OpenClaw
OpenClaw by OpenClaw (open-source project): what it does, how it works, pricing and adoption — sourced and dated.
Self-hosted agents Open source · MIT ≈388K GitHub stars (2026-09)
OpenClaw is the open-source personal agent that went viral in early 2026: a self-hosted runtime (created by Peter Steinberger, first released in November 2025 as Warelay, then renamed Clawdbot and Moltbot before settling on OpenClaw) that lives on your own machine, keeps memory and skills as files on your disk, and is controlled through WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack, Discord, Signal, iMessage and 20+ other channels. By September 2026 it had roughly 388,000 GitHub stars — among the most-starred projects on GitHub — and a non-profit foundation behind it.
How it works
Runs persistently on hardware you control and takes instructions through the messaging apps you already use; it can open local files, run shell commands, browse the web and act across connected services. Full access is the point — and the documented security caveat: it holds the keys to your machine, so its own community treats hardening as part of setup.
The facts
| Maker | OpenClaw (open-source project) |
| Type | Agent product |
| Category | Self-hosted agents |
| Status | Active |
| Launched | 2025 |
| License | MIT |
| Models | Bring your own model: connects to Claude, GPT, Gemini, DeepSeek and other hosted or local models via your own API keys. |
| GitHub stars | 388,000 (snapshot 2026-09) · openclaw/openclaw |
| Website | https://openclaw.ai |
Pricing
Free and open source (MIT). Your costs are your own hosting (it runs on anything from a small VPS to a home machine) plus the model API usage you configure.
Pricing model: Free / open source · Source: published tiers · checked Oct 14, 2026
Also in Self-hosted agents
- Hermes Agent — Nous Research
Sources
- Forkast — OpenClaw, the smart home's AI agent standard (Sep 2026)
- TestMu AI — OpenClaw GitHub repository guide (Aug 2026)
- AyaAutomate — OpenClaw GitHub agent, what it actually does (2026)
Profile verified Oct 14, 2026. Spotted an error? Every figure above links to its source.