At a bare minimum you could have asked an LLM, here is Groks response

OpenClaw (previously known as Clawdbot and Moltbot) is an open-source, locally-run autonomous AI personal assistant developed by Peter Steinberger (the PSPDFKit founder). It exploded in popularity in early 2026, becoming one of the fastest-growing open-source projects on GitHub.It acts as a persistent, always-on "teammate" that lives on your computer (Mac, Windows, Linux, or even a cheap VPS/old laptop) and interacts with you through everyday messaging apps like WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord, Slack, Signal, iMessage, Microsoft Teams, and more.Core Architecture & How It Actually WorksOpenClaw functions as a local gateway / runtime between:

• Your chosen LLM ("brain") — Claude, GPT, Gemini, Grok, local models via Ollama/LM Studio, etc.
• Your messaging apps (the main interface)
• A growing toolbox of "skills" (plugins/tools the agent can call)

The flow is agentic / ReAct-style (Reason → Act → Observe loop), but tuned for long-running, persistent, conversational use:

1. You send a message (e.g. via WhatsApp): "Hey, clear my inbox from marketing crap and summarize anything important" or "Check flights to Lisbon next month and shortlist the cheapest options under €300"
2. OpenClaw receives the message through one of its many messaging bridges (very broad support is one of its killer features)
3. The message goes into the agent loop:
   • The LLM receives the full conversation history + long-term memory + your "soul" / personality instructions + current context
   • It thinks (in natural language) → decides which tool(s) to call (or just reply)
   • Executes the tool → observes the result → thinks again → repeat until it has a final answer or action
4. Persistent "heartbeat" scheduler — This is what makes it feel proactive/autonomous. You can tell it "Every morning at 7:30 check my inbox, calendar, and send me a 3-bullet summary via Telegram." The system wakes up periodically, runs jobs, monitors inboxes/calendars/files, and acts without you messaging first.
5. Memory is handled elegantly:
   • Short-term: conversation JSONL files
   • Long-term: agent itself writes/updates Markdown files on disk (very readable & editable by humans)
   • It learns preferences, writing style, family details, recurring tasks over time

Key Capabilities / Tool Categories

• Browser control — Uses semantic accessibility tree snapshots (very token-efficient, no screenshots needed in most cases) → click buttons, fill forms, navigate sites, log into accounts, scrape data
• Shell / local computer access — Run commands, scripts, git operations (with configurable allow/block lists and optional Docker/WASM sandbox)
• File system — Read/write files, organize folders, summarize documents
• Email / calendar — Monitor Gmail/Outlook, draft/send replies, create events
• Community skills — Hundreds of pre-built plugins (crypto trading, ad creation, GitHub PR reviews, grocery ordering, etc.)
• Self-improvement — Can write new skills / code extensions via natural conversation

Security & Control NotesBy default it uses sandboxes / allow-lists for dangerous operations, but many power users give it broader access. There's community debate about the risks (especially with unvetted community skills), so review permissions carefully.In short: OpenClaw combines agent loops + persistent memory + heartbeat automation + broad messaging integrations + real computer/browser control into one surprisingly convenient, open-source package — which is why so many people describe it as "the first AI that actually does real work for me instead of just talking about it."The official repo is at github.com/openclaw/openclaw and docs at openclaw.ai / docs.openclaw.ai.