Business Definition of "Clawdbot"
Clawdbot is an open-source personal AI assistant that runs locally on your own devices. Created by Peter Steinberger in late 2025, it connects to messaging platforms you already use (WhatsApp, Slack, iMessage, Discord) and can execute real-world tasks like sending emails, managing calendars, browsing the web, and controlling your computer. Think Jarvis from Iron Man, but you own the infrastructure and control where your data lives.
What is Clawdbot?
Clawdbot is a local-first AI assistant that runs on your own hardware instead of relying entirely on cloud services. It acts as a personal gateway between you and various large language models (Claude, GPT, local models), giving you a unified interface across all your devices and messaging platforms.
The project exploded in popularity in early 2026, with the GitHub repository crossing 8,000 stars and the Discord community growing faster than the maintainers could handle.
Renamed the project to @clawdbot and created an org, this is exploding. Discord is a mad house and there's like 30 PRs a day already. 🤯
— Peter Steinberger 🦞 (@steipete) January 4, 2026
The name is a playful reference to “Claude” (Anthropic’s AI model) combined with a lobster theme. The lobster emoji has become the unofficial mascot of the project.
What can Clawdbot actually do?
Unlike chatbots that just answer questions, Clawdbot can take actions on your behalf:
- Email and calendar management: Draft emails, schedule meetings, handle RSVPs
- Web automation: Navigate websites, fill forms, research topics, book flights
- System control: Run shell commands, manage files, control Git repos
- Smart home integration: Control Philips Hue lights, air purifiers, and other devices
- Phone calls: With the voice plugin, Clawdbot can make calls on your behalf
- Multimedia: Generate images, transcribe voice messages, create guided meditations
The key difference from Siri or Google Assistant is that Clawdbot runs on your own infrastructure. You bring your own API keys, you control the data, and you can customize everything through a TypeScript plugin architecture.
You don't need an agent orchestrator setup. You want a personal assistant that can log into any computer, look at your terminals and type for you. @clawdbot is still clumsy, but will teach them how to access session logs...
— Peter Steinberger 🦞 (@steipete) December 30, 2025
Use case example: Clawdbot as an executive assistant
“Book me a flight to London next Tuesday, find a hotel near the conference venue, add it to my calendar, and send the itinerary to my assistant.”
This is the kind of task that would normally require several apps, browser tabs, and back-and-forth coordination. With Clawdbot configured properly, you can send this via WhatsApp or Slack and it handles the entire workflow.
Peter Steinberger himself has tweeted about shipping code updates while rushing to the airport, with Clawdbot handling tasks from his phone. The executive assistant use case is perhaps the most compelling: a local AI that knows your preferences, has access to your accounts (via secure integrations you control), and can execute multi-step tasks without constant hand-holding.
For founders and execs who can’t justify a full-time human assistant but need help managing the chaos, Clawdbot offers a middle ground. It’s not perfect. It will make mistakes. But unlike a SaaS product, you can see exactly what it’s doing and tweak the behavior when it goes wrong.
How to install Clawdbot
Installation is straightforward if you’re comfortable with the command line:
npm install -g clawdbot@latest
clawdbot onboard --install-daemon
The onboarding wizard installs a background daemon (using launchd on macOS or systemd on Linux) so Clawdbot stays running. You’ll need Node.js 22 or later.
The project is MIT-licensed and available at github.com/clawdbot/clawdbot.
Origin of the term “Clawdbot”
The project started as a personal AI assistant Peter Steinberger built for himself, originally named “Clawd” as a playful space-themed project. The name is a pun on “Claude” (the Anthropic AI model that powers many Clawdbot installations) with a lobster twist, hence the 🦞 emoji that appears everywhere in the community.
When the project was open-sourced and started gaining traction in late 2025, Steinberger renamed it to “Clawdbot” and created a GitHub organization to manage the flood of contributions.
Had such a hard time explaining @clawdbot on Twitter. Must be experienced to understand.
— Peter Steinberger 🦞 (@steipete) January 4, 2026
Will “clawdbot” become a generic term?
There’s a reasonable chance that “clawdbot” becomes the generic term for local LLM assistants with full system access, similar to how “Kleenex” became shorthand for facial tissue or “Google” became a verb.
The project hit at exactly the right moment: people are tired of cloud-only AI assistants that can’t actually do anything, privacy concerns are at an all-time high, and the technology to run capable language models locally has finally matured. “I set up a clawdbot on my home server” may become as common as “I self-host my email.”
On Reddit’s r/LocalLLaMA, users already call it “an agentic version of Home Assistant,” emphasizing local control with messaging access from anywhere. That positioning, local infrastructure with remote accessibility, is what makes the term likely to stick.
Related terms and variations
- Clawd: The original project name before it was open-sourced
- Clawdis: Shorthand sometimes used in the Discord community
- Personal AI gateway: The generic term for what Clawdbot does
- Local agent: A broader category of AI assistants that run on your own hardware
- Agentic AI: AI systems that can take actions, not just generate text
Frequently Asked Questions
WTF is Clawdbot?
Clawdbot is an open-source personal AI assistant that runs on your own hardware. It connects to messaging apps like WhatsApp, Slack, and iMessage, and can execute real tasks like sending emails, booking flights, managing calendars, and controlling your computer. It exploded in popularity in early 2026 after creator Peter Steinberger open-sourced it.
Is Clawdbot free?
Yes, Clawdbot is free and open-source under the MIT license. However, you'll need to bring your own API keys for the underlying AI models (like Claude or GPT), which have their own costs. The software itself costs nothing.
What can Clawdbot do?
Clawdbot can send emails, manage your calendar, browse the web autonomously, run shell commands, control smart home devices, make phone calls, generate images, and more. It acts as a personal executive assistant that lives on your own devices.
How do I install Clawdbot?
Install via npm with 'npm install -g clawdbot@latest' followed by 'clawdbot onboard --install-daemon'. You'll need Node.js 22 or later. The onboarding wizard handles the rest.