Beginner

Messaging Channels

OpenClaw has no dedicated UI — you interact with it through messaging apps you already use. This is intentional: your phone's messaging app is always open, has push notifications, and works from anywhere. The agent lives on your computer; you reach it wherever you are.

Supported Channels

Easy

Setup: Create a bot via @BotFather on Telegram, copy the bot token, run openclaw connect telegram

Notes: Easiest setup. No phone scan required. Works in DMs and group chats. Recommended starting point.

Discord

Easy

Setup: Create a Discord Application at discord.com/developers, add a bot, invite it to your server, add the bot token

Notes: Good for developers already in Discord servers. Supports slash commands. Works in DMs and channels.

Medium

Setup: Run openclaw connect whatsapp, scan the QR code with WhatsApp on your phone

Notes: Uses the WhatsApp Web protocol. No business account needed. Works in DMs and group chats. QR code re-scan needed occasionally.

Slack

Medium

Setup: Create a Slack App at api.slack.com, add required OAuth scopes, install to workspace, add bot token

Notes: Best for team use — each team member can DM the bot. Workspace admin may need to approve the app.

Signal

Hard

Setup: Uses Signal CLI — requires linking a phone number and Signal CLI setup

Notes: Highest privacy — Signal's end-to-end encryption applies to all messages. More complex setup.

iMessage

macOS only

Setup: macOS only — grant OpenClaw Accessibility permissions in System Settings

Notes: Only available on macOS. Lets you message from your existing Apple ID. No separate account needed.

Matrix / Element

Medium

Setup: Create a Matrix bot account, add homeserver URL and access token to config

Notes: Open, federated protocol. Good for self-hosted setups where you control the Matrix homeserver.

Microsoft Teams

Hard

Setup: Create a Teams App via Azure Bot Framework, add the bot token

Notes: Good for enterprise environments where Teams is the primary communication tool.

DMs vs Group Chats

All channels support both DMs and group chats. In a group chat, prefix your message with the agent's name or handle so it knows the message is for it. In a DM, everything goes to the agent automatically. Most personal setups use DMs; group chat mode is useful when you want a family or team to share access to the same agent.

Channel Security

OpenClaw only responds to messages from authorized users. On first connect, your user ID is added to the allowlist in ~/.openclaw/config.json. You can add additional authorized users. Anyone not in the list gets silently ignored. For the highest security, use Signal (end-to-end encrypted) and keep the authorized list to just yourself.

Checklist: Do You Understand This?

OpenClaw is controlled through messaging apps — there is no separate GUI
Telegram is the easiest to set up; Signal has the strongest privacy; iMessage is macOS-only
All channels work in DMs and group chats; in groups, prefix messages with the agent's name
Only authorized user IDs in the config can send commands — everyone else is ignored