Frequently Asked Questions

OpenClaw is an AI assistant that runs 24/7 on your own server. You talk to it through Telegram or WhatsApp, and it can do things like check your email, research topics, manage your calendar, and automate repetitive tasks.

It was formerly called Clawdbot until Anthropic (the company behind Claude) requested a name change in January 2026. The name "Molt" comes from what lobsters do when they outgrow their shell—same project, same team, same features, just a new name.

If you're looking for Clawdbot setup guides, you're in the right place! Read more about the rebrand →

Nope. The setup involves copy-pasting a few commands and following a wizard that guides you through each step. If you can follow instructions and use Telegram, you can set up OpenClaw in about 30 minutes.

If you get stuck anywhere, screenshot the step and paste it into ChatGPT asking "what do I do next?" It works surprisingly well.

Just three things:

1. A VPS server ($5/month from Vultr, DigitalOcean, etc.)
2. A Telegram account (free)
3. An Anthropic API key for Claude (pay-as-you-go)

That's it. No special hardware, no enterprise accounts, no waiting lists.

Yes, but then OpenClaw only works when your computer is on. A $5/month VPS keeps it running 24/7, so you can message it anytime from anywhere—even at 3am from your phone.

For testing, local installation is fine. For daily use, a VPS is strongly recommended. See our VPS comparison guide →

Approximately $15-25 per month total:

• $5/month for a VPS server (like Vultr)
• $10-20/month for Claude API usage (varies with usage)

There are no licensing fees for OpenClaw itself—it's open source. For context, a human virtual assistant costs $500-2000/month and sleeps 8 hours. OpenClaw runs 24/7.

Claude Sonnet is the sweet spot for most users—smart enough for complex tasks, affordable enough for daily use (roughly $3 per million input tokens).

Claude Opus is more capable for complex reasoning but costs more. Good for heavy research or coding tasks.

You can switch models anytime, and even configure OpenClaw to use different models for different types of tasks.

You can set spending limits in the Anthropic console to cap your monthly spend. OpenClaw also shows token usage so you can track costs.

Typical light usage (a few requests per day) runs about $10/month. Heavy usage with lots of research and long conversations might hit $30-50/month. You're always in control.

OpenClaw can:

• Email: Scan your inbox, summarize what needs attention, draft replies
• Research: Search the web, dig into companies, summarize findings
• Calendar: Create events, find meeting times, send reminders
• Automations: Monitor websites, track prices, send scheduled messages
• Files: Create documents, manage files on your server
• Code: Write and execute scripts, debug errors

The key difference from ChatGPT: OpenClaw can take actions, not just answer questions. See 5 things to automate on day 1 →

Yes! Send voice notes on Telegram or WhatsApp and OpenClaw will transcribe and respond to them. It can also reply with voice if you prefer listening.

Many users find voice more convenient when walking, driving, or when the request is too long to type out.

Yes! With a free Brave Search API key, OpenClaw can search the web and fetch current information. It can also visit specific websites, extract content, fill out forms, and even take screenshots of pages.

This makes it useful for research, price monitoring, and staying updated on topics you care about.

Yes! OpenClaw has built-in scheduling. You can say things like:

• "Remind me to follow up with John tomorrow at 9am"
• "Every Monday morning, summarize my week ahead"
• "Check flight prices to Tokyo every day and tell me if they drop below $800"

See more advanced workflow examples →

During setup or later, you can connect Gmail using OAuth. This lets OpenClaw read, search, and draft emails on your behalf.

The connection uses Google's secure OAuth flow—OpenClaw never sees your password. You can revoke access anytime from your Google account settings. Full Gmail integration guide →

ChatGPT is a chat interface—you ask questions, it answers. It runs on OpenAI's servers and resets between sessions.

OpenClaw is an autonomous agent that runs on YOUR server 24/7. It can take actions (check email, create events, run code), remembers context across sessions, and can work while you sleep.

Think of ChatGPT as a smart search bar. Think of OpenClaw as an assistant who lives in your phone and actually does things. Full comparison →

Auto-GPT runs autonomously in loops, which can burn through API credits quickly and sometimes go off-track with no human oversight.

OpenClaw is human-in-the-loop by default—it completes the tasks you give it and asks for clarification when needed. This makes it more practical and cost-effective for real daily use.

You CAN give OpenClaw more autonomy for specific tasks, but the default is to keep you in control.

Yes. OpenClaw runs on YOUR server, not a shared cloud service. Your files, conversations, and data stay on your server.

The only external service is the AI API (like Claude), which processes your messages to generate responses. According to Anthropic's API terms, they don't train on your data or store it long-term.

For maximum privacy, you can even run local models (like Llama), though they're less capable than Claude. Security best practices →

OpenClaw is designed with security in mind:

• Runs on your own server (not shared infrastructure)
• Uses encrypted connections (HTTPS/TLS)
• Telegram user ID whitelisting (only you can talk to it)
• No data leaves your server except API calls to Claude

For sensitive setups, you can further harden your VPS with SSH keys, firewalls, fail2ban, and more. Full security guide →

Yes, you can whitelist multiple Telegram user IDs. Each person gets their own conversation context, so messages don't mix.

This is useful for families or small teams, though keep in mind that each user's API usage adds to your monthly costs.

First, try telling OpenClaw "fix this" and paste the error—it can often diagnose and repair issues itself.

For other problems:
• Check the official docs
• Ask in the Discord community
• Search or open an issue on GitHub

The community is active and helpful—most questions get answered within hours.

Updates are simple: SSH into your server and run:

openclaw update

OpenClaw handles the rest, preserving your configuration and conversation history. Updates typically take under a minute.