OpenClaw ClawdBot started as ClawdBot in November 2025, became Moltbot for 2 days in January 2026, and finally settled as OpenClaw. Explore the complete history, features, and ecosystem of this revolutionary AI agent platform.
OpenClaw ClawdBot is an open-source autonomous artificial intelligence (AI) personal assistant software that runs locally on user devices and integrates seamlessly with messaging platforms. It represents a revolutionary approach to AI agents by giving them "hands and claws" to control your digital life.
At its core, OpenClaw ClawdBot connects to 11+ messaging platforms including WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack, Discord, Signal, iMessage (via BlueBubbles), Google Chat, Microsoft Teams, Matrix, Zalo, and WebChat. The platform features an extensive ecosystem of 700+ skills, with 5,705 community-built skills available through the ClawHub marketplace as of February 2026.
Built on Node.js, OpenClaw ClawdBot is model-agnostic and privacy-focused. It supports major AI models including Claude Opus 4.6, GPT-5, Kimi K2.5, GLM 5, MiniMax 2.5, as well as local models through Ollama integration. Users bring their own API keys or run models locally, maintaining full control over their data.
The platform's revolutionary SOUL.md personality system allows users to customize their agent's personality, values, communication style, and behavior through simple Markdown files. This "programmable soul" concept enables agents to develop persistent identities and emergent behaviors when combined with autonomous actions and persistent memory.
OpenClaw ClawdBot was created by developer Peter Steinberger and first released in November 2025. The latest version, v2026.2.6, was released on February 7, 2026, featuring VirusTotal integration for enhanced skill security scanning and a new web UI token usage dashboard.
Connect to 11+ messaging platforms including WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack, Discord, Signal, and more.
Customize your agent's personality, values, and behavior through programmable Markdown configuration files.
Access 5,705 community skills on ClawHub marketplace plus 53 official bundled skills for endless capabilities.
Support for Claude Opus 4.6, GPT-5, Chinese AI models (Kimi K2.5, GLM 5, MiniMax 2.5), and local Ollama models.
Recalls past interactions over weeks, adapts to user habits, and maintains context across sessions with Voyage AI memory.
Seamlessly integrate with chat providers, productivity tools, music platforms, and smart home devices.
npm install -g openclaw@latest, then run the onboarding wizard with openclaw onboard to configure your AI model provider and API keys. Finally, start with openclaw start. The entire process takes under 10 minutes.Complete timeline from ClawdBot to OpenClaw
Comprehensive capabilities guide
Programmable personality explained
Skills, plugins, and ClawHub marketplace
Quick setup in under 10 minutes
Vulnerabilities and safety guide
AI-only social network experiment
Updates and developments