give it a machine. let it roam.
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The OpenClaw alternative that actually works. A bare-metal fork of NanoClaw — containers stripped, full system access, Telegram-first. Give your spare computer its own accounts and let an AI agent run wild. 10 minutes to set up.
| GhostClaw | OpenClaw | NanoClaw | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Setup | 10 min | 30+ min | 15 min |
| Codebase | ~4K LOC | ~500K LOC | ~700 LOC |
| System access | Full (bare metal) | Full | Sandboxed (Docker) |
| Messaging | Telegram-first | 50+ channels | Telegram, WhatsApp, Slack |
| Containers | None | Required | Required |
| Best for | Solo devs, tinkerers, personal agents | Teams, enterprises | Security-first setups |
NanoClaw's simplicity. OpenClaw's freedom. None of the mess.
GhostClaw started as a NanoClaw fork with one question: what if you ripped out everything that makes self-hosting painful? No Docker, no container orchestration, no config maze. Agents run as direct Node.js child processes with full machine access — bash, files, web, email. That's the point.
New to AI agents? Read learn.md first — the full picture on personal agents in 2026, how GhostClaw compares to OpenClaw, Hermes, NanoClaw and others, and what you're getting into. Or drop it into Claude Code as a skill and ask it anything.
curl -fsSL https://ghostclaw.io/install.sh | bashOne command. The installer walks you through everything — API key, Telegram bot, personality, auto-start. Done in 5 minutes.
Requirements: Node.js 20+, Anthropic API key, macOS or Linux, Telegram account.
Manual install
git clone https://github.com/b1rdmania/ghostclaw.git
cd ghostclaw && npm install && npm run buildCreate .env:
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-your-key-here
TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN=your-bot-token
TELEGRAM_ONLY=true
ASSISTANT_NAME=YourName
Start: node dist/index.js
Or use Claude Code guided setup: cd ghostclaw && claude then type /setup-ghostclaw.
Everything below ships with every install.
- Telegram — DM it like a person. In groups, responds when mentioned. Voice notes supported. This is the primary interface.
- Full machine access — bash, files, web search, email. No sandbox, no permission prompts.
- Web research — Perplexity-powered search and deep research. Ask anything current, it searches and cites sources.
- Ralph loops — autonomous multi-task engine. Hand it a checklist, it works through tasks one by one overnight.
- Scheduled tasks — "check Hacker News every morning" or cron syntax. Natural language or precise.
- Per-group personality — each chat gets its own
CLAUDE.mddefining tone, memory, and rules. - Model selection — switch between Sonnet, Opus, Haiku from Telegram. Just type
/model.
Built-in dashboard at localhost:3333. Real-time activity feed, task scheduling, soul editing, research runs.
You (Telegram) → GhostClaw → Claude (Agent SDK) → Response
One process. SQLite state. Claude runs as a direct child process. No containers, no Docker, no Kubernetes. Full system access — that's the point.
Add capabilities with a command. Each skill is a markdown file — security-scanned before install.
| Command | What it adds |
|---|---|
/add-gmail-agent |
Gmail read/send — verification codes, urgent flags, summaries |
/add-voice-transcription |
Voice note transcription (ElevenLabs Scribe) |
/add-voice-reply |
Bot replies with voice notes (ElevenLabs TTS) |
/add-heartbeat |
Periodic health checks — disk, logs, services |
/add-morning-briefing |
Daily or weekly briefings |
/add-slack |
Slack as an additional channel |
/add-telegram-swarm |
Multi-bot agent teams in Telegram |
/pr-babysitter |
Automated PR monitoring — CI fixes, review resolution |
/run-ralph |
Autonomous overnight task loop |
/update-ghostclaw |
Safe update: backup, pull, migrate, rebuild, restart |
Browse all 46 skills → including marketing, SEO, design, and community-built skills.
Build your own — skills are markdown files. Ask Claude to write one or create it yourself.
| Command | What it does |
|---|---|
/reset |
Kill stalled agent, wipe session. Next message starts fresh. |
/status |
Active agents, queue depth, uptime. |
/model |
View or switch AI model (sonnet, opus, haiku). |
/skills |
List installed skills. |
/update |
Pull latest code, rebuild, restart — no SSH needed. |
/ping |
Check if the bot is online. |
Send /update in Telegram. No SSH required.
For a full safe update with backup and rollback tag:
/update-ghostclaw
On a version before v0.6.0? Update manually:
cd ghostclaw
git pull origin main
npm install
npm run build
# macOS: launchctl kickstart -k gui/$(id -u)/com.ghostclaw
# Linux: systemctl --user restart ghostclawAll config lives in .env. The setup wizard creates this.
| Variable | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
CLAUDE_CODE_OAUTH_TOKEN |
Yes* | Claude Max subscription token |
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY |
Yes* | Or use an API key instead |
ASSISTANT_NAME |
Yes | Bot name (trigger word in groups) |
TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN |
Yes | From @BotFather |
GHOSTCLAW_MODEL |
No | Default: sonnet. Also: opus, haiku |
ELEVENLABS_API_KEY |
No | For voice transcription and replies |
TELEGRAM_ONLY |
No | Set true to skip WhatsApp |
GMAIL_MCP_ENABLED |
No | Set 1 for email integration |
*One of CLAUDE_CODE_OAUTH_TOKEN or ANTHROPIC_API_KEY is required.
What does it cost? Your Claude subscription (Max or API) and optionally ElevenLabs for voice. No platform fees.
Is this secure? The bot has full access to its machine. That's the design — run it on dedicated hardware with fresh accounts, not your daily driver. Skills are security-scanned before install.
Can I run it on a Raspberry Pi? Untested but should work on any Linux ARM/x64 box with Node.js 20+.
Join the GhostClaw community on Telegram to share problems, suggestions, or see what others are building.
GhostClaw wouldn't exist without the work of others.
NanoClaw by qwibitai — the foundation. GhostClaw is a fork of NanoClaw. The core architecture, agent runner, skills engine (three-way merge, manifest system, replay/rebase), and the skill-based extensibility model are all their work. We stripped out containers and built on top, but the bones are theirs.
OpenClaw — the inspiration. Heartbeat monitoring, daily briefings, autonomous task loops, the idea of an agent with its own identity and accounts — these came from watching what OpenClaw pioneered.
NanoClaw contributors — Alakazam03, tydev-new, pottertech, rgarcia, AmaxGuan, happydog-intj, bindoon — whose contributions to NanoClaw's codebase carry forward into GhostClaw.
MIT