What is Clawdbot or OpenClaw

Clawdbot (recently renamed to OpenClaw) is a viral, open-source personal AI assistant that allows you to control your computer and automate tasks via messaging apps like WhatsApp, Telegram, and Signal.

While the name sounds similar to Anthropic’s “Claude,” they are different entities: ClaudeBot (one word) is Anthropic’s official web crawler, whereas Clawdbot (with a ‘w’) is the community-created tool.

---

How It Works

Clawdbot acts as a “decentralized agent.” Unlike standard chatbots that live on a website, Clawdbot lives on your hardware (like a Mac Mini or a PC).+1

• The Brain: It connects to AI models (typically Claude 3.5 or 4) via an API key.
• The Hands: It has “agentic” capabilities, meaning it can execute shell commands, read/write files, and control a web browser on your behalf.
• The Interface: You talk to it through your favorite messaging app. You can text your bot, “Find the PDF I downloaded yesterday and summarize it,” and it will search your local drive and reply in the chat.
• Privacy: Because it is self-hosted, your files and sensitive data never leave your computer—only the specific text prompts are sent to the AI model provider.

History and The “Trademark Drama”

Clawdbot has had a chaotic and rapid history since its launch in late 2025:

1. The Launch (Late 2025): Created by developer Peter Steinberger, the project went viral almost instantly, gaining 60,000+ GitHub stars in a matter of weeks. It was nicknamed “Claude with hands.”
2. The Legal Pressure (January 2026): Anthropic (the makers of Claude) requested a name change due to trademark concerns. The phonetic similarity was too close for their legal team’s comfort.
3. The Rebrand (Moltbot): The creator briefly renamed the project Moltbot, playing on the “lobster” mascot (lobsters molt to grow).
4. The Scam Incident: During the name transition, crypto scammers “hijacked” the old @Clawdbot social media handles and GitHub links to promote fraudulent tokens, leading to a temporary security scare for the community.
5. Current Status (OpenClaw): As of early 2026, the project has officially settled on the name OpenClaw to emphasize its open-source nature and distance itself from Anthropic’s trademarks.

Summary Table

Feature	Details
Creator	Peter Steinberger
Current Name	OpenClaw (formerly Moltbot/Clawdbot)
Main Use	Personal automation & local file management
Connectivity	WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal, iMessage
License	Open Source (MIT)

---