🦞 Moltbot — Personal AI Assistant (Windows Enhanced Fork)

EXFOLIATE! EXFOLIATE!

🎉 This is an enhanced fork with full Windows native support! The original moltbot/moltbot only supports Windows via WSL2. This fork adds native Windows support - no WSL2 required!

Moltbot is a personal AI assistant you run on your own devices. It answers you on the channels you already use (WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack, Discord, Google Chat, Signal, iMessage, Microsoft Teams, WebChat), plus extension channels like BlueBubbles, Matrix, Zalo, and Zalo Personal. It can speak and listen on macOS/iOS/Android, and can render a live Canvas you control. The Gateway is just the control plane — the product is the assistant.

If you want a personal, single-user assistant that feels local, fast, and always-on, this is it.

中文文档 / Chinese README

✨ What's New in This Fork

Feature	Original	This Fork
Windows Native	❌ WSL2 only	✅ Full native support
One-click Install	❌	✅ PowerShell script
Chinese Docs	❌	✅ Complete
Quick Start Script	❌	✅ Included

Docs · Getting Started · FAQ · Discord

🚀 Windows One-Click Install

Run this in PowerShell (as Administrator):

irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Joinsyna-Co-Ltd/moltbot-new/main/scripts/install-windows.ps1 | iex

This script will:

• ✅ Check Node.js (v22+) and Git
• ✅ Install pnpm if needed
• ✅ Clone the repository
• ✅ Install dependencies
• ✅ Build the project

After installation, follow the on-screen instructions to configure and start.

Quick Start (All Platforms)

Works with npm, pnpm, or bun. Runtime: Node ≥22. New install? Start here: Getting started

Subscriptions (OAuth):

• Anthropic (Claude Pro/Max)
• OpenAI (ChatGPT/Codex)

Model note: while any model is supported, I strongly recommend Anthropic Pro/Max (100/200) + Opus 4.5 for long‑context strength and better prompt‑injection resistance. See Onboarding.

Models (selection + auth)

• Models config + CLI: Models
• Auth profile rotation (OAuth vs API keys) + fallbacks: Model failover

Platform Support

Platform	Status	Notes
macOS	✅ Full Support	Recommended, includes menu bar app
Linux	✅ Full Support	Uses systemd service
Windows (Native)	✅ Full Support	Uses Windows Task Scheduler
Windows (WSL2)	✅ Full Support	Recommended for advanced users

Install (recommended)

Runtime: Node ≥22.

npm install -g moltbot@latest
# or: pnpm add -g moltbot@latest

moltbot onboard --install-daemon

The wizard installs the Gateway daemon (launchd/systemd/Task Scheduler) so it stays running. Legacy note: clawdbot remains available as a compatibility shim.

Quick start (TL;DR)

Runtime: Node ≥22.

Full beginner guide (auth, pairing, channels): Getting started

moltbot onboard --install-daemon

moltbot gateway --port 18789 --verbose

# Send a message
moltbot message send --to +1234567890 --message "Hello from Moltbot"

# Talk to the assistant (optionally deliver back to any connected channel: WhatsApp/Telegram/Slack/Discord/Google Chat/Signal/iMessage/BlueBubbles/Microsoft Teams/Matrix/Zalo/Zalo Personal/WebChat)
moltbot agent --message "Ship checklist" --thinking high

Upgrading? Updating guide (and run moltbot doctor).

Development channels

• stable: tagged releases (vYYYY.M.D or vYYYY.M.D-<patch>), npm dist-tag latest.
• beta: prerelease tags (vYYYY.M.D-beta.N), npm dist-tag beta (macOS app may be missing).
• dev: moving head of main, npm dist-tag dev (when published).

Switch channels (git + npm): moltbot update --channel stable|beta|dev. Details: Development channels.

From source (development)

Prefer pnpm for builds from source. Bun is optional for running TypeScript directly.

git clone https://github.com/Joinsyna-Co-Ltd/moltbot-new.git
cd moltbot-new

pnpm install
pnpm ui:build # auto-installs UI deps on first run
pnpm build

pnpm moltbot onboard --install-daemon

# Dev loop (auto-reload on TS changes)
pnpm gateway:watch

Note: pnpm moltbot ... runs TypeScript directly (via tsx). pnpm build produces dist/ for running via Node / the packaged moltbot binary.

Windows Native Support

Moltbot now fully supports native Windows (no WSL2 required).

Prerequisites

1. Install Node.js ≥22: Download from nodejs.org
2. Install pnpm:

   npm install -g pnpm

Windows Quick Start

Option 1: One-Click Install (Recommended)

# Run in PowerShell as Administrator
irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Joinsyna-Co-Ltd/moltbot-new/main/scripts/install-windows.ps1 | iex

Option 2: Manual Install

# Clone and build
git clone https://github.com/Joinsyna-Co-Ltd/moltbot-new.git
cd moltbot-new

# Install dependencies
pnpm install

# Build the project
pnpm build

# Build the Control UI
pnpm ui:build

# Initial setup
node moltbot.mjs setup

# Configure gateway mode
node moltbot.mjs config set gateway.mode local

# Set access token (required)
node moltbot.mjs config set gateway.auth.token "your-secure-token"

# Start gateway
node moltbot.mjs gateway run --port 18789

Access the Dashboard

# Get URL with token
node moltbot.mjs dashboard --no-open

Then open the output URL in your browser (e.g., http://127.0.0.1:18789/?token=your-token)

Configure AI Models

To use chat features, you need to configure AI model API keys:

Using Anthropic (Claude)

node moltbot.mjs config set models.providers.anthropic.apiKey "your-api-key"

Using OpenAI

node moltbot.mjs config set models.providers.openai.apiKey "your-api-key"
node moltbot.mjs config set agents.defaults.model "openai/gpt-4o"

Windows Service Management

# Install as Windows Task Scheduler task
node moltbot.mjs daemon install

# Check service status
node moltbot.mjs daemon status

# Stop service
node moltbot.mjs daemon stop

# Restart service
node moltbot.mjs daemon restart

# Uninstall service
node moltbot.mjs daemon uninstall

Windows Supported Features

Feature	Status	Notes
Gateway Service	✅	Uses Windows Task Scheduler
WhatsApp	✅	Full support
Telegram	✅	Full support
Discord	✅	Full support
Slack	✅	Full support
Signal	✅	Requires signal-cli
Google Chat	✅	Full support
LINE	✅	Full support
iMessage	❌	macOS only
Browser Control	✅	Chrome/Edge/Brave
Control UI	✅	Full support

Windows Troubleshooting

1. "bash not found" error during build

The project now uses cross-platform Node.js scripts. Make sure you're using the latest version.

2. Gateway token error

You must set a token before starting:

node moltbot.mjs config set gateway.auth.token "your-token"

3. Cannot chat

You need to configure AI model API keys (see "Configure AI Models" section above).

4. Health check

node moltbot.mjs doctor

5. Check status

node moltbot.mjs status

Security defaults (DM access)

Moltbot connects to real messaging surfaces. Treat inbound DMs as untrusted input.

Full security guide: Security

Default behavior on Telegram/WhatsApp/Signal/iMessage/Microsoft Teams/Discord/Google Chat/Slack:

• DM pairing (dmPolicy="pairing" / channels.discord.dm.policy="pairing" / channels.slack.dm.policy="pairing"): unknown senders receive a short pairing code and the bot does not process their message.
• Approve with: moltbot pairing approve <channel> <code> (then the sender is added to a local allowlist store).
• Public inbound DMs require an explicit opt-in: set dmPolicy="open" and include "*" in the channel allowlist (allowFrom / channels.discord.dm.allowFrom / channels.slack.dm.allowFrom).

Run moltbot doctor to surface risky/misconfigured DM policies.

Highlights

• Local-first Gateway — single control plane for sessions, channels, tools, and events.
• Multi-channel inbox — WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack, Discord, Google Chat, Signal, iMessage, BlueBubbles, Microsoft Teams, Matrix, Zalo, Zalo Personal, WebChat, macOS, iOS/Android.
• Multi-agent routing — route inbound channels/accounts/peers to isolated agents (workspaces + per-agent sessions).
• Voice Wake + Talk Mode — always-on speech for macOS/iOS/Android with ElevenLabs.
• Live Canvas — agent-driven visual workspace with A2UI.
• First-class tools — browser, canvas, nodes, cron, sessions, and Discord/Slack actions.
• Companion apps — macOS menu bar app + iOS/Android nodes.
• Onboarding + skills — wizard-driven setup with bundled/managed/workspace skills.

Star History

Everything we built so far

Core platform

• Gateway WS control plane with sessions, presence, config, cron, webhooks, Control UI, and Canvas host.
• CLI surface: gateway, agent, send, wizard, and doctor.
• Pi agent runtime in RPC mode with tool streaming and block streaming.
• Session model: main for direct chats, group isolation, activation modes, queue modes, reply-back. Group rules: Groups.
• Media pipeline: images/audio/video, transcription hooks, size caps, temp file lifecycle. Audio details: Audio.

Channels

• Channels: WhatsApp (Baileys), Telegram (grammY), Slack (Bolt), Discord (discord.js), Google Chat (Chat API), Signal (signal-cli), iMessage (imsg), BlueBubbles (extension), Microsoft Teams (extension), Matrix (extension), Zalo (extension), Zalo Personal (extension), WebChat.
• Group routing: mention gating, reply tags, per-channel chunking and routing. Channel rules: Channels.

Apps + nodes

• macOS app: menu bar control plane, Voice Wake/PTT, Talk Mode overlay, WebChat, debug tools, remote gateway control.
• iOS node: Canvas, Voice Wake, Talk Mode, camera, screen recording, Bonjour pairing.
• Android node: Canvas, Talk Mode, camera, screen recording, optional SMS.
• macOS node mode: system.run/notify + canvas/camera exposure.

Tools + automation

• Browser control: dedicated moltbot Chrome/Chromium, snapshots, actions, uploads, profiles.
• Canvas: A2UI push/reset, eval, snapshot.
• Nodes: camera snap/clip, screen record, location.get, notifications.
• Cron + wakeups; webhooks; Gmail Pub/Sub.
• Skills platform: bundled, managed, and workspace skills with install gating + UI.

Runtime + safety

• Channel routing, retry policy, and streaming/chunking.
• Presence, typing indicators, and usage tracking.
• Models, model failover, and session pruning.
• Security and troubleshooting.

Ops + packaging

• Control UI + WebChat served directly from the Gateway.
• Tailscale Serve/Funnel or SSH tunnels with token/password auth.
• Nix mode for declarative config; Docker-based installs.
• Doctor migrations, logging.

How it works (short)

WhatsApp / Telegram / Slack / Discord / Google Chat / Signal / iMessage / BlueBubbles / Microsoft Teams / Matrix / Zalo / Zalo Personal / WebChat
               │
               ▼
┌───────────────────────────────┐
│            Gateway            │
│       (control plane)         │
│     ws://127.0.0.1:18789      │
└──────────────┬────────────────┘
               │
               ├─ Pi agent (RPC)
               ├─ CLI (moltbot …)
               ├─ WebChat UI
               ├─ macOS app
               └─ iOS / Android nodes

Key subsystems

• Gateway WebSocket network — single WS control plane for clients, tools, and events (plus ops: Gateway runbook).
• Tailscale exposure — Serve/Funnel for the Gateway dashboard + WS (remote access: Remote).
• Browser control — moltbot‑managed Chrome/Chromium with CDP control.
• Canvas + A2UI — agent‑driven visual workspace (A2UI host: Canvas/A2UI).
• Voice Wake + Talk Mode — always‑on speech and continuous conversation.
• Nodes — Canvas, camera snap/clip, screen record, location.get, notifications, plus macOS‑only system.run/system.notify.

Tailscale access (Gateway dashboard)

Moltbot can auto-configure Tailscale Serve (tailnet-only) or Funnel (public) while the Gateway stays bound to loopback. Configure gateway.tailscale.mode:

• off: no Tailscale automation (default).
• serve: tailnet-only HTTPS via tailscale serve (uses Tailscale identity headers by default).
• funnel: public HTTPS via tailscale funnel (requires shared password auth).

Notes:

• gateway.bind must stay loopback when Serve/Funnel is enabled (Moltbot enforces this).
• Serve can be forced to require a password by setting gateway.auth.mode: "password" or gateway.auth.allowTailscale: false.
• Funnel refuses to start unless gateway.auth.mode: "password" is set.
• Optional: gateway.tailscale.resetOnExit to undo Serve/Funnel on shutdown.

Details: Tailscale guide · Web surfaces

Remote Gateway (Linux is great)

It’s perfectly fine to run the Gateway on a small Linux instance. Clients (macOS app, CLI, WebChat) can connect over Tailscale Serve/Funnel or SSH tunnels, and you can still pair device nodes (macOS/iOS/Android) to execute device‑local actions when needed.

• Gateway host runs the exec tool and channel connections by default.
• Device nodes run device‑local actions (system.run, camera, screen recording, notifications) via node.invoke. In short: exec runs where the Gateway lives; device actions run where the device lives.

Details: Remote access · Nodes · Security

macOS permissions via the Gateway protocol

The macOS app can run in node mode and advertises its capabilities + permission map over the Gateway WebSocket (node.list / node.describe). Clients can then execute local actions via node.invoke:

• system.run runs a local command and returns stdout/stderr/exit code; set needsScreenRecording: true to require screen-recording permission (otherwise you’ll get PERMISSION_MISSING).
• system.notify posts a user notification and fails if notifications are denied.
• canvas.*, camera.*, screen.record, and location.get are also routed via node.invoke and follow TCC permission status.

Elevated bash (host permissions) is separate from macOS TCC:

• Use /elevated on|off to toggle per‑session elevated access when enabled + allowlisted.
• Gateway persists the per‑session toggle via sessions.patch (WS method) alongside thinkingLevel, verboseLevel, model, sendPolicy, and groupActivation.

Details: Nodes · macOS app · Gateway protocol

Agent to Agent (sessions_* tools)

• Use these to coordinate work across sessions without jumping between chat surfaces.
• sessions_list — discover active sessions (agents) and their metadata.
• sessions_history — fetch transcript logs for a session.
• sessions_send — message another session; optional reply‑back ping‑pong + announce step (REPLY_SKIP, ANNOUNCE_SKIP).

Details: Session tools

Skills registry (ClawdHub)

ClawdHub is a minimal skill registry. With ClawdHub enabled, the agent can search for skills automatically and pull in new ones as needed.

ClawdHub

Chat commands

Send these in WhatsApp/Telegram/Slack/Google Chat/Microsoft Teams/WebChat (group commands are owner-only):

• /status — compact session status (model + tokens, cost when available)
• /new or /reset — reset the session
• /compact — compact session context (summary)
• /think <level> — off|minimal|low|medium|high|xhigh (GPT-5.2 + Codex models only)
• /verbose on|off
• /usage off|tokens|full — per-response usage footer
• /restart — restart the gateway (owner-only in groups)
• /activation mention|always — group activation toggle (groups only)

Apps (optional)

The Gateway alone delivers a great experience. All apps are optional and add extra features.

If you plan to build/run companion apps, follow the platform runbooks below.

macOS (Moltbot.app) (optional)

• Menu bar control for the Gateway and health.
• Voice Wake + push-to-talk overlay.
• WebChat + debug tools.
• Remote gateway control over SSH.

Note: signed builds required for macOS permissions to stick across rebuilds (see docs/mac/permissions.md).

iOS node (optional)

• Pairs as a node via the Bridge.
• Voice trigger forwarding + Canvas surface.
• Controlled via moltbot nodes ….

Runbook: iOS connect.

Android node (optional)

• Pairs via the same Bridge + pairing flow as iOS.
• Exposes Canvas, Camera, and Screen capture commands.
• Runbook: Android connect.

Agent workspace + skills

• Workspace root: ~/clawd (configurable via agents.defaults.workspace).
• Injected prompt files: AGENTS.md, SOUL.md, TOOLS.md.
• Skills: ~/clawd/skills/<skill>/SKILL.md.

Configuration

Minimal ~/.clawdbot/moltbot.json (model + defaults):

{
  agent: {
    model: "anthropic/claude-opus-4-5"
  }
}

Full configuration reference (all keys + examples).

Security model (important)

• Default: tools run on the host for the main session, so the agent has full access when it’s just you.
• Group/channel safety: set agents.defaults.sandbox.mode: "non-main" to run non‑main sessions (groups/channels) inside per‑session Docker sandboxes; bash then runs in Docker for those sessions.
• Sandbox defaults: allowlist bash, process, read, write, edit, sessions_list, sessions_history, sessions_send, sessions_spawn; denylist browser, canvas, nodes, cron, discord, gateway.

Details: Security guide · Docker + sandboxing · Sandbox config

WhatsApp

• Link the device: pnpm moltbot channels login (stores creds in ~/.clawdbot/credentials).
• Allowlist who can talk to the assistant via channels.whatsapp.allowFrom.
• If channels.whatsapp.groups is set, it becomes a group allowlist; include "*" to allow all.

Telegram

• Set TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN or channels.telegram.botToken (env wins).
• Optional: set channels.telegram.groups (with channels.telegram.groups."*".requireMention); when set, it is a group allowlist (include "*" to allow all). Also channels.telegram.allowFrom or channels.telegram.webhookUrl as needed.

{
  channels: {
    telegram: {
      botToken: "123456:ABCDEF"
    }
  }
}

Slack

• Set SLACK_BOT_TOKEN + SLACK_APP_TOKEN (or channels.slack.botToken + channels.slack.appToken).

Discord

• Set DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN or channels.discord.token (env wins).
• Optional: set commands.native, commands.text, or commands.useAccessGroups, plus channels.discord.dm.allowFrom, channels.discord.guilds, or channels.discord.mediaMaxMb as needed.

{
  channels: {
    discord: {
      token: "1234abcd"
    }
  }
}

Signal

• Requires signal-cli and a channels.signal config section.

iMessage

• macOS only; Messages must be signed in.
• If channels.imessage.groups is set, it becomes a group allowlist; include "*" to allow all.

Microsoft Teams

• Configure a Teams app + Bot Framework, then add a msteams config section.
• Allowlist who can talk via msteams.allowFrom; group access via msteams.groupAllowFrom or msteams.groupPolicy: "open".

WebChat

• Uses the Gateway WebSocket; no separate WebChat port/config.

Browser control (optional):

{
  browser: {
    enabled: true,
    color: "#FF4500"
  }
}

Docs

Use these when you’re past the onboarding flow and want the deeper reference.

• Start with the docs index for navigation and “what’s where.”
• Read the architecture overview for the gateway + protocol model.
• Use the full configuration reference when you need every key and example.
• Run the Gateway by the book with the operational runbook.
• Learn how the Control UI/Web surfaces work and how to expose them safely.
• Understand remote access over SSH tunnels or tailnets.
• Follow the onboarding wizard flow for a guided setup.
• Wire external triggers via the webhook surface.
• Set up Gmail Pub/Sub triggers.
• Learn the macOS menu bar companion details.
• Platform guides: Windows (WSL2), Linux, macOS, iOS, Android
• Debug common failures with the troubleshooting guide.
• Review security guidance before exposing anything.

Advanced docs (discovery + control)

• Discovery + transports
• Bonjour/mDNS
• Gateway pairing
• Remote gateway README
• Control UI
• Dashboard

Operations & troubleshooting

• Health checks
• Gateway lock
• Background process
• Browser troubleshooting (Linux)
• Logging

Deep dives

• Agent loop
• Presence
• TypeBox schemas
• RPC adapters
• Queue

Workspace & skills

• Skills config
• Default AGENTS
• Templates: AGENTS
• Templates: BOOTSTRAP
• Templates: IDENTITY
• Templates: SOUL
• Templates: TOOLS
• Templates: USER

Platform internals

• macOS dev setup
• macOS menu bar
• macOS voice wake
• iOS node
• Android node
• Windows (WSL2)
• Linux app

Email hooks (Gmail)

• docs.molt.bot/gmail-pubsub

Molty

Moltbot was built for Molty, a space lobster AI assistant. 🦞 by Peter Steinberger and the community.

• clawd.me
• soul.md
• steipete.me
• @moltbot

Community

See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines, maintainers, and how to submit PRs. AI/vibe-coded PRs welcome! 🤖

Special thanks to Mario Zechner for his support and for pi-mono.

Thanks to all clawtributors: