Claude Code as OpenClaw

An open-source OpenClaw alternative powered by Claude Code.

Use Claude Code as your AI agent across Telegram, WhatsApp, Discord, and Slack.

Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Node.js 22+
• Bun 1.1+

1. Clone, install, and register the command

git clone https://github.com/composio-community/openclaudeclaw.git
cd openclaudeclaw
npm install
npm link

npm link registers openclaudeclaw as a global command you can use from anywhere.

2. Build Claude Code from source

npm run build

First build takes a few minutes. Output: dist/cli.js. Verify and login:

node dist/cli.js --version
node dist/cli.js login

3. Setup

openclaudeclaw onboard

Pick your channels, models, integrations from a menu. Run again anytime to change one thing.

4. Start

# Foreground (for testing)
openclaudeclaw gateway start

# Or as a daemon (always-on, survives reboot)
openclaudeclaw gateway install-daemon

To restart the daemon after code changes:

launchctl unload ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.openclaudeclaw.gateway.plist
launchctl load ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.openclaudeclaw.gateway.plist

On Linux:

systemctl --user restart openclaudeclaw-gateway

5. Pair

Message your bot. Approve the pairing code:

openclaudeclaw pair <CODE>

Using the installed Claude CLI instead

If you already have claude installed and don't want to build from source, skip step 2. The gateway uses the installed claude by default. To point at your own build, set claudeBin in ~/.claude/gateway.json:

{ "agent": { "claudeBin": "node /path/to/dist/cli.js" } }

What It Does

Telegram / WhatsApp / Discord / Slack
              |
              v
     +------------------+
     |  OpenClaudeClaw Gateway |  Always-on Node.js daemon
     |                   |  Auth, sessions, cron, voice
     +--------+---------+
              |
              v  spawns per message
     claude -p "user message" --resume <session>
              |
              v
     Full Claude Code: all tools, MCP, memory
              |
              v
     Response sent back to chat

Each chat gets a persistent session. Claude remembers the conversation until you type /new.

Features

Messaging Channels

• Telegram — Bot API long-polling, voice messages, zero deps
• WhatsApp — via Baileys, QR code pairing
• Discord — Gateway WebSocket, zero deps
• Slack — Socket Mode, zero deps

Multi-Model

Switch models mid-conversation with /model:

Provider	Models	Auth
Anthropic (built-in)	opus, sonnet, haiku	Claude CLI auth
OpenAI	gpt-5.4, gpt-5.4-mini, gpt-5.4-nano, o3-mini	API key
DeepSeek	deepseek-chat (V4), deepseek-reasoner (R1)	API key
Qwen	qwen3.6-plus, qwen3.5-coder, qwen-flash	API key
Ollama	Any local model	Local
Groq	llama-3.3-70b, mixtral-8x7b	API key
OpenRouter	Any model across providers	API key

Anthropic models get full Claude Code tool use. Other providers use OpenAI-compatible chat completions API.

Persistent Cron Jobs

Tell Claude naturally: "remind me every morning at 9 to check PRs"

Claude schedules it via the gateway's cron API. The daemon fires it on schedule and sends results back to your chat — even when no Claude session is open.

Voice Messages

Send a voice message on Telegram:

1. Whisper transcribes it to text
2. Claude processes it
3. Optional: TTS voice reply sent back

Requires: ffmpeg, whisper (pip install openai-whisper)

Composio MCP (1000+ External Tools)

Connect Claude to GitHub, Gmail, Slack, Notion, Jira, and 1000+ more via Composio. OAuth handled automatically during setup.

Pairing / Auth

Unknown senders get an 8-character pairing code. Approve via CLI:

node gateway/cli.js pair ABCD1234

Three DM policies: pairing (default), allowlist, open.

Always-On Daemon

node gateway/cli.js gateway install-daemon

• macOS: launchd LaunchAgent — starts on login, restarts on crash
• Linux: systemd user service — same behavior

Configuration

Config lives at ~/.claude/gateway.json. Edit directly or use the setup menu:

# Full menu
node gateway/cli.js onboard

# Jump to a section
node gateway/cli.js onboard telegram
node gateway/cli.js onboard models
node gateway/cli.js onboard composio

Example config:

{
  "gateway": { "port": 18789 },
  "channels": {
    "telegram": {
      "enabled": true,
      "botToken": "...",
      "dmPolicy": "pairing"
    },
    "whatsapp": { "enabled": true },
    "discord": { "enabled": true, "botToken": "..." },
    "slack": { "enabled": true, "botToken": "xoxb-...", "appToken": "xapp-..." }
  },
  "agent": {
    "model": "sonnet",
    "maxTurns": 12
  },
  "models": {
    "providers": {
      "anthropic": {
        "models": [
          { "id": "opus", "name": "Claude Opus 4.6" },
          { "id": "sonnet", "name": "Claude Sonnet 4.6" },
          { "id": "haiku", "name": "Claude Haiku 4.5" }
        ]
      },
      "openai": {
        "baseUrl": "https://api.openai.com/v1",
        "apiKey": "sk-...",
        "models": [{ "id": "gpt-5.4" }]
      }
    }
  },
  "composio": { "enabled": true },
  "voice": { "enabled": true, "replyWithVoice": false }
}

Chat Commands

Command	Description
/new	Start a fresh conversation
/status	Show current session info
/model <name>	Switch model (e.g. /model opus)
/model	List available models and current
/help	Show all commands

CLI Commands

openclaudeclaw onboard [section]          # Setup wizard
openclaudeclaw gateway start              # Start foreground
openclaudeclaw gateway stop               # Stop info
openclaudeclaw gateway status             # Health check
openclaudeclaw gateway install-daemon     # Always-on
openclaudeclaw gateway uninstall-daemon
openclaudeclaw pair <code>                # Approve user
openclaudeclaw pairs                      # List pending
openclaudeclaw sessions                   # List sessions

HTTP API

The gateway exposes a local control API (default 127.0.0.1:18789):

GET  /health          — Gateway status
GET  /sessions        — List sessions
GET  /pairs/pending   — Pending pairing codes
POST /pairs/approve   — Approve a code
POST /sessions/clear  — Clear a session
POST /cron/create     — Create cron job
GET  /cron/list       — List cron jobs
POST /cron/delete     — Delete cron job

Architecture

gateway/
  cli.js              CLI entrypoint
  gateway.js          Core: channels, sessions, agent spawning, HTTP API
  config.js           ~/.claude/gateway.json loader with hot-reload
  sessionManager.js   Chat ID -> session mapping with persistence
  auth.js             Pairing codes, allowlist, access control
  cron.js             Persistent cron scheduler
  voice.js            Whisper STT + macOS TTS pipeline
  mcpAuth.js          Standalone OAuth2 PKCE for MCP servers
  onboard.js          Interactive setup menu
  daemon.js           launchd/systemd service installer
  channels/
    telegram.js       Telegram Bot API (long-polling)
    whatsapp.js       WhatsApp via Baileys
    discord.js        Discord Gateway WebSocket
    slack.js          Slack Socket Mode

Zero npm dependencies for core gateway. WhatsApp requires @whiskeysockets/baileys. Voice requires ffmpeg + whisper.

Inspired By

OpenClaw — the open-source AI agent with 247K GitHub stars. OpenClaw pioneered the always-on gateway + messaging platform architecture. OpenClaudeClaw brings that pattern to Claude Code with Anthropic's superior harness and tool use.

License

Built on the open-sourced Claude Code by Anthropic.