The Short Answer
Clawdbot, Moltbot, and OpenClaw are the same project. It is a single open-source AI assistant that changed names twice. If you came here searching for any of these names, you are looking at the same software.
Here is the timeline:
- Clawdbot (2025) - The original name
- Moltbot (late 2025) - First rebrand after trademark issues
- OpenClaw (January 2026) - Current and final name
The managed platform built on this framework is called Molty AI (or Molty by Finna). That name has stayed consistent throughout.
The Clawdbot Era
The project launched in 2025 as Clawdbot. It was a personal AI assistant that ran on your own machine and connected to messaging apps. The idea was simple: instead of opening a browser to talk to AI, bring the AI into WhatsApp, Telegram, and Discord where conversations already happen.
Clawdbot gained early traction in developer communities. The concept of a self-hosted AI assistant with tool-use capabilities (web search, browser automation, file management) resonated with people who wanted more control than ChatGPT offered but less complexity than building their own agent framework.
The Moltbot Rename
Clawdbot ran into trademark complications. The name was too close to existing trademarks in the AI space, and the project received legal notices. Rather than fight it, the maintainers renamed to Moltbot.
The Moltbot era lasted several months and is when many users first discovered the project. Features expanded significantly during this period: more channel integrations, scheduled tasks, a plugin system, and better documentation. The managed platform (Molty by Finna) launched during the Moltbot era, offering hosted instances for users who did not want to manage their own servers.
The OpenClaw Rebrand
In January 2026, the project underwent its final rename to OpenClaw. This time the motivation was not just legal, it was strategic:
- "Open" signals the MIT-licensed, open-source nature of the project
- "Claw" preserves the connection to the original Clawdbot name
- The name is unique and trademark-free
The timing coincided with a massive wave of attention. OpenClaw hit the front page of Hacker News, got covered by The Verge, Forbes, CNET, and even landed a Wikipedia page. GitHub stars surged past 68,000 in days. YouTube tutorials appeared from major tech channels.
The rebrand itself became a story, which amplified the coverage.
What Stayed the Same Through All the Renames
Despite the name changes, the core of the project never changed:
- Architecture: A Node.js service that connects messaging platforms to AI models with tool access
- Channels: WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord, Slack, Signal, and more
- Model support: Anthropic Claude, OpenAI GPT, local models via Ollama
- Tools: Web search, browser automation, file management, scheduled tasks
- License: MIT (free and open source)
- Philosophy: Privacy-first, self-hostable, multi-channel AI assistant
Your configuration, conversations, and setup all carried over through each rename. Users who set up Clawdbot could update to Moltbot and then to OpenClaw without losing anything.
What About Molty AI?
Molty AI (also called Molty by Finna) is the managed platform. It runs OpenClaw on dedicated virtual machines so you do not have to manage your own server. Molty is a product built on OpenClaw, not the open-source project itself.
The Molty name did not change with the OpenClaw rebrand. Think of it like the relationship between WordPress (the open-source software) and WordPress.com (the hosted service). OpenClaw is the software. Molty is one way to run it.
Confusion and Misspellings
The double rename created a wave of name confusion. People search for:
- "Moltybot" (combining Molty and bot)
- "Moltys AI" (adding an s)
- "Clawdbot AI" (the original name)
- "OpenClaw Moltbot" (both names together)
- "Molty ia" (AI transposed)
All of these refer to the same thing. If you arrived here via any of these searches, you are in the right place.
Which Name Should You Use?
- Use OpenClaw when referring to the open-source project
- Use Molty or Molty AI when referring to the managed platform by Finna
- The old names (Clawdbot, Moltbot) are fine historically but should not be used for the current project
The Lesson in Naming
The Clawdbot to Moltbot to OpenClaw journey is a cautionary tale about naming open-source projects. Choosing a distinctive, trademark-free name from the start saves enormous headaches. The project survived two renames, but each one caused weeks of confusion, broken links, and documentation updates.
OpenClaw appears to be the permanent name. The trademark is clear, the community has adopted it, and the identity is established.
Getting Started
Regardless of which name brought you here:
- To self-host: visit docs.openclaw.ai for the setup guide
- To use the managed platform: sign up for Molty AI
- To learn more: read our introduction to OpenClaw