--- title: "Clawdbot is the self-hosted AI assistant going viral among power users" id: "3552" type: "post" slug: "clawdbot-open-source-ai-assistant-viral" published_at: "2026-01-26T13:00:00+00:00" modified_at: "2026-10-28T00:19:28+00:00" url: "https://mediacopilot.ai/clawdbot-open-source-ai-assistant-viral/" markdown_url: "https://mediacopilot.ai/clawdbot-open-source-ai-assistant-viral.md" excerpt: "The open-source project lets users build a \"Jarvis-style\" agent that lives in their messaging apps." taxonomy_category: - "News" taxonomy_post_tag: - "newsroom automation" - "agents" --- # Clawdbot is the self-hosted AI assistant going viral among power users The open-source project lets users build a “Jarvis-style” agent that lives in their messaging apps. ![Illustration of Clawdbot AI assistant lobster mascot](https://mediacopilot.ai/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/clawdbot-ai-assistant-1-400x225.png) Clawdbot has amassed over 8,000 GitHub stars. (Illustration: gpt-image-1) Jan 26, 2026 By [The Copilot](https://mediacopilot.ai/author/thecopilot/) An open-source AI assistant called Clawdbot has quietly amassed over 8,000 GitHub stars and earned coverage from *MacStories*, with multiple Medium posts going viral this weekend. ### Key Takeaways - Steinberger’s open-source Clawdbot pulled 8,000+ stars as a self-hosted Jarvis. - It connects to Telegram, WhatsApp, iMessage, and Slack as a single contact. - Persistent memory is the big draw vs. forgetful consumer AI assistants. [Are you an AI Agent? Read more here >](https://mediacopilot.ai/clawdbot-open-source-ai-assistant-viral.md) Created by Peter Steinberger, founder of the iOS development company [PSPDFKit](https://pspdfkit.com/) , Clawdbot runs locally on your computer while connecting to messaging platforms like Telegram, WhatsApp, iMessage and Slack. Users chat with it like a contact in their existing apps. “To say that Clawdbot has fundamentally altered my perspective of what it means to have an intelligent, personal AI assistant in 2026 would be an understatement,” [wrote Federico Viticci](https://www.macstories.net/stories/clawdbot-showed-me-what-the-future-of-personal-ai-assistants-looks-like/) at *MacStories*. The project solves a persistent problem with consumer AI tools: they forget everything between sessions. Clawdbot maintains memory, preferences and context in local Markdown files that persist indefinitely. More importantly for power users, Clawdbot can execute shell commands, write and run scripts, control smart home devices and install new capabilities on the fly. Viticci reported burning through 180 million tokens experimenting with it. For newsrooms, the implications are worth watching. An AI assistant that remembers your beats, sources and research workflows — and runs on your own infrastructure — addresses both the productivity promise and the [data privacy concerns](https://mediacopilot.ai/can-you-trust-nota-with-your-newsroom-content/) that have made enterprise AI adoption complicated. The [2026 Reuters Institute predictions](https://mediacopilot.ai/reuters-institute-ai-newsrooms-2026-predictions/) forecast exactly this kind of agentic AI becoming central to newsroom operations. The catch: Clawdbot requires technical setup and your own API keys from providers like [Anthropic](https://www.anthropic.com/) or [OpenAI](https://openai.com/) . It’s a tinkerer’s tool, not a consumer product. But its rapid growth suggests demand for AI assistants that users actually control. “2026 is already the year of personal agents,” one user wrote on the project’s website. Clawdbot is available free on [GitHub](https://github.com/clawdbot/clawdbot) . Documentation lives at [docs.clawd.bot](https://docs.clawd.bot) . Posts co-authored by The Copilot are drafted with AI and then carefully edited by Media Copilot editors. Our AI-assisted process allows us to bring more valuable content to our readers while preserving accuracy and quality. Contributors - [The Copilot](https://mediacopilot.ai/author/thecopilot/) : AuthorI'm a generative AI writer for The Media Copilot. I help author posts, and with the help of human editors, play a growing role in the site's content strategy. - [Christopher Allbritton](https://mediacopilot.ai/author/christopherallbritton/) : EditorChristopher Allbritton covers AI adoption in journalism and newsroom transformation. He brings 20+ years of journalism experience, including roles as Reuters' Pakistan Bureau Chief and TIME's Middle East Correspondent. Category: [News](https://mediacopilot.ai/category/news/) Tags:[newsroom automation](https://mediacopilot.ai/tag/newsroom-automation/) | [agents](https://mediacopilot.ai/tag/agents/) Share this post: [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://mediacopilot.ai/clawdbot-open-source-ai-assistant-viral/&display=popup&ref=plugin&src=share_button) [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share?url=https://mediacopilot.ai/clawdbot-open-source-ai-assistant-viral/&text=Clawdbot%20is%20the%20self-hosted%20AI%20assistant%20going%20viral%20among%20power%20users) [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://mediacopilot.ai/clawdbot-open-source-ai-assistant-viral/) [Email](/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#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)