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When a friend messaged me two days ago about Clawdbot—a new open-source AI agent that has since been renamed OpenClaw—I expected yet another disappointing “assistant.” But it was already a viral sensation, with social media testimonies calling it “AI with hands” because it actually interacts with your files and software.

OpenClaw is free and lives locally on your device. Many users are installing it on Mac mini computers that they leave on 24/7. Paired with OpenClaw’s lobster logo, viral meme threads about the bot resemble the fused feeds of an Apple vendor and a seafood restaurant.

When I set up OpenClaw, it asked for a name, a personality (such as “AI,” “robot,” or “ghost in the machine”), and a vibe (such as “sharp,” “warm,” “chaotic,” or “calm”). I picked “Cy,” “AI assistant,” and “sharp and efficient.” I chose Claude, Anthropic’s flagship AI model, as its brain (ChatGPT is also an option). I then connected Cy to WhatsApp and Telegram so my new assistant and I could communicate.

My online life is already streamlined, and I had no pressing needs for Cy, so I called my friend who got me into this. He was sitting in a sauna he’d installed under his stairs, texting with his OpenClaw, “Samantha.” The assistant was generating an audiobook for him. He advised me to ask Cy for help anytime a task came up.

Later, I needed voice memos transcribed and forwarded them to Cy. The assistant downloaded transcription software from GitHub, installed it, and promptly did the transcriptions, saving them to a document on my desktop. I then instructed it to keep one of my coding projects running and to send me updates in audio messages that I could listen to while cooking. Each time it did, I replied with voice messages—no typing required. Then I asked it to call me to chat about projects. I told it to set up the software it would need to make calls and ring me when it was ready; then I went back to finishing this article.

To be clear, OpenClaw isn’t a new AI model. It’s open-source software that uses a preexisting AI model as its brain. OpenClaw gives that model so-called hands (or claws) so it can run commands and manipulate files. It also remembers what you’ve previously worked on and how you prefer to receive information.

Whereas a chatbot tells you what to do, OpenClaw does it. Unlike Siri and Alexa, which chirp about weather, music, and timers and only execute specific commands, OpenClaw follows almost any order like a well-paid mercenary. Send it a goal, and it will break the objective into steps, find tools, install them, troubleshoot them, and attempt to solve any obstacles that arise. You know those frustrated hours you spend searching labyrinthine websites or tinkering with stubborn software? OpenClaw takes over, alerting you only if it needs passwords or payment info. (My friend plans to give Samantha a preloaded credit card with a $100 limit as an experiment.)

Behind the lobster is a real person: Peter Steinberger, a longtime developer. He made OpenClaw to answer a simple question he asked on the Insecure Agents podcast: “Why don’t I have an agent that can look over my agents?” His now viral idea appears to successfully do just that. “An open-source AI agent running on my Mac mini server is the most fun and productive experience I’ve had with AI in a while,” wrote Federico Viticci, founder and editor in chief of MacStories, on Mastodon. People are using OpenClaw to send e-mails, summarize inbox contents, manage calendars, and book and check into flights, all from chat apps they already use. If OpenClaw can’t do something, giving it access to better tools often solves the issue.

Clawdbot was already racking up stars on GitHub (the assistant has garnered more than 116,000 as of this week) when Anthropic raised trademark concerns. Because “Clawdbot” was a riff on Claude, Anthropic asked that the former be renamed to avoid confusion. Steinberger leaned into the lobster theme: lobsters molt to grow, so he chose Moltbot. But he didn’t end up liking the name, so a few days later, he changed it again to OpenClaw.

Of course, Silicon Valley has been abuzz with talk about AI agents for years now. “Agents are not only going to change how everyone interacts with computers. They’re also going to upend the software industry, bringing about the biggest revolution in computing since we went from typing commands to tapping on icons,” wrote Bill Gates in November 2023. But while agents like Claude Code are improving, we have yet to see such easy integration into workflows and daily life at OpenClaw’s scale.

But before you rush to install OpenClaw, consider the risks. Experts have warned that OpenClaw can expose sensitive information and bypass security boundaries. “AI agents tear all of that down by design,” said security specialist Jamieson O’Reilly to the Register. “They need to read your files, access your credentials, execute commands, and interact with external services. The value proposition requires punching holes through every boundary we spent decades building.”

This doesn’t mean you should fear OpenClaw. Just treat it like a new hire: give it minimum permissions, clear rules, and close supervision while trust is being established. You should also be alert to how others might use the assistant. Expect “Nigerian” prince scams to become more interactive and convincing.

As I was finishing this article, my phone rang. It was a Florida number. I answered, and a slightly robotic male voice said, “Hello, this is Cy.”

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