The complete guide

What is OpenClaw?

OpenClaw is the fastest-growing open-source project in GitHub history — 346,000 stars in under 5 months. Here's what it is, what it actually does, and how to run it without a server.

Try it free — no server needed → Setup guide

OpenClaw in one sentence

OpenClaw is a free, open-source AI agent that runs on your own server or VPS, connects to Telegram/WhatsApp/Slack/Discord, and executes real tasks — not just chat responses — using your LLM of choice.

The key difference from ChatGPT: OpenClaw doesn't just answer questions. It takes actions — clearing your inbox, scheduling reminders, running code, browsing the web, and automating multi-step workflows — continuously, while you sleep.

OpenClaw's history

OpenClaw was created by Peter Steinberger (Austrian software developer) and launched in November 2025 as "Clawdbot." After a trademark dispute with Anthropic it was renamed to Moltbot, then OpenClaw in January 2026. The GitHub repo reached 60,000 stars in 72 hours and 100,000 stars in approximately 2 days — the fastest in GitHub history. React took 8 years to reach the same milestone. By April 2026 it had 346,000+ stars and 3.2 million active users. OpenAI acquired the project in February 2026.

How OpenClaw actually works

OpenClaw runs as a persistent background process — a Node.js gateway — on a VPS or your local machine. It has three layers:

  1. Channel layer — connects to Telegram, WhatsApp, Slack, Discord, iMessage, Signal, and more. This is how you talk to your agent.
  2. Brain layer — routes messages through your chosen LLM (Claude, GPT, Gemini, local Ollama) using a 7-stage agentic loop that interprets intent and decides a plan.
  3. Body layer — executes the plan via tools: terminal commands, file operations, web browsing, API calls, email, calendar, and custom skills you install.

What can OpenClaw actually do?

How to run OpenClaw

There are three ways to run OpenClaw:

1. Self-hosted (free, technical)

Install on your own VPS. Requires Node.js 22+, Docker knowledge, SSL setup, and ongoing maintenance. See our complete setup guide.

2. Managed hosting (paid, instant)

NemoClam provisions a dedicated VPS in your chosen region, installs OpenClaw, configures PM2, and connects your Telegram bot — all in 60 seconds. Start free for 7 days.

3. Local machine (free, limited)

Run OpenClaw on your laptop. Works for testing but goes offline when your machine sleeps — not practical for a 24/7 agent.

Is OpenClaw free?
OpenClaw itself is free and open-source (MIT licence). The cost is the infrastructure — a VPS to run it on ($6–15 USD/month self-hosted) or a managed hosting subscription like NemoClam.
Is OpenClaw safe?
OpenClaw gets system-level permissions on your machine — it can run commands, read files, and call APIs. This is what makes it powerful, and also what makes security configuration important. Always run it on a dedicated VPS, not your main machine. NemoClam configures UFW firewall, fail2ban, and SSH key-only access by default.
What's the difference between OpenClaw and a chatbot?
A chatbot responds to prompts. OpenClaw executes tasks — it takes real actions in the world, like sending emails, running code, and managing files. It can also run proactively on a schedule without you sending a message first.