OpenClaw: an open-source assistant that runs on your machine and finds you in channels you already use

Who it's for

Use OpenClaw when you want an open-source AI assistant on your own computer, and you want it to appear in channels you already use — Discord, iMessage, Slack, Teams, Telegram, WhatsApp, plus 20+ more channels, and native apps on macOS, iOS, Android, Windows, Linux. It stresses running on this machine, not handing keys to an unnamed host.

Two hard preconditions. First, inbound messages are treated as untrusted input; channels that can DM will by default pair unknown senders, and you must approve with openclaw pairing approve <channel> <code> before they count as known. Second, tools in the main session run on the host by default unless you configured sandboxing. If you cannot accept tools executing on this machine, do not connect any channel.

Recommended install covers only install.sh on macOS / Linux / WSL2. Windows appears on the native-app roster, but visible text gives no Windows install command; do not apply the script there.

First try in 3 minutes

Official page:

https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw

Install script:

https://openclaw.ai/install.sh

Open the script address and read it first, then pipe it to bash after you confirm (this runs a remote script on this machine):

curl -fsSL https://openclaw.ai/install.sh | bash

Take this path only on macOS / Linux / WSL2. After install, first see whether the local assistant comes up; do not connect Discord or other DM channels yet, and do not approve pairing.

Success signal: the script finishes, and you can talk to OpenClaw on this machine. If the script fails, stop. For people already managing Node, the notes also give npm install -g openclaw@latest --allow-scripts=openclaw (needs Node 24.16+ or 26.1+); that is another path — do not mix it with curl the first time.

Use cases

Case 1: Install locally with the official script on macOS / Linux / WSL2. After install.sh, do one read-only Q&A on this machine to confirm the assistant is alive. Do not approve any pairing at this step, and do not let it run unconfirmed tools on the host.

Case 2: Handle pairing for unknown senders. The notes require treating inbound messages as untrusted input; DM channels default to pairing. Only after you have checked the channel and the code, run openclaw pairing approve <channel> <code>. If you installed the package directly with npm / pnpm / Bun, the notes also require openclaw onboard --install-daemon first, then talk about channels. Visible text writes no dashboard or status subcommand; do not invent one.

Boundaries

The main install is curl -fsSL https://openclaw.ai/install.sh | bash on macOS / Linux / WSL2. npm is only for people already managing Node.js, and needs Node 24.16+ or 26.1+.

Tools run on the host by default unless sandboxing is configured. The notes give no sandbox steps.

The channel roster includes 20+ more; do not infer that only the six named ones work, and do not invent connect commands for unwritten channels.

Windows / iOS / Android appear on the native-app roster, but have no matching install commands. Keep undocumented items unknown.