What is OpenClaw? Complete Guide 2026
OpenClaw is revolutionizing how we interact with AI assistants. Unlike cloud-only solutions like ChatGPT or Claude, OpenClaw gives you complete control over your AI assistant.
Key Features
1. Self-Hosted or Managed
You can run OpenClaw on your own hardware, a VPS, or use a managed service like MyOpenClaw.cloud. Your choice, your data.
2. Bring Your Own AI
Use any AI provider: Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, Groq, Mistral, or even local models with Ollama. Switch providers anytime without losing your setup.
3. Multi-Channel Integration
Connect OpenClaw to WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord, and more. Your AI assistant meets you where you already communicate.
4. Persistent Memory
OpenClaw combines persistent sessions, saved memory files, and optional scoped retrieval. Continuity depends on what was retained and indexed.
5. Skills & Automation
Install skills from ClawHub to extend functionality: web search, calendar integration, code execution, and hundreds more.
Why Choose OpenClaw?
Getting Started
The easiest way to get started is with MyOpenClaw.cloud. Pick a username and choose a plan. Warm pooled launches typically take about 90 seconds; fallback provisioning can take longer.
For self-hosting, check out the official OpenClaw documentation.