design

openclaw: Personal AI Assistant

Name: openclaw: Personal AI Assistant
Author: openclaw

Get a personal AI assistant for any OS and platform, ideal for founders seeking AI-driven support with 377k+ GitHub stars.

intermediate⏱ 30 minutes💵 Free (self-hosted)

386,704 stars81,265 forksTypeScriptHealth Score 9/10Updated 8/19/2026100% free · open source

What it is

Use your personal AI assistant to help with tasks and projects.

What you can make with it

Automations like: when a new Slack message contains 'bug found', add it to your Trello board and notify your team.

How it helps

This personal AI assistant is like having a constant, reliable teammate, taking care of tasks and freeing up your time for more valuable work. It understands the lobster way of working.

Real use case example

"A solo developer, working on a personal project, uses openclaw to automate the process of moving tasks from Todoist to their calendar, saving time and reducing errors."

If you're new

Pick this up when you need a simple, easy-to-use AI assistant for everyday tasks.

If you're senior

Reach for this when you're looking for a flexible, open-source AI tool to integrate into existing workflows.

Common confusion cleared up

openclaw is a personal AI assistant that's available on any platform and OS, so you don't have to self-host it for it to work.

Best inside these AI tools

Claude Desktop

Pairs with

Claude DesktopClaude APIStripe webhookNotion database

Why we list it on WorkflowStacks: It's free and open-source, making it a valuable addition to a marketplace of AI tools.

What it does

Openclaw is a personal AI assistant that can be run on any OS and platform, providing a customized AI experience

Install / run

git clone https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw.git && cd openclaw

When to use it

•When you need a portable AI assistant that can be integrated into various workflows
•When you want to experiment with AI on different operating systems and platforms
•When you require a flexible AI tool that can be tailored to your specific needs

Quick start

1Run the command 'npm install' to set up the necessary dependencies
2Modify the configuration files in the 'config' directory to customize your AI assistant
3Use the command 'npm run start' to launch the openclaw application
4Access the openclaw interface by navigating to 'http://localhost:3000' in your web browser
5Consult the README.md file for further instructions on customizing and extending openclaw's capabilities

Ready-to-paste prompt

To get started with openclaw, try running the command 'npm run example' to see a demonstration of its capabilities

Heads up: Make sure you have Node.js and npm installed on your system before attempting to install and run openclaw, as it relies on these tools to function

Saves to your device

Topics

assistant

crustacean

molty

openclaw

own-your-data

personal

How openclaw: Personal AI Assistant works

Codeflow

Free to inspect

Openclaw: Personal AI Assistant is a very large TypeScript project (~7.6M lines across 28494 code files). It is a full software project: use it through its install path rather than reading it end to end. Last commit this month, Other license, has a test suite.

Size

Very large codebase

~7.6M lines · 28494 code files · days to read — use, don't read

Setup

Developer setup

A real software project. Use it via its install path; don't expect to read it all.

Runs on

Node.js · Docker

Needs API keys (.env)