Imagine having an AI assistant that never sleeps, never shares your data with cloud providers, and never charges per API call. It sounds like a dream, but it's not. OpenClaw, combined with Dappnode, makes it real.
What's OpenClaw?
OpenClaw is a free, open-source autonomous AI agent created by Peter Steinberger. Think of it as a personal assistant that actually does things, not just talks about them. It manages your files, browses the web, sends messages, handles your calendar, processes emails, and runs commands. All while keeping everything on your own hardware.
While this agent runs locally in your dappnode, its "brain", can be anywhere: It works with any AI model. You just need to give it acces to Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, DeepSeek, or even local models running on Ollama. You pick the brain, OpenClaw handles the actions. It's already become one of the fastest-growing open-source projects ever, with over 215,000 GitHub stars.
But here's what makes developers excited: OpenClaw is genuinely self-hosted. No black boxes. No proprietary databases. Everything lives as Markdown files: pure, auditable, yours.
Why Running OpenClaw on Dappnode Changes Everything
You can run OpenClaw anywhere. But running it on Dappnode is different.
Tireless worker, 24/7. Your OpenClaw instance runs continuously on hardware you control. If you run it on your laptop, it will stop as soon as you close it. If you run it on the cloud, you'll be paying infrastructure costs. Your AI agent becomes as self-sovereign as the rest of your infrastructure.
Works where you are. Even if it runs on Dappnode, you can go on about your day and chat with it through the messaging apps you already use: WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack, Discord, Signal, iMessage, Teams, and more. Whether you're a solo operator or part of a team, OpenClaw integrates into your existing workflow. Switch models, switch infrastructure, switch anything. You're not locked in.
Backup anytime. OpenClaw is open source and all config files are constantly available. Running it on Dappnode you can simply download a backup of all of your files and move all configuration to a new place.
The tools you need. OpenClaw has a community-built skills ecosystem: plugins for inbox management, calendar automation, web browsing, and custom integrations. Just find the skill you need and install it in your Dappnode. Boom, now your agent has super powers!
Privacy and self-reliance. Agents need a "brain", a LLM to reason through the tasks. You can connect to any model via API (Anthropic, OpenAI, DeepSeek...), but this means you will be sending these companies data from your Agent. With an AI Dappnode, you can run extremely capable models like MiniMax-M2.5 (3-bit) as the brain, so all computation and data remain local, in your machine, completely private and for ZERO API costs!
With less capable machines you can also run models with the Dappnode Ollama package, but their performance in agentic tasks is more limited. In this case we recommend using an API!
How to Get Started
Running OpenClaw on Dappnode is straightforward:
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Set up your Dappnode. If you're new to Dappnode, head to dappnode.com to get started. Install Dappnode Core (open source software) on your hardware, and login into the UI. If you need guidance, visit Dappnode's docs to get started.
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Install OpenClaw. The OpenClaw package is available in Dappnode's Dappstore. Install it and configure it to connect to your preferred AI model (Local Ollama model, Claude, OpenAI, Gemini...).
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(Optional) Install Ollama. Ollama lets you run large language models locally. Install it from the Dappstore. This gives you free, private AI inference (no API costs). To ensure a good performance of you local "brain", you will need a hardware with GPU (AI Dappnode)
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Use the Setup Wizard. Configure your Openclaw step by step. Select your preferred AI brain. Link OpenClaw to WhatsApp, Telegram, or Discord. Your AI agent can now receive messages and take action.
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Start delegating tasks to you agent. Give your agent tasks. It might manage your inbox, schedule meetings, fetch data, or automate workflows. You set the boundaries and supervise.
Security first mindset
Openclaw package was designed to be completely isolated in its own container to ensure a security first approach. The package was tested internally to make sure the agent can't execute critical actions that can affect user's Dappnode security.
However, we recommend being extremely conservative about security risks. Our suggestion is to run your crypto validators and your AI agent in separated hardware. Treat it like you'd treat any internet-connected machine with sensitive permissions. Once you separate concerns (keys on one node, AI agent on another), you get the best of both worlds: privacy, autonomy, and safety.
The future of work on your hands
The future of personal AI doesn't require trusting external parties. OpenClaw on Dappnode is proof: you can have a powerful, autonomous AI agent running on your own terms, in your own home or office, connected to the tools you use daily to increase your productivity by 10x.
No monthly subscriptions. No API limits. No data harvesting. Just you, your hardware, and an AI that works for you.
Ready to run your own AI agent? Learn more and get started at dappnode.com
