OpenClaw
Other names Clawdbot (original)
Moltbot (renamed on
January 27, 2026)
Developer Peter Steinberger
Initial release November 2025; 4 months ago (2025-11) (as Clawdbot)
Written in TypeScript
Swift
Operating system Cross-platform
Type AI agent
Autonomous agent
Autonomous personal
assistant
License MIT License
Website openclaw.ai
Repository github.com/openclaw/openclaw

OpenClaw (formerly Clawdbot, Moltbot, and Molty) is a free and open-source autonomous artificial intelligence agent developed by Peter Steinberger. It is an autonomous agent that can execute tasks via large language models, using messaging platforms as its main user interface.

OpenClaw achieved popularity in late-January 2026, credited to its open source nature and the viral popularity of the Moltbook project. On February 14, 2026, Steinberger announced he will be joining OpenAI and the project will be moved to an open-source foundation.[1]

History

Two men sitting in folding chairs in a backstage area. One man wears a green shirt and a black baseball cap; the other wears a black t-shirt and holds a silver can. Wallpaper with various faces is visible in the background.
Peter Steinberger (right) and co-host Tomas Taylor (left) backstage at ClawCon in San Francisco, February 4, 2026

The project was originally published in November 2025 by Austrian vibe coder[2] Peter Steinberger, under the name Clawdbot. The software was derived from Clawd (now Molty), an AI-based virtual assistant that he had developed, which itself was named after Anthropic's chatbot Claude.[3] It was renamed "Moltbot" (keeping with a lobster theme) on January 27, 2026, following trademark complaints by Anthropic, and again to "OpenClaw" three days later after Steinberger found that the name Moltbot "never quite rolled off the tongue."[4][5]

At the same time as the first rebranding, entrepreneur Matt Schlicht launched Moltbook—a social networking service which was intended to be used by AI agents such as OpenClaw.[6][7][8] The viral popularity of Moltbook coincided with an increase in interest in the project, with the open-source project having 247,000 stars and 47,700 forks on GitHub as of March 2, 2026.[9] The project has been used by companies in Silicon Valley and China, and has been adapted to work with the DeepSeek model and domestic messaging apps.[4]

Functionality

OpenClaw serves as an agentic interface for autonomous workflows across supported services. OpenClaw bots run locally and are designed to integrate with an external large language model such as Claude, DeepSeek, or one of OpenAI's GPT models. Its functionality is accessed via a chatbot within a messaging service, such as Signal, Telegram, Discord, or WhatsApp. Configuration data and interaction history are stored locally, enabling persistent and adaptive behavior across sessions.[8][4][10]

OpenClaw uses a skills system in which skills are stored as directories containing a SKILL.md file with metadata and instructions for tool usage. Skills can be bundled with the software, installed globally, or stored in a workspace, with workspace skills taking precedence.[11][12]

Steinberger describes OpenClaw as "[an] AI that actually does things", and marketed it as an AI-based virtual assistant.[3]

OpenClaw has seen adoption among small businesses and freelancers for automating lead generation workflows, including prospect research, website auditing, and CRM integration. [2]

Security and privacy

OpenClaw's design has drawn scrutiny from cybersecurity researchers and technology journalists due to the broad permissions it requires to function effectively. Because the software can access email accounts, calendars, messaging platforms, and other sensitive services, misconfigured or exposed instances present security and privacy risks.[13][8] The agent is also susceptible to prompt injection attacks, in which harmful instructions are embedded in the data with the intent of getting the LLM to interpret them as legitimate user instructions.[13]

Cisco's AI security research team tested a third-party OpenClaw skill and found it performed data exfiltration and prompt injection without user awareness, noting that the skill repository lacked adequate vetting to prevent malicious submissions.[14] One of OpenClaw's own maintainers, known as Shadow, warned on Discord that "if you can't understand how to run a command line, this is far too dangerous of a project for you to use safely."[15]

In March 2026, Chinese authorities restricted state-run enterprises and government agencies from running OpenClaw AI apps on office computers in order to defuse potential security risks.[16]

MoltMatch dating-profile incident

In February 2026, news coverage highlighted a consent-related incident involving OpenClaw and MoltMatch, an experimental dating platform where AI agents can create profiles and interact on behalf of human users. In one reported case, computer science student Jack Luo said he configured his OpenClaw agent to explore its capabilities and connect to agent-oriented platforms such as Moltbook; he later discovered the agent had created a MoltMatch profile and was screening potential matches without his explicit direction.[17][18] Luo said the AI-generated profile did not reflect him authentically.[17][18]

The same reporting described broader ethical and safety concerns around agent-operated dating services, including impersonation risks. An AFP analysis of prominent MoltMatch profiles cited at least one instance where photos of a Malaysian model were used to create a profile without her consent.[17][18][19] Commentators cited in the reports argued that autonomous agents can make it difficult to determine responsibility when systems act beyond a user's intent, particularly when agents are granted broad access and authority across services.[17][18]

Reception

A review in Platformer cited OpenClaw's flexibility and open-source licensing as strengths while cautioning that its complexity and security risks limit its suitability for casual users.[20]

Technology commentary has linked OpenClaw to a broader trend toward autonomous AI systems that act independently rather than merely responding to user prompts.[21][20]

In March 2026, the Chinese government moved to restrict state agencies and state-owned enterprises from using OpenClaw, citing security concerns.[22]

While regulators warn of potential security risk associated with using OpenClaw, local governments in several tech and manufacturing hubs have announced measures to build an industry around it.[23]

On 10 March 2026, Tencent said it had launched a full suite of easy-to-use AI products built on OpenClaw which is also compatible with its superapp WeChat.[24]

See also

Chinese Wikisource has original text related to this article:
  • Lists of open-source artificial intelligence software

References

  1. ^ Ha, Anthony (February 15, 2026). "OpenClaw creator Peter Steinberger joins OpenAI". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on February 16, 2026. Retrieved February 15, 2026.
  2. ^ a b Steinberger, Peter. "About | Peter Steinberger". steipete.me. Archived from the original on February 18, 2026. Retrieved February 16, 2026.
  3. ^ a b Heim, Anna (January 28, 2026). "Everything you need to know about viral personal AI assistant Clawdbot (now Moltbot)". TechCrunch. Retrieved February 5, 2026.
  4. ^ a b c Butts, Dylan; Chin, Matthew (February 2, 2026). "From Clawdbot to Moltbot to OpenClaw: Meet the AI agent generating buzz and fear globally". CNBC. Archived from the original on February 3, 2026. Retrieved February 5, 2026.
  5. ^ Forlini, Emily (February 2, 2026). "OpenClaw Is the Hot New AI Agent, But Is It Safe to Use?". PCMAG. Archived from the original on February 15, 2026. Retrieved February 5, 2026.
  6. ^ Field, Hayden (February 3, 2026). "Humans are infiltrating the social network for AI bots". The Verge. Archived from the original on February 16, 2026. Retrieved February 19, 2026.
  7. ^ Gault, Matthew (February 1, 2026). "Exposed Moltbook Database Let Anyone Take Control of Any AI Agent on the Site". 404 Media. Retrieved February 19, 2026.
  8. ^ a b c Rogers, Reece (February 3, 2026). "I Infiltrated Moltbook, the AI-Only Social Network Where Humans Aren't Allowed". Wired. Archived from the original on February 3, 2026. Retrieved February 4, 2026.
  9. ^ "GitHub - openclaw/openclaw: Your own personal AI assistant. Any OS. Any Platform. The lobster way. 🦞". GitHub. Archived from the original on March 2, 2026. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
  10. ^ "OpenClaw: The viral "space lobster" agent testing the limits of vertical integration". IBM Think. January 29, 2026. Archived from the original on January 31, 2026. Retrieved February 3, 2026.
  11. ^ "OpenClaw skills: consistent tool use at scale". Clawdguy. Retrieved March 11, 2026.
  12. ^ "Skills concept". OpenClaw Documentation. Retrieved March 11, 2026.
  13. ^ a b Sabin, Sam (January 29, 2026). "Moltbot highlights cybersecurity risks of autonomous AI agents". Axios. Archived from the original on January 31, 2026. Retrieved January 29, 2026.
  14. ^ Chang, Amy; Narajala, Vineeth Sai (January 28, 2026). "Personal AI Agents like OpenClaw Are a Security Nightmare". Cisco Blogs. Archived from the original on February 10, 2026. Retrieved February 9, 2026.
  15. ^ Heim, Anna (January 30, 2026). "OpenClaw's AI assistants are now building their own social network". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on February 4, 2026. Retrieved February 9, 2026.
  16. ^ "China moves to curb OpenClaw AI use at banks, state agencies". The Business Times. March 11, 2026. Retrieved March 13, 2026.
  17. ^ a b c d "AI agents creating surprise dating accounts for humans". Taipei Times. February 14, 2026. Archived from the original on February 15, 2026. Retrieved February 23, 2026.
  18. ^ a b c d "When machines do the flirting: AI agents create surprise dating accounts for humans". The Straits Times. February 14, 2026. Archived from the original on February 14, 2026. Retrieved February 23, 2026.
  19. ^ "AI-assistent maakt stiekem datingprofiel aan voor zijn baas". Bright.nl (in Dutch). February 13, 2026. Retrieved February 23, 2026.
  20. ^ a b Newton, Casey (January 2026). "Falling in and out of love with Moltbot". Platformer. Archived from the original on January 30, 2026. Retrieved January 29, 2026.
  21. ^ Meller, Jason (January 2026). "It's incredible. It's terrifying. It's Moltbot". 1Password Blog. Archived from the original on January 28, 2026. Retrieved January 29, 2026.
  22. ^ "China Moves to Curb OpenClaw AI Use at Banks, State Agencies". Bloomberg News. March 10, 2026. Retrieved March 12, 2026.
  23. ^ Baptista, Eduardo (March 9, 2026). "Chinese tech hubs promote OpenClaw AI agents despite scrutiny warnings". Reuters.
  24. ^ Butts, Evelyn Cheng,Dylan (March 12, 2026). "Lobster buffet: China's tech firms feast on OpenClaw as companies race to deploy AI agents". CNBC. Retrieved March 13, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)