# π¦ CLAWDBOT β Personal AI Assistant
EXFOLIATE! EXFOLIATE!
**Clawdbot** is a *personal AI assistant* you run on your own devices.
It answers you on the surfaces you already use (WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack, Discord, iMessage, WebChat), can speak and listen on macOS/iOS, and can render a live Canvas you control. The Gateway is just the control plane β the product is the assistant.
If you want a personal, single-user assistant that feels local, fast, and always-on, this is it.
Website: [clawdbot.com](https://clawdbot.com) Β· Docs: [docs.clawdbot.com](https://docs.clawdbot.com/) Β· FAQ: [FAQ](docs/faq.md) Β· Wizard: [Wizard](docs/wizard.md) Β· Nix: [nix-clawdbot](https://github.com/clawdbot/nix-clawdbot) Β· Docker: [Docker](docs/docker.md) Β· Discord: [discord.gg/clawd](https://discord.gg/clawd)
Preferred setup: run the onboarding wizard (`clawdbot onboard`). It walks through gateway, workspace, providers, and skills. The CLI wizard is the recommended path and works on **macOS, Windows, and Linux**.
Subscriptions: **Anthropic (Claude Pro/Max)** and **OpenAI (ChatGPT/Codex)** are supported via OAuth. See [Onboarding](docs/onboarding.md).
## Recommended setup (from source)
Do **not** download prebuilt binaries. Build from source.
```bash
# Clone this repo
git clone https://github.com/clawdbot/clawdbot.git
cd clawdbot
pnpm install
pnpm build
pnpm ui:build
pnpm clawdbot onboard
```
## Quick start (from source)
Runtime: **Node β₯22** + **pnpm**.
```bash
pnpm install
pnpm build
pnpm ui:build
# Recommended: run the onboarding wizard
pnpm clawdbot onboard
# Link WhatsApp (stores creds in ~/.clawdbot/credentials)
pnpm clawdbot login
# Start the gateway
pnpm clawdbot gateway --port 18789 --verbose
# Dev loop (auto-reload on TS changes)
pnpm gateway:watch
# Send a message
pnpm clawdbot send --to +1234567890 --message "Hello from Clawdbot"
# Talk to the assistant (optionally deliver back to WhatsApp/Telegram/Slack/Discord)
pnpm clawdbot agent --message "Ship checklist" --thinking high
```
If you run from source, prefer `pnpm clawdbot β¦` (not global `clawdbot`).
## Highlights
- **Local-first Gateway** β single control plane for sessions, providers, tools, and events.
- **Multi-surface inbox** β WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack, Discord, iMessage, WebChat, macOS, iOS/Android.
- **Voice Wake + Talk Mode** β always-on speech for macOS/iOS/Android with ElevenLabs.
- **Live Canvas** β agent-driven visual workspace with A2UI.
- **First-class tools** β browser, canvas, nodes, cron, sessions, and Discord/Slack actions.
- **Companion apps** β macOS menu bar app + iOS/Android nodes.
- **Onboarding + skills** β wizard-driven setup with bundled/managed/workspace skills.
## Everything we built so far
### Core platform
- Gateway WS control plane with sessions, presence, config, cron, webhooks, control UI, and Canvas host.
- CLI surface: gateway, agent, send, wizard, doctor/update, and TUI.
- Pi agent runtime in RPC mode with tool streaming and block streaming.
- Session model: `main` for direct chats, group isolation, activation modes, queue modes, reply-back.
- Media pipeline: images/audio/video, transcription hooks, size caps, temp file lifecycle.
### Surfaces + providers
- WhatsApp (Baileys), Telegram (grammY), Slack (Bolt), Discord (discord.js), Signal (signal-cli), iMessage (imsg), WebChat.
- Group mention gating, reply tags, per-surface chunking and routing.
### Apps + nodes
- macOS app: menu bar control plane, Voice Wake/PTT, Talk Mode overlay, WebChat, Debug tools, SSH remote gateway control.
- iOS node: Canvas, Voice Wake, Talk Mode, camera, screen recording, Bonjour pairing.
- Android node: Canvas, Talk Mode, camera, screen recording, optional SMS.
- macOS node mode: system.run/notify + canvas/camera exposure.
### Tools + automation
- Browser control: dedicated clawd Chrome/Chromium, snapshots, actions, uploads, profiles.
- Canvas: A2UI push/reset, eval, snapshot.
- Nodes: camera snap/clip, screen record, location.get, notifications.
- Cron + wakeups; webhooks; Gmail Pub/Sub triggers.
- Skills platform: bundled, managed, and workspace skills with install gating + UI.
### Ops + packaging
- Control UI + WebChat served directly from the Gateway.
- Tailscale Serve/Funnel or SSH tunnels with token/password auth.
- Nix mode for declarative config; Docker-based installs.
- Health, doctor migrations, structured logging, release tooling.
## How it works (short)
```
Your surfaces
β
βΌ
βββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββββ
β Gateway β ws://127.0.0.1:18789
β (control plane) β tcp://0.0.0.0:18790 (optional Bridge)
ββββββββββββββββ¬βββββββββββββββββ
β
ββ Pi agent (RPC)
ββ CLI (clawdbot β¦)
ββ WebChat (browser)
ββ macOS app (Clawdbot.app)
ββ iOS node (Canvas + voice)
```
## Skills registry (ClawdHub)
ClawdHub is a minimal skill registry. With ClawdHub enabled, the agent can search for skills automatically and pull in new ones as needed.
https://clawdhub.com
## Chat commands
Send these in WhatsApp/Telegram/Slack/WebChat (group commands are owner-only):
- `/status` β health + session info (group shows activation mode)
- `/new` or `/reset` β reset the session
- `/think ` β off|minimal|low|medium|high
- `/verbose on|off`
- `/restart` β restart the gateway (owner-only in groups)
- `/activation mention|always` β group activation toggle (groups only)
## Architecture
### TypeScript Gateway (src/gateway/server.ts)
- **Single HTTP+WS server** on `ws://127.0.0.1:18789` (bind policy: loopback/lan/tailnet/auto). The first frame must be `connect`; AJV validates frames against TypeBox schemas (`src/gateway/protocol`).
- **Single source of truth** for sessions, providers, cron, voice wake, and presence. Methods cover `send`, `agent`, `chat.*`, `sessions.*`, `config.*`, `cron.*`, `voicewake.*`, `node.*`, `system-*`, `wake`.
- **Events + snapshot**: handshake returns a snapshot (presence/health) and declares event types; runtime events include `agent`, `chat`, `presence`, `tick`, `health`, `heartbeat`, `cron`, `node.pair.*`, `voicewake.changed`, `shutdown`.
- **Idempotency & safety**: `send`/`agent`/`chat.send` require idempotency keys with a TTL cache (5 min, cap 1000) to avoid doubleβsends on reconnects; payload sizes are capped per connection.
- **Bridge for nodes**: optional TCP bridge (`src/infra/bridge/server.ts`) is newlineβdelimited JSON frames (`hello`, pairing, RPC, `invoke`); node connect/disconnect is surfaced into presence.
- **Control UI + Canvas Host**: HTTP serves Control UI assets (default `/`, optional base path) and can host a liveβreload Canvas host for nodes (`src/canvas-host/server.ts`), injecting the A2UI postMessage bridge.
### iOS app (apps/ios)
- **Discovery + pairing**: Bonjour discovery via `BridgeDiscoveryModel` (NWBrowser). `BridgeConnectionController` autoβconnects using Keychain token or allows manual host/port.
- **Node runtime**: `BridgeSession` (actor) maintains the `NWConnection`, hello handshake, ping/pong, RPC requests, and `invoke` callbacks.
- **Capabilities + commands**: advertises `canvas`, `screen`, `camera`, `voiceWake` (settingsβdriven) and executes `canvas.*`, `canvas.a2ui.*`, `camera.*`, `screen.record` (`NodeAppModel.handleInvoke`).
- **Canvas**: `WKWebView` with bundled Canvas scaffold + A2UI, JS eval, snapshot capture, and `clawdbot://` deepβlink interception (`ScreenController`).
- **Voice + deep links**: voice wake sends `voice.transcript` events; `clawdbot://agent` links emit `agent.request`. Voice wake triggers sync via `voicewake.get` + `voicewake.changed`.
## Companion apps
The **macOS app is critical**: it runs the menuβbar control plane, owns local permissions (TCC), hosts Voice Wake, exposes WebChat/debug tools, and coordinates local/remote gateway mode. Most βassistantβ UX lives here.
### macOS (Clawdbot.app)
- Menu bar control for the Gateway and health.
- Voice Wake + push-to-talk overlay.
- WebChat + debug tools.
- Remote gateway control over SSH.
Build/run: `./scripts/restart-mac.sh` (packages + launches).
### iOS node (internal)
- Pairs as a node via the Bridge.
- Voice trigger forwarding + Canvas surface.
- Controlled via `clawdbot nodes β¦`.
Runbook: [iOS connect](docs/ios/connect.md).
### Android node (internal)
- Pairs via the same Bridge + pairing flow as iOS.
- Exposes Canvas, Camera, and Screen capture commands.
- Runbook: [Android connect](docs/android/connect.md).
## Agent workspace + skills
- Workspace root: `~/clawd` (configurable via `agent.workspace`).
- Injected prompt files: `AGENTS.md`, `SOUL.md`, `TOOLS.md`.
- Skills: `~/clawd/skills//SKILL.md`.
## Configuration
Minimal `~/.clawdbot/clawdbot.json`:
```json5
{
whatsapp: {
allowFrom: ["+1234567890"]
}
}
```
Env vars: loaded from `.env` in the current working directory, plus a global fallback at `~/.clawdbot/.env` (aka `$CLAWDBOT_STATE_DIR/.env`) without overriding existing values.
Optional: import missing keys from your login shell env (sources your shell profile) via config or env var:
```json5
{
env: {
shellEnv: {
enabled: true,
timeoutMs: 15000
}
}
}
```
- Env var: `CLAWDBOT_LOAD_SHELL_ENV=1`
- Timeout override: `CLAWDBOT_SHELL_ENV_TIMEOUT_MS=15000`
- Behavior: only imports known/expected keys, never overrides existing `process.env`.
### WhatsApp
- Link the device: `pnpm clawdbot login` (stores creds in `~/.clawdbot/credentials`).
- Allowlist who can talk to the assistant via `whatsapp.allowFrom`.
### Telegram
- Set `TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN` or `telegram.botToken` (env wins).
- Optional: set `telegram.groups` (with `telegram.groups."*".requireMention`), `telegram.allowFrom`, or `telegram.webhookUrl` as needed.
```json5
{
telegram: {
botToken: "123456:ABCDEF"
}
}
```
### Discord
- Set `DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN` or `discord.token` (env wins).
- Optional: set `discord.slashCommand`, `discord.dm.allowFrom`, `discord.guilds`, or `discord.mediaMaxMb` as needed.
```json5
{
discord: {
token: "1234abcd"
}
}
```
Browser control (optional):
```json5
{
browser: {
enabled: true,
controlUrl: "http://127.0.0.1:18791",
color: "#FF4500"
}
}
```
## Docs
- [`docs/index.md`](docs/index.md) (overview)
- [`docs/configuration.md`](docs/configuration.md)
- [`docs/group-messages.md`](docs/group-messages.md)
- [`docs/gateway.md`](docs/gateway.md)
- [`docs/web.md`](docs/web.md)
- [`docs/discovery.md`](docs/discovery.md)
- [`docs/agent.md`](docs/agent.md)
- [`docs/discord.md`](docs/discord.md)
- [`docs/wizard.md`](docs/wizard.md)
- Webhooks + external triggers: [`docs/webhook.md`](docs/webhook.md)
- Gmail hooks (email β wake): [`docs/gmail-pubsub.md`](docs/gmail-pubsub.md)
## Email hooks (Gmail)
```bash
clawdbot hooks gmail setup --account you@gmail.com
clawdbot hooks gmail run
```
- [`docs/security.md`](docs/security.md)
- [`docs/troubleshooting.md`](docs/troubleshooting.md)
- [`docs/ios/connect.md`](docs/ios/connect.md)
- [`docs/clawdbot-mac.md`](docs/clawdbot-mac.md)
## Contributing
See [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md) for guidelines, maintainers, and how to submit PRs.
AI/vibe-coded PRs welcome! π€
## Clawd
Clawdbot was built for **Clawd**, a space lobster AI assistant.
- https://clawd.me
- https://soul.md
- https://steipete.me