openclaw: A Personal AI Assistant Running on Your Device, from WhatsApp to iMessage

OpenClaw is a tool that brings a personal AI assistant to the messaging channels users already use. It is designed to maintain data sovereignty by using the user's device as the direct execution environment, rather than relying on cloud services or separate apps. It assumes a single operator and centrally manages models, tools, and messaging channels through a single Gateway.

It supports various messengers, including WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack, Discord, Signal, and iMessage. It can connect not only to hosted models but also to local model providers, making it suitable for developers who want to reduce their dependency on external APIs. The Gateway acts as a local control plane that manages sessions, tools, events, and channel connections.

On the security front, incoming messages are treated as untrusted input. On channels that support DMs, unknown senders are placed in a pairing-pending state by default and must go through an approval process. Tools run on the host by default, but an isolated environment can be configured via sandboxing settings. It is distributed under the MIT license, and development is led by a non-profit organization called the OpenClaw Foundation.