docs/index.md
<p align="center"> <strong>Any OS gateway for AI agents across Discord, Google Chat, iMessage, Matrix, Microsoft Teams, Signal, Slack, Telegram, WhatsApp, Zalo, and more.</strong>"EXFOLIATE! EXFOLIATE!" — A space lobster, probably
Send a message, get an agent response from your pocket. Run one Gateway across built-in channels, bundled channel plugins, WebChat, and mobile nodes.
</p> <Columns> <Card title="Get Started" href="/start/getting-started" icon="rocket"> Install OpenClaw and bring up the Gateway in minutes. </Card> <Card title="Run Onboarding" href="/start/wizard" icon="sparkles"> Guided setup with `openclaw onboard` and pairing flows. </Card> <Card title="Open the Control UI" href="/web/control-ui" icon="layout-dashboard"> Launch the browser dashboard for chat, config, and sessions. </Card> </Columns>OpenClaw is a self-hosted gateway that connects your favorite chat apps and channel surfaces — built-in channels plus bundled or external channel plugins such as Discord, Google Chat, iMessage, Matrix, Microsoft Teams, Signal, Slack, Telegram, WhatsApp, Zalo, and more — to AI coding agents like Pi. You run a single Gateway process on your own machine (or a server), and it becomes the bridge between your messaging apps and an always-available AI assistant.
Who is it for? Developers and power users who want a personal AI assistant they can message from anywhere — without giving up control of their data or relying on a hosted service.
What makes it different?
What do you need? Node 24 (recommended), or Node 22 LTS (22.14+) for compatibility, an API key from your chosen provider, and 5 minutes. For best quality and security, use the strongest latest-generation model available.
flowchart LR
A["Chat apps + plugins"] --> B["Gateway"]
B --> C["Pi agent"]
B --> D["CLI"]
B --> E["Web Control UI"]
B --> F["macOS app"]
B --> G["iOS and Android nodes"]
The Gateway is the single source of truth for sessions, routing, and channel connections.
```bash
openclaw dashboard
```
Or connect a channel ([Telegram](/channels/telegram) is fastest) and chat from your phone.
Need the full install and dev setup? See Getting Started.
Open the browser Control UI after the Gateway starts.
Config lives at ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json.
channels.whatsapp.allowFrom and (for groups) mention rules.Example:
{
channels: {
whatsapp: {
allowFrom: ["+15555550123"],
groups: { "*": { requireMention: true } },
},
},
messages: { groupChat: { mentionPatterns: ["@openclaw"] } },
}