AI ASSISTANT
Clawdbot Setup Guide: Your Personal AI Assistant for Any Platform 🦞
Clawdbot is a personal AI assistant you run on your own devices. It answers you on WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack, Discord, Signal, iMessage, and more—with voice support, live Canvas, and full control over your data.
- What is Clawdbot?
- Why Choose Clawdbot?
- Prerequisites & Requirements
- Installation Guide
- Key Features & Capabilities
- Supported Channels
- Getting Started: First Chat
- Advanced Usage & Configuration
- Security & Best Practices
- Clawdbot Pricing: Is It Free?
- Clawdbot vs Openclaw vs Moltbot
- Running Clawdbot on a Mac Mini
- Frequently Asked Questions
What is Clawdbot?
Clawdbot is a personal AI assistant that you run on your own devices. Unlike cloud-based AI services, Clawdbot gives you full control—it connects to the messaging channels you already use (WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack, Discord, and more) and responds as your personal AI assistant.
Built by Peter Steinberger and the open-source community, Clawdbot supports multiple AI providers including Anthropic (Claude) and OpenAI. The project has over 31,000 stars on GitHub and is actively maintained with regular releases.
- Multi-Channel: Works on WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack, Discord, Signal, iMessage, Microsoft Teams, Google Chat, and more
- Self-Hosted: Run on your own devices—your data stays with you
- Voice Support: Voice Wake and Talk Mode for hands-free interaction
- Live Canvas: Agent-driven visual workspace for rich interactions
- Multi-Agent Routing: Route different channels to isolated agents
- Companion Apps: Native macOS menu bar app, iOS and Android nodes
Why Choose Clawdbot?
Unlike cloud AI services, Clawdbot runs on your hardware. Your conversations, context, and data never leave your control.
- Self-hosted on your devices
- No third-party data storage
- Full privacy control
- Local-first architecture
Chat with your AI assistant on the platforms you already use daily. No new apps to install—just message your assistant.
- WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord
- Slack, Microsoft Teams
- Signal, iMessage (macOS)
- Google Chat, Matrix, WebChat
Personal Use
- Personal AI assistant on your phone
- Quick Q&A via messaging apps
- Voice-activated tasks
- Always-on availability
Power Users
- Multi-agent workflows
- Custom skills and tools
- Browser automation
- Cron jobs and webhooks
Prerequisites & Requirements
- Node.js: Version 22 or higher (required)
- OS: macOS, Linux, or Windows (WSL2 strongly recommended)
- pnpm: Recommended if building from source
- macOS: Xcode/CLT if building companion apps
- Anthropic: API key or Claude Pro/Max subscription (OAuth)
- OpenAI: ChatGPT/Codex subscription (OAuth) or API key
- Recommended: Anthropic Pro/Max + Opus 4.5 for best results
- Optional: Brave Search API key for web search
WSL2 (Ubuntu recommended) is strongly recommended for Windows. Native Windows is untested and has poorer tool compatibility. Install WSL2 first, then run all commands inside WSL.
Installation Guide
The recommended approach is to use the CLI onboarding wizard, which sets up everything automatically.
Step 1: Install the CLI
Install via the official installer script:
# macOS / Linux
curl -fsSL https://clawd.bot/install.sh | bash
# Windows (PowerShell) - then use WSL2
iwr -useb https://clawd.bot/install.ps1 | iex
# Alternative: npm/pnpm global install
npm install -g clawdbot@latest
# or
pnpm add -g clawdbot@latestStep 2: Run the Onboarding Wizard
The wizard guides you through gateway setup, auth, channels, and daemon installation:
clawdbot onboard --install-daemonThe wizard will help you configure:
- Local vs Remote gateway mode
- Auth: OpenAI Codex subscription (OAuth) or API keys
- Providers: WhatsApp QR login, Telegram/Discord tokens, etc.
- Daemon: Background service (launchd/systemd)
- Gateway token: Auto-generated for security
Step 3: Verify the Gateway
# Check gateway status
clawdbot gateway status
# Run gateway manually (foreground)
clawdbot gateway --port 18789 --verbose
# Quick health check
clawdbot status
clawdbot healthOnce the gateway is running, access the Control UI dashboard at http://127.0.0.1:18789/
Key Features & Capabilities
- WhatsApp (via Baileys)
- Telegram (via grammY)
- Slack (via Bolt)
- Discord (via discord.js)
- Signal, iMessage, Microsoft Teams
- Google Chat, Matrix, WebChat
- Voice Wake for always-on listening
- Talk Mode for continuous conversation
- Live Canvas visual workspace (A2UI)
- ElevenLabs voice integration
- macOS/iOS/Android support
- Browser control (dedicated Chromium)
- Camera snap/clip, screen record
- Cron jobs and webhooks
- Gmail Pub/Sub triggers
- Skills platform (bundled + custom)
- macOS menu bar app
- iOS node (Canvas, Voice, camera)
- Android node (Canvas, Talk, camera)
- Remote gateway control
Route different channels, accounts, or peers to isolated agents with their own workspaces and sessions. Perfect for separating personal and work contexts.
{
"routing": {
"agents": {
"main": {
"workspace": "~/clawd",
"sandbox": { "mode": "off" }
},
"work": {
"workspace": "~/clawd-work",
"sandbox": { "mode": "non-main" }
}
}
}
}Supported Channels
Link via QR code, just like WhatsApp Web.
clawdbot channels loginUse a bot token from @BotFather.
{
"channels": {
"telegram": {
"botToken": "123:ABC"
}
}
}Configure with your Discord bot token.
{
"channels": {
"discord": {
"token": "your-token"
}
}
}Use Bolt with bot and app tokens.
SLACK_BOT_TOKEN=xoxb-...
SLACK_APP_TOKEN=xapp-...Requires signal-cli setup.
macOS only, requires Messages sign-in.
Getting Started: Your First Chat
1. Pair a Channel (WhatsApp Example)
# Login to WhatsApp (scan QR code)
clawdbot channels login
# Approve pairing for new contacts
clawdbot pairing list whatsapp
clawdbot pairing approve whatsapp <code>2. Send a Test Message
# Send a message via CLI
clawdbot message send --to +1234567890 --message "Hello from Clawdbot"
# Or interact directly with the agent
clawdbot agent --message "What can you help me with?" --thinking high3. Chat Commands
Send these commands in any connected channel (WhatsApp, Telegram, etc.):
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
/status | Show session status (model, tokens, cost) |
/new or /reset | Reset the session |
/compact | Compact session context (summary) |
/think <level> | Set thinking level (off/minimal/low/medium/high/xhigh) |
/verbose on|off | Toggle verbose mode |
/restart | Restart gateway (owner-only) |
Advanced Usage & Configuration
Configuration File
Main configuration lives at ~/.clawdbot/clawdbot.json:
{
"agent": {
"model": "anthropic/claude-opus-4-5"
},
"browser": {
"enabled": true,
"controlUrl": "http://127.0.0.1:18791"
},
"channels": {
"whatsapp": {
"allowFrom": ["+1234567890"]
}
}
}Skills & Workspace
Clawdbot supports bundled, managed, and workspace skills:
- Workspace root:
~/clawd(configurable) - Prompt files:
AGENTS.md,SOUL.md,TOOLS.md - Custom skills:
~/clawd/skills/<skill>/SKILL.md
Tailscale Remote Access
Expose the gateway securely via Tailscale Serve or Funnel:
{
"gateway": {
"tailscale": {
"mode": "serve" // or "funnel" for public access
}
}
}Building from Source
git clone https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw.git
cd clawdbot
pnpm install
pnpm ui:build # auto-installs UI deps
pnpm build
pnpm clawdbot onboard --install-daemon
# Development mode (auto-reload)
pnpm gateway:watchSecurity & Best Practices
Clawdbot connects to real messaging surfaces. Treat all inbound DMs as untrusted input.
- Default behavior: Unknown senders receive a pairing code— the bot won't process messages until approved
- Approve senders:
clawdbot pairing approve <channel> <code> - Run diagnostics:
clawdbot doctorto check for risky DM policies
- DM pairing required by default
- Tools run on host for main session only
- Non-main sessions can be sandboxed (Docker)
- Gateway tokens auto-generated
- Set
sandbox.mode: "non-main" - Groups/channels run in Docker
- Bash isolated per session
- Tool allowlist/denylist supported
Run clawdbot doctor regularly to check for configuration issues and security risks. It will surface any misconfigured DM policies or missing auth.
Clawdbot Pricing: Is It Free?
Clawdbot itself is free and open source under the MIT license. You can clone the Clawdbot GitHub repository, build it, and run it without paying anything for the software.
However, Clawdbot uses Claude as its AI backend, so you need an Anthropic API key. That means you pay for the Claude API usage. The cost depends on which Claude model you configure and how much you chat. Typical personal usage runs $5-20 per month on the API. You can set spending limits in your Anthropic dashboard to control costs.
| Component | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Clawdbot software | Free | MIT license, open source |
| Anthropic API (Claude) | Pay-per-use | ~$5-20/month for typical personal use |
| Hosting (self-hosted) | Free | Run on your own Mac, Linux, or Raspberry Pi |
| Hosting (cloud VPS) | $5-10/month | Optional, if you want 24/7 uptime without a home server |
Bottom line: Clawdbot is free to install and use. You only pay for the underlying Claude API calls, which you control directly through your Anthropic account. There are no subscriptions, no premium tiers, and no usage limits imposed by Clawdbot itself.
Clawdbot vs Openclaw vs Moltbot
Clawdbot, Openclaw, and Moltbot are three related projects in the open-source AI assistant ecosystem. They share a common goal - giving you a personal AI that runs on your own hardware - but take different approaches to get there. Here is how they compare.
| Feature | Clawdbot | Openclaw | Moltbot |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI backend | Claude (Anthropic) | Local models (Ollama, MLX) | Multi-provider (Claude, GPT, local) |
| Data privacy | Data goes to Anthropic API | Fully local, no external calls | Depends on provider chosen |
| Setup difficulty | Easy (CLI wizard) | Medium (model download + config) | Medium |
| Messaging channels | WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord, Slack, Signal, iMessage | Terminal, web UI | Telegram, Discord, web UI |
| Quality | High (Claude-powered) | Varies by local model | Varies by provider |
| Tool use | Yes (MCP, skills) | Limited | Yes |
| Running cost | API fees ($5-20/mo) | Free (local compute) | Free to API fees |
Pick Clawdbot if you want the highest quality AI responses through Claude, the widest messaging app support (especially WhatsApp and iMessage), and the easiest setup with the CLI wizard. Clawdbot is the most polished option for non-technical users who want a personal AI assistant on their phone.
Pick Openclaw if data privacy is your priority and you do not want any data leaving your machine. Openclaw runs entirely on local models through Ollama or MLX, so nothing hits an external API. The tradeoff is lower output quality compared to Claude and fewer messaging integrations.
Pick Moltbot if you want flexibility to switch between providers. Moltbot lets you route different conversations to different AI backends - use Claude for important chats and a local model for casual ones. It is a good middle ground if you want both quality and privacy depending on the context.
Running Clawdbot on a Mac Mini
A Mac Mini is one of the best home server options for running Clawdbot 24/7. The M2 or M4 Mac Mini draws just 5-10 watts at idle, runs silently, and handles Clawdbot with plenty of headroom. Here is how to set it up as a dedicated Clawdbot server.
# Install Clawdbot on Mac Mini
brew install clawdbot/tap/clawdbot
# Run the onboarding wizard
clawdbot onboard
# Start Clawdbot as a background service (survives reboots)
brew services start clawdbot
# Check status
brew services list | grep clawdbot
# View logs
tail -f ~/Library/Logs/clawdbot/clawdbot.log- Mac Mini M2 (8GB): Runs Clawdbot comfortably. More than enough for the gateway, messaging bridges, and API calls. This is the most cost-effective option.
- Mac Mini M2/M4 (16GB+): Can run Clawdbot plus a local model via Ollama simultaneously - useful if you want to experiment with Openclaw-style local inference alongside Clawdbot.
- Power usage: 5-10W at idle. Your electricity cost is under $2 per month to run Clawdbot 24/7 on a Mac Mini.
For remote access when you are away from home, set up Tailscale on the Mac Mini. This lets you SSH into it and manage Clawdbot from anywhere without opening ports on your router. Clawdbot's messaging bridges handle the rest - your WhatsApp, Telegram, and Discord channels stay connected regardless of your location.
Frequently Asked Questions
Clawdbot is the personal AI assistant you run on your own terms. With support for 12+ messaging channels, voice interaction, and a thriving open-source community, it's the most flexible way to have an AI assistant everywhere you chat.