A curated collection of OpenClaw resources, guides, and best practices.
OpenClaw is a self-hosted gateway that connects your favorite chat apps to AI agents.
Overview • Installation • Channels • Tools • Providers • Guides • Resources
- Overview
- Installation
- Configuration
- Channels
- Tools
- Model Providers
- Guides
- Official Resources
- Community
- License
"EXFOLIATE! EXFOLIATE!" — A space lobster, probably
OpenClaw is a self-hosted gateway that connects your favorite chat apps — WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord, iMessage, and more — to AI agents. 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.
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Self-hosted | Runs on your hardware, your rules, your data |
| Multi-channel | One Gateway serves WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord, and more |
| Agent-native | Built for coding agents with tool use, sessions, and memory |
| Open source | MIT licensed, community-driven |
| First-class tools | Browser, canvas, nodes, cron, web search, and more |
- Node.js 22+ (the installer script will install it if missing)
- OS: macOS, Linux, or Windows (WSL2 recommended for Windows)
- API Key: Anthropic Claude or another supported provider
The installer script handles Node detection, installation, and onboarding in one step.
macOS / Linux / WSL2:
curl -fsSL https://openclaw.ai/install.sh | bashWindows (PowerShell):
iwr -useb https://openclaw.ai/install.ps1 | iexnpm / pnpm:
npm install -g openclaw@latest
openclaw onboard --install-daemonDocker:
See Docker Installation in the official docs.
From Source:
git clone https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw.git
cd openclaw
pnpm install
pnpm ui:build
pnpm build
pnpm link --global
openclaw onboard --install-daemonopenclaw doctor # Check for config issues
openclaw status # Gateway status
openclaw dashboard # Open the browser UIConfiguration lives at ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json.
If you do nothing, OpenClaw uses sensible defaults. Here is a minimal example:
{
"agents": {
"defaults": {
"model": {
"primary": "anthropic/claude-opus-4-6"
}
}
}
}{
"channels": {
"whatsapp": {
"allowFrom": ["+15555550123"],
"groups": {
"*": { "requireMention": true }
}
}
},
"messages": {
"groupChat": {
"mentionPatterns": ["@openclaw"]
}
}
}For complete configuration options, see the official documentation.
OpenClaw supports multiple messaging platforms through a single Gateway:
| Channel | Description | Documentation |
|---|---|---|
| Most popular option | WhatsApp Setup | |
| Telegram | Full feature support | Telegram Setup |
| Discord | Slash commands supported | Discord Setup |
| Slack | Enterprise ready | Slack Setup |
| Signal | Privacy-focused | Signal Setup |
| iMessage | macOS only | iMessage Setup |
| WebChat | Built-in web UI | WebChat Setup |
See all supported channels.
OpenClaw exposes first-class agent tools for browser, canvas, nodes, and cron:
| Tool | Description | Documentation |
|---|---|---|
| browser | Control dedicated browser instance | Browser Tool |
| canvas | Drive the node Canvas (A2UI) | Canvas Tool |
| nodes | Discover and target paired nodes | Nodes Tool |
| cron | Manage Gateway cron jobs and wakeups | Cron Tool |
| exec | Run shell commands in workspace | Exec Tool |
| web_search | Search the web using Brave Search API | Web Search |
| web_fetch | Fetch and extract readable content from URLs | Web Fetch |
| message | Send messages across channels | Message Tool |
| sessions | List, inspect, and send to sessions | Sessions Tool |
See complete tools documentation.
Pre-configured tool allowlists for different use cases:
| Profile | Tools Included | Best For |
|---|---|---|
minimal |
session_status only | Restricted environments |
coding |
fs, runtime, sessions, memory, image | Development work |
messaging |
messaging, sessions operations | Chat-focused agents |
full |
No restrictions (default) | Full agent capabilities |
OpenClaw supports multiple LLM providers. Authenticate with a provider, then set the default model.
| Provider | Models | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Anthropic | Claude Opus 4.6, Sonnet, Haiku | Native Support |
| OpenAI | GPT-4.1, GPT-4o, GPT-3.5 | Native Support |
| Gemini 2.5 Pro/Ultra | Native Support | |
| Venice AI | Llama 3.3, Claude Opus | Recommended for privacy |
| Qwen | Qwen models | OAuth support |
| OpenRouter | 100+ models via API | Supported |
| Vercel AI Gateway | Multiple models | Supported |
| Cloudflare AI Gateway | Multiple models | Supported |
| Ollama | Local models | Supported |
See all providers documentation.
{
"agents": {
"defaults": {
"model": {
"primary": "anthropic/claude-opus-4-6"
}
}
}
}| Guide | Description |
|---|---|
| Web Tools Complete Guide | Web search and fetch configuration |
| Browser Tool Complete Guide | Browser automation and control |
| Guide | Description | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Getting Started | Quick start guide | docs.openclaw.ai |
| Architecture | Gateway, clients, nodes overview | Architecture |
| Installation | Detailed install instructions | Install |
| Platforms | Platform-specific setup | Platforms |
| Gateway & Ops | Gateway operations | Gateway |
| CLI Reference | Command-line interface | CLI |
| Help | General help | Help |
| Resource | URL | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Official Site | https://openclaw.ai/ | Main website |
| Documentation | https://docs.openclaw.ai/ | Official docs |
| GitHub | https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw | Source code |
| ClawHub | https://clawhub.ai/ | Skill registry |
| Skill Directory | https://github.com/openclaw/clawhub | Skill repository |
| Awesome Skills | https://github.com/VoltAgent/awesome-openclaw-skills | Community skills |
| Discord | https://discord.gg/openclaw | Community chat |
- Discord: Join the OpenClaw Discord
- GitHub: OpenClaw Repository
- ClawHub: Find and share skills
This repository is licensed under the MIT License.
OpenClaw itself is released under the Apache 2.0 License.
- Author: geekjourneyx
- X (Twitter): https://x.com/seekjourney
- WeChat Official Account: 极客杰尼
Made with heart for OpenClaw