Clawdbot (Now Moltbot) Explained: What is It and Why is It Going Viral?

In just a few weeks, an open-source artificial intelligence (AI) tool has captured the attention of developers, tech communities and social media alike, first as Clawdbot and now as Moltbot. Founded by software developer Peter Steinberger, the assistant isn't just a chatbot; it's designed to operate like a personal AI assistant that actually does things rather than just talk about them. With AI agents gaining traction, an open-source alternative that can perform the same actions as options from Google and OpenAI, was an instant head turner.

This shift from conversation to autonomous action is a big part of why the project has spread so quickly online, with users sharing demos of it managing calendars, booking flights and sorting messages across apps. The original name, Clawdbot, was a playful nod to Anthropic's Claude. However, a trademark concern raised by Anthropic led to a forced rebrand, and Clawdbot is now officially Moltbot.

What Moltbot Is and How It Works

Put simply, Moltbot is an open-source, self-hosted AI assistant that you run on your own machine or server. Unlike browser-based AI chatbots that respond to prompts one at a time, Moltbot is persistent and task-driven. Once set up, it can interact with other apps and services and execute actions on your behalf. This ranges from messaging platforms like WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack or Discord to calendars and email clients.

Simple text commands such as “check my inbox,” “schedule my meetings,” or “book my flight” tell the assistant what you want, and the bot carries out the work autonomously. This ability to act across apps and services, rather than just generate text, is a defining feature of agentic AI systems like Moltbot.

One of the key differences between Moltbot and typical AI chat interfaces is persistent memory. While most models forget context once a session ends, Moltbot maintains long-term memory across interactions and can apply learning from past conversations to future tasks. Think of it as a digital assistant that remembers preferences and routines and can work outside of active user prompts, including sending reminders or proactive notifications. Users interact with it through familiar messaging apps, which makes the experience feel more like texting a colleague than using a standalone piece of software.

Another appeal of Moltbot is its model-agnostic design. Users can connect it to different large language models (LLMs) depending on their needs and preferences. While many early adopters chose Anthropic's Claude for its agentic performance, Moltbot can also work with other models such as OpenAI's GPT-4o or even locally hosted open-source models for privacy-focused setups. The flexibility to choose the underlying “brain” gives users control over trade-offs between performance, cost and data handling.

Setting up Moltbot requires technical engagement that goes beyond an app install. Users typically need a server or device that stays powered on, such as a home computer, Mac Mini, Linux box or VPS, and familiarity with tools like Node.js, command-line interfaces and application programming interface (API) keys.

The bot's installation process involves linking it to an AI model API and setting permissions to allow it to interact with messaging platforms. Because Moltbot may access emails, files and calendars, security precautions are important. Experts recommend running it on a dedicated machine or isolated environment to reduce the risk of unintended access to sensitive data.

Why It's Going Viral

The idea of being able to use a locally hosted AI agent to complete tasks on the user's behalf is basically the entire charm behind Moltbot. Within days of its initial release as Clawdbot, the project's GitHub repository amassed tens of thousands of stars, making it one of the fastest-growing open-source AI projects in recent memory. This viral momentum was driven by developers and early adopters sharing screenshots, demonstration videos and creative use cases online. Many pointed to its ability to take AI beyond reactive conversation and into proactive task management.

The virality hasn't been entirely smooth. Security professionals have pointed out potential vulnerabilities related to giving an always-on agent broad access across systems and apps, including risks such as prompt injection and unintended system changes if not configured carefully. These concerns are not baseless either. Several cybersecurity experts and companies, such as Anthropic, Google, and OpenAI, have highlighted the risks associated with AI agents that access the web.

However, Moltbot's offering of a customisable AI agent that is available for free, and can be run without having to worry about storing your data on a third-party server, appears to be charming AI aficionados across the globe.