Asad (UK Global Talent)

Posted on Jan 27

WTH is Clawdbot? Building Your Own Cross-Platform AI Assistant with Clawdbot in 2026

#ai #development

Ever wished you could have an AI assistant that works across all your messaging apps, remembers your conversations, and can even send you proactive reminders? I recently discovered Clawdbot, an open-source project that does exactly that, and I'm excited to share what I learned.

What Problem Does Clawdbot Solve?

Most of us interact with AI through dedicated websites or apps. You open ChatGPT in your browser, ask a question, get an answer, and that's it. But what if your AI assistant lived where you already spend most of your time...in Discord, Telegram, WhatsApp, or iMessage?

That's the core idea behind Clawdbot. It's not an AI model itself, but rather an intelligent gateway that connects your favorite chat platforms to large language models like Claude or GPT.

How Clawdbot Actually Works

The architecture is surprisingly elegant. Think of it as three interconnected layers:

The Gateway Layer runs locally on your machine (default port 18789). This is the brain, it manages your conversations, routes messages between platforms, executes custom functions, and maintains your conversation history.

The Channel Layer handles connections to various platforms. Whether you're messaging from Discord, Telegram, Signal, Slack, or even iMessage, each channel plugin knows how to translate between that platform's API and Clawdbot's internal format.

The LLM Layer is where the actual intelligence comes from. You can connect to Anthropic's Claude, OpenAI's GPT, or compatible API providers.

What Makes Clawdbot Different?

1. True Cross-Platform Continuity

Start a conversation on your phone via WhatsApp, then continue it on your computer through Discord. Clawdbot maintains context across all platforms. Your AI assistant actually remembers who you are and what you've discussed, no matter where you message from.

2. Local-First Memory

Instead of storing everything in someone else's cloud, Clawdbot saves conversation histories as Markdown files on your machine. It's similar to how Obsidian works, your data stays yours. The memory system supports semantic search, so the assistant can reference things you mentioned weeks ago.

Your file structure looks clean:

~/clawd/
├── memories/
│   ├── 2026-01-26.md
│   └── topics/
├── skills/
└── config.yaml

3. Proactive Capabilities

This is where things get interesting. Unlike passive chatbots that only respond when prompted, Clawdbot can push messages to you:

Morning briefings with your schedule and weather
Deadline reminders based on tasks you've mentioned
Monitoring alerts (like if a website goes down)
Scheduled reports and automated tasks

4. Extensible Skills System

Skills are like plugins, defined through Markdown or TypeScript. The community has already built 100+ skills for things like web browsing, file operations, calendar integration, code execution, and even smart home control.

Getting Started: Installation Walkthrough

Prerequisites:

Node.js 22 or higher
macOS, Linux, or Windows with WSL2
At least 2GB of available memory
An API key for Claude or OpenAI

Step 1: Install Globally

npm install -g clawdbot@latest

Step 2: Run the Setup Wizard

clawdbot onboard --install-daemon

The interactive wizard walks you through:

Configuring your AI model and API key
Setting up your working directory
Enabling the chat platforms you want
Installing the background daemon

Step 3: Verify Everything Works

clawdbot status
clawdbot health
clawdbot doctor

You should see output confirming your gateway is running, channels are connected, and your LLM is configured.

Practical Example: Discord Integration

Let me walk through setting up Discord, one of the most popular channels:

Visit the Discord Developer Portal
Create a new application and add a bot
Copy your bot token
In OAuth2 settings, select the bot and applications.commands scopes
Grant permissions: Send Messages, Read Message History, Embed Links
Use the generated URL to invite the bot to your server
Configure Clawdbot:

clawdbot configure --section channels.discord

Enter your bot token when prompted, and you're done. Message your bot in Discord, and it'll respond using Claude.

API Configuration Strategies

The AI model you choose significantly impacts cost and capability. Here are your options:

Direct Anthropic API:

llm:
  provider: anthropic
  model: claude-sonnet-4-20250514
  apiKey: sk-ant-xxxxx

This gives you the lowest latency and access to the latest models, but requires an international credit card.

OpenAI-Compatible Proxy:

llm:
  provider: openai-compatible
  model: claude-sonnet-4-20250514
  apiKey: sk-xxxxx
  baseUrl: https://api.apiyi.com/v1

Using a proxy like APIYI can be more cost-effective and doesn't require international payment methods.

OAuth with Existing Subscription:

clawdbot configure --section llm.oauth

If you already have Claude Pro or Max, this uses your existing subscription quota.

Building Custom Skills

Creating a skill is straightforward. Just add a Markdown file to ~/clawd/skills/:

# skill: daily-report
Daily Work Report Generator

## Description
Generates a structured report from today's conversations.

## Trigger Keywords
- Generate daily report
- Today's summary

## Execution Logic
1. Read today's conversation history
2. Extract work-related content
3. Format as structured report

The built-in skills are impressive too. You can ask Clawdbot to search the web, take screenshots of websites, read and modify files, or integrate with your calendar, all through natural language.

Cost Considerations

Let's talk budget:

VPS hosting: $5-10/month (optional if you run locally)
Claude API usage: $10-20/month for typical use
Claude Pro subscription: $20/month (saves on API costs with OAuth)

Cost optimization tips:

Run on your home computer to avoid VPS costs
Use Haiku for routine tasks, Sonnet for complex queries
Clean up old memories to reduce token consumption
Consider API proxies for better pricing

Advanced Use Cases

Once you're comfortable with the basics, Clawdbot opens up some powerful possibilities:

Multi-Agent Workflows: Create separate sessions that collaborate, one researches, another writes, a third reviews.

Automated Routines: Use cron jobs to trigger scheduled tasks like morning email summaries or weekly reports.

Smart Home Control: Integrate with Home Assistant to control devices through natural language.

Development Assistant: Have Clawdbot read code, execute commands, and generate files directly in your projects.

Privacy and Security

Clawdbot takes a "local-first" approach:

Conversations live on your device as Markdown files
The gateway runs on localhost, not exposed to the internet
Only API calls to the LLM provider go online
You can secure remote access via SSH tunnels or Tailscale

When Clawdbot Makes Sense

This tool is ideal if you:

Have technical comfort with command-line tools
Want AI deeply integrated into your daily workflow
Value privacy and data ownership
Enjoy customizing and extending your tools

It's probably overkill if you just want occasional AI assistance. The official Claude or ChatGPT apps work great for that.

Getting Help

The Clawdbot community is active and helpful:

Join the Discord server to ask questions
Check the GitHub repo for issues and code
Read the official docs for comprehensive guides

Final Thoughts

Clawdbot represents a different paradigm for AI assistants, one where the AI meets you where you already are, remembers your context across platforms, and can take initiative to help you proactively.

The setup requires some technical comfort, but once configured, it feels surprisingly natural. Your AI assistant becomes a persistent presence across all your communication channels, not just another tab to switch to.

If you're interested in experimenting with personal AI infrastructure and want something more flexible than consumer apps, Clawdbot is worth exploring.

Have you built your own AI integrations? What features would make an AI assistant truly useful in your workflow? Let me know in the comments.

Useful Links:

--
Feel free to connect and get in touch via:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/masad1/
My Portfolio Website: https://asad.blog/
Topmate Profile: https://topmate.io/globaltalent/
My Web Design and Development, AI Automation Services and Solutions Agency: https://richtechgroup.co.uk/