OpenClaw Desktop App — Frequently Asked Questions

OpenClaw is a free, open-source AI runtime that connects AI assistants like Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, and local Ollama models to messaging apps. It runs on your local machine — macOS, Windows, or Linux — and supports WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack, Discord, Feishu, LINE and more. The canonical project lives at openclaw.ai; the easiest way to install it is OpenClaw Easy, a one-click desktop app.

OpenClaw is the free, open-source AI runtime — the engine that connects an AI model to your messaging apps. OpenClaw Easy is a free one-click desktop app for macOS and Windows that bundles that runtime inside a graphical installer, so non-technical users can run OpenClaw without the terminal, Node.js, or config files. Same engine underneath; OpenClaw Easy is just the easiest way to install and manage it.

Two paths. For developers comfortable with the terminal: install the OpenClaw CLI from openclaw.ai using npm, Homebrew, or Docker. For non-technical users: download OpenClaw Easy, the one-click desktop installer for macOS and Windows that bundles the OpenClaw runtime inside a GUI. The Easy installer takes about 60 seconds; the CLI path takes 5–30 minutes depending on your platform and prior tooling.

Yes. OpenClaw works on Windows 10 and 11. The OpenClaw Easy desktop installer is a one-click Windows EXE that requires no WSL2, no Docker, and no Node.js. The EXE is not code-signed yet — Windows SmartScreen may warn on first run; click More info, then Run anyway. EV code signing is planned. The native CLI also runs on Windows via npm install or pre-built binaries. See Is OpenClaw Easy safe? for the full signing and security rundown.

Yes. OpenClaw works on macOS 12 and later, on both Intel and Apple Silicon. The OpenClaw Easy desktop installer is a notarized DMG that does not trip Gatekeeper warnings. The native CLI installs via Homebrew or npm.

Yes. OpenClaw is open-source software you can download and use forever at no cost. You bring your own AI API key (Claude, OpenAI, Gemini) or run completely free with local Ollama models. The OpenClaw Easy desktop installer is also free, with an optional pay-as-you-go credit tier for managed AWS Bedrock models.

No. OpenClaw Easy has no subscription. The app is free to download and use. If you bring your own AI provider key (Claude, OpenAI, Gemini) you pay that provider directly; if you run a local Ollama model you pay nothing. There is an optional pay-as-you-go credit tier for managed models — pre-paid credits, never a recurring subscription.

Yes, with local models via Ollama. Install Ollama, pull a model (Llama 3.2, Qwen 2.5, Mistral, DeepSeek V3, etc.), and OpenClaw routes your messages to the local model. No API key, no monthly bill, fully offline. With OpenClaw Easy you can also use the pre-paid credit tier for managed AWS Bedrock models if you do not want to manage an upstream API key.

Yes. OpenClaw is local-first by design — the runtime lives entirely on your machine. With local Ollama models, your messages never leave your device. With a hosted AI provider (Claude, OpenAI, Gemini), messages route only to that provider, not through any OpenClaw server. There is no telemetry or analytics collected from your chats.

Out of the box: WhatsApp (QR-code pairing, no Business API), Telegram (bot token), Slack (OAuth), Discord (bot token), Feishu (App ID + secret), and LINE (channel tokens). The OpenClaw plugin system also supports Signal, Matrix, Microsoft Teams, and others via community plugins.

A skill is a reusable AI capability bundle — instructions plus optional tools and metadata — that the OpenClaw agent loads on demand when an incoming message matches the skill’s description. There are 10,000+ open-source skills in the ClawHub catalog covering research, coding, finance, content, automation and more. Each is one-click installable from the Skills panel in OpenClaw Easy.

Yes. OpenClaw supports scheduled tasks (cron-style) and proactive agents that can message you on their own — for example a daily news digest, a stock or portfolio alert, or a reminder. You configure schedules in the OpenClaw Easy app or via skills like cron-scheduling, and the local gateway runs them on your machine.