What Is OpenClaw?

OpenClaw is an open-source AI Agent (MIT License) that runs automated tasks on your own machine. It was created by Peter Steinberger, an Austrian developer who founded PSPDFKit, a PDF SDK company that generated approximately $100 million in revenue before being sold.

What sets OpenClaw apart from ordinary chatbots like ChatGPT or Claude is that OpenClaw has both "eyes" and "hands":

• Eyes — It can browse the web, read local files, read emails, and view calendars
• Hands — It can write files, send emails, run Shell commands, and interact with APIs

Most importantly, you can use it through familiar chat platforms right away — whether WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord, Slack, Signal, iMessage, Microsoft Teams, Matrix, or even Zalo. Simply send a message with your instructions and OpenClaw will carry them out automatically.

History — From Clawdbot to OpenClaw

OpenClaw's journey has been full of trademark disputes and multiple name changes. Here is the key timeline:

Key Features of OpenClaw

OpenClaw is not just an ordinary chatbot — it is a full-fledged AI Agent with a wide range of capabilities:

Which LLMs Are Supported?

OpenClaw uses the Bring Your Own Model (BYOM) principle — you choose which LLM to use with your own API key, without being locked into any single provider:

How to Install OpenClaw

Installing OpenClaw is relatively straightforward. It natively supports macOS and Linux, while Windows users can run it through WSL2:

Minimum Requirements

• Node.js 22+ (install via nvm or brew)
• macOS / Linux — natively supported
• Windows — use via WSL2 (Windows Subsystem for Linux)
• RAM — at least 4 GB (16 GB+ if using a local model)

Install with One-liner

Install via npm

Basic Configuration

After installation, set up the minimum configuration at ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json by specifying the LLM model you want to use:

{
  "model": "claude-opus-4-6",
  "provider": "anthropic",
  "api_key": "sk-ant-xxxxx",
  "chat_platform": "telegram"
}

Pricing

The OpenClaw software itself is 100% free and open-source, but actual costs depend on the LLM you choose:

Security Considerations (Very Important!)

While OpenClaw is a powerful tool, that power comes with serious security risks that every user must be aware of:

Multiple leading cybersecurity companies have issued warnings about this, including CrowdStrike, Microsoft, Cisco Talos, Kaspersky, and Trend Micro, all stating that AI Agents with Shell-level system access represent a high-level risk for organizations.

Use Cases for Organizations

Despite the security concerns, when used carefully within an isolated environment, OpenClaw has high potential across many use cases:

1. Email Triage

Instead of spending 2+ hours reading and prioritizing emails every morning, OpenClaw can complete email triage in under 25 minutes by categorizing, summarizing content, and flagging emails that require urgent responses.

2. Customer Support (First-line)

Connect OpenClaw to your organization's WhatsApp or Telegram to answer basic customer questions such as order status, usage instructions, or business hours, then escalate to human staff when complex issues arise.

3. Client Onboarding

The client onboarding process that previously took 3-4 hours to prepare documents, create accounts, and send welcome emails can be reduced to 15 minutes by letting OpenClaw handle all the repetitive tasks.

4. IT Automation

Use OpenClaw for monitoring, log analysis, and server health checks by setting up cron jobs to run checks every hour, sending alerts via chat when issues are found, along with recommended fixes.

5. File Management & Reports

Instruct OpenClaw to gather data from multiple files, generate summary reports, convert document formats, or organize folders according to defined rules — completing tasks that used to take half a day in just minutes.

Saeree ERP and OpenClaw

Examples of using OpenClaw alongside Saeree ERP:

• Report summarization — Export reports from Saeree ERP as PDF and have OpenClaw summarize the key points.
• Data preparation — Let OpenClaw help format data before importing it into Saeree ERP.
• Alerts — Set up a cron job for OpenClaw to check task statuses and send notifications via chat.

Conclusion

OpenClaw is a truly powerful AI Agent that enables ordinary people to have a "digital assistant" that actually works on their own machine — no coding required, just send commands via chat. However, this power comes with serious security risks that must be recognized before use.

An AI Agent is like an extremely sharp knife — used skillfully, it can provide enormous help; used carelessly, it can cause serious harm. Organizations that want to use AI Agents like OpenClaw must invest in security infrastructure no less than they invest in the AI itself.

- Saeree ERP Development Team

If your organization needs an ERP system with audit trail and access control capabilities that support safe collaboration with AI, you can schedule a demo or contact our consulting team to learn more.