Self-hosted personal AI assistant
OpenClaw
OpenClaw is an MIT-licensed personal AI assistant that runs on your own computer and takes instructions through the chat apps you already use, 29 channels including WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord, Slack, Signal, and iMessage. It can browse and fill forms, read and write files, run shell commands, and handle email and calendar tasks, and it can write new skills for itself. A US non-profit, the OpenClaw Foundation, stewards the project.
Best for
- Technical users who want an assistant they can message from their phone
- People who want state and history kept on their own machine
- Automating personal chores across email, calendar, and the web
Not best for
- Anyone not comfortable reviewing what an agent with shell access is doing
- Users who want a hosted service with support: there is no hosted tier
- Shared or work machines holding sensitive data
Quick facts
- Creator
- OpenClaw Foundation
- Category
- Self-hosted personal AI assistant
- Autonomy
- Autonomous (acts on chat instructions)
- Platforms
- macOS, Windows, Linux, Self-hosted
- Pricing
- Free and open source under the MIT license, with no subscription or hosted tier. You pay only for the model you connect and the machine it runs on.
In Depth: OpenClaw
What it can do
- Chat control through 29 channels, including WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord, Slack, Signal, and iMessage
- Browser automation and form filling
- File access and shell commands on the host machine
- Email, calendar, and travel check-in tasks
- Custom skills and plugins, including skills it writes itself
- Hosted, subscription, gateway, or local models
Setup and requirements
- A macOS, Windows, or Linux machine that stays on
- A model provider account or a local model
- Accounts for each chat channel and service you connect
Safety and limitations
Agents take real actions on your behalf. Read this before you connect anything important.
- It can run shell commands and send email as you: grant the narrowest access that works
- Third-party skills run with the same access as the assistant; review them before installing
- Messages from chat channels become instructions, so lock down who can message it
Pricing and access
Free and open source under the MIT license, with no subscription or hosted tier. You pay only for the model you connect and the machine it runs on.
Plans and limits change often. Confirm current pricing on openclaw.ai before you commit.
