 **Multi-agent routing** — Route provider accounts/peers to isolated agents (workspace + per-agent sessions) | |
| - 🔐 **Subscription auth** — Anthropic (Claude Pro/Max) + OpenAI (ChatGPT/Codex) via OAuth | |
| - 💬 **Sessions** — Direct chats collapse into shared `main` (default); groups are isolated | |
| - 👥 **Group Chat Support** — Mention-based by default; owner can toggle `/activation always|mention` | |
| - 📎 **Media Support** — Send and receive images, audio, documents | |
| - 🎤 **Voice notes** — Optional transcription hook | |
| - 🖥️ **WebChat + macOS app** — Local UI + menu bar companion for ops and voice wake | |
| - 📱 **iOS node** — Pairs as a node and exposes a Canvas surface | |
| - 📱 **Android node** — Pairs as a node and exposes Canvas + Chat + Camera | |
| Note: legacy Claude/Codex/Gemini/Opencode paths have been removed; Pi is the only coding-agent path. | |
| ## Quick start | |
| Runtime requirement: **Node ≥ 22**. | |
| ```bash | |
| # Recommended: global install (npm/pnpm) | |
| npm install -g openclaw@latest | |
| # or: pnpm add -g openclaw@latest | |
| # Onboard + install the service (launchd/systemd user service) | |
| openclaw onboard --install-daemon | |
| # Pair WhatsApp Web (shows QR) | |
| openclaw channels login | |
| # Gateway runs via the service after onboarding; manual run is still possible: | |
| openclaw gateway --port 18789 | |
| ``` | |
| Switching between npm and git installs later is easy: install the other flavor and run `openclaw doctor` to update the gateway service entrypoint. | |
| From source (development): | |
| ```bash | |
| git clone https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw.git | |
| cd openclaw | |
| pnpm install | |
| pnpm ui:build # auto-installs UI deps on first run | |
| pnpm build | |
| openclaw onboard --install-daemon | |
| ``` | |
| If you don’t have a global install yet, run the onboarding step via `pnpm openclaw ...` from the repo. | |
| Multi-instance quickstart (optional): | |
| ```bash | |
| OPENCLAW_CONFIG_PATH=~/.openclaw/a.json \ | |
| OPENCLAW_STATE_DIR=~/.openclaw-a \ | |
| openclaw gateway --port 19001 | |
| ``` | |
| Send a test message (requires a running Gateway): | |
| ```bash | |
| openclaw message send --target +15555550123 --message "Hello from 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: | |
| ```json5 | |
| { | |
| channels: { | |
| whatsapp: { | |
| allowFrom: ["+15555550123"], | |
| groups: { "*": { requireMention: true } }, | |
| }, | |
| }, | |
| messages: { groupChat: { mentionPatterns: ["@openclaw"] } }, | |
| } | |
| ``` | |
| ## Docs | |
| - Start here: | |
| - [Docs hubs (all pages linked)](/start/hubs) | |
| - [Help](/help) ← _common fixes + troubleshooting_ | |
| - [Configuration](/gateway/configuration) | |
| - [Configuration examples](/gateway/configuration-examples) | |
| - [Slash commands](/tools/slash-commands) | |
| - [Multi-agent routing](/concepts/multi-agent) | |
| - [Updating / rollback](/install/updating) | |
| - [Pairing (DM + nodes)](/start/pairing) | |
| - [Nix mode](/install/nix) | |
| - [OpenClaw assistant setup](/start/openclaw) | |
| - [Skills](/tools/skills) | |
| - [Skills config](/tools/skills-config) | |
| - [Workspace templates](/reference/templates/AGENTS) | |
| - [RPC adapters](/reference/rpc) | |
| - [Gateway runbook](/gateway) | |
| - [Nodes (iOS/Android)](/nodes) | |
| - [Web surfaces (Control UI)](/web) | |
| - [Discovery + transports](/gateway/discovery) | |
| - [Remote access](/gateway/remote) | |
| - Providers and UX: | |
| - [WebChat](/web/webchat) | |
| - [Control UI (browser)](/web/control-ui) | |
| - [Telegram](/channels/telegram) | |
| - [Discord](/channels/discord) | |
| - [Mattermost (plugin)](/channels/mattermost) | |
| - [iMessage](/channels/imessage) | |
| - [Groups](/concepts/groups) | |
| - [WhatsApp group messages](/concepts/group-messages) | |
| - [Media: images](/nodes/images) | |
| - [Media: audio](/nodes/audio) | |
| - Companion apps: | |
| - [macOS app](/platforms/macos) | |
| - [iOS app](/platforms/ios) | |
| - [Android app](/platforms/android) | |
| - [Windows (WSL2)](/platforms/windows) | |
| - [Linux app](/platforms/linux) | |
| - Ops and safety: | |
| - [Sessions](/concepts/session) | |
| - [Cron jobs](/automation/cron-jobs) | |
| - [Webhooks](/automation/webhook) | |
| - [Gmail hooks (Pub/Sub)](/automation/gmail-pubsub) | |
| - [Security](/gateway/security) | |
| - [Troubleshooting](/gateway/troubleshooting) | |
| ## The name | |
| **OpenClaw = CLAW + TARDIS** — because every space lobster needs a time-and-space machine. | |
| --- | |
| _"We're all just playing with our own prompts."_ — an AI, probably high on tokens | |
| ## Credits | |
| - **Peter Steinberger** ([@steipete](https://x.com/steipete)) — Creator, lobster whisperer | |
| - **Mario Zechner** ([@badlogicc](https://x.com/badlogicgames)) — Pi creator, security pen-tester | |
| - **Clawd** — The space lobster who demanded a better name | |
| ## Core Contributors | |
| - **Maxim Vovshin** (@Hyaxia, 36747317+Hyaxia@users.noreply.github.com) — Blogwatcher skill | |
| - **Nacho Iacovino** (@nachoiacovino, nacho.iacovino@gmail.com) — Location parsing (Telegram + WhatsApp) | |
| ## License | |
| MIT — Free as a lobster in the ocean 🦞 | |
| --- | |
| _"We're all just playing with our own prompts."_ — An AI, probably high on tokens | |