Frequently Asked Questions

ClawMate is a managed hosting service that lets you deploy an AI assistant to Telegram, WhatsApp, and Discord in under 5 minutes. It runs OpenClaw under the hood and handles all infrastructure — servers, Docker, AI API access, updates, and security — so you never touch a command line.

OpenClaw is an open-source AI assistant framework with over 250,000 GitHub stars as of 2026. It connects large language models like GPT-4, Claude, and Gemini to messaging platforms such as Telegram, WhatsApp, and Discord. OpenClaw supports 15+ messaging platforms and is MIT-licensed.

OpenClaw is the open-source engine. ClawMate is the managed hosting service built on top of it. Think of it like WordPress.org vs WordPress.com — same core technology, but ClawMate removes all the server management, Docker configuration, and maintenance so anyone can use it.

ChatGPT is a web and mobile app by OpenAI that you visit in a browser. ClawMate deploys an AI assistant directly inside the messaging apps you already use — Telegram, WhatsApp, and Discord. You chat with your AI assistant like texting a friend, with no need to switch apps. ClawMate also supports multiple AI models (Claude, GPT-4, Gemini), not just OpenAI.

For most users, yes. ClawMate deploys OpenClaw in under 5 minutes vs the industry average of 2-6 hours for self-hosting. You get bundled AI API access, automatic updates, security patches, and zero server maintenance. Self-hosting is better only if you need complete data sovereignty or want to run local/custom AI models like Llama or DeepSeek.

Under 5 minutes from signup to a live, working AI bot. Most users finish in 2-3 minutes. You pick an AI model, paste your bot token (for Telegram or Discord) or scan a QR code (for WhatsApp), and click deploy. That's it.

Step 1: Open Telegram and search for @BotFather. Step 2: Send /newbot and follow the prompts to choose a name and username. Step 3: BotFather gives you a bot token — copy it. Step 4: Go to clawmates.net/setup, paste the token, pick your AI model, and click deploy. Your Telegram AI bot is live in under 5 minutes.

Go to clawmates.net/setup, select WhatsApp as your platform, and choose your AI model. ClawMate shows you a QR code — scan it with your phone's WhatsApp app, exactly like setting up WhatsApp Web. No Business API needed, no Meta approval required. Your AI assistant appears as a WhatsApp contact instantly.

Yes. Telegram is ClawMate's most popular platform. You create a bot via BotFather, paste the token into ClawMate, and deploy. Your bot works in private chats, groups, and channels. It supports text, voice messages, images, and documents.

Yes. ClawMate connects to WhatsApp via the Web pairing protocol — just scan a QR code. No WhatsApp Business API, no Meta developer account, no approval process. Works with your personal WhatsApp number.

Yes. Create a bot in the Discord Developer Portal, copy the token, and paste it into ClawMate. Your AI bot joins your server and can respond in channels, threads, and DMs.

A Telegram bot token is a unique string like 123456789:ABCdefGhIjKlMnOpQrStUvWxYz that identifies your bot on the Telegram platform. You get it from @BotFather when you create a new bot. It's essentially your bot's password — ClawMate needs it to connect your AI assistant to Telegram.

Yes. You can change your AI model at any time from the ClawMate dashboard without redeploying. Switch between Claude, GPT-4, and Gemini with one click. Your bot token and messaging connections stay the same.

ClawMate has three paid plans: Starter at $9.99/month (500K tokens/month), Pro at $29.99/month (3M tokens/month), and Power at $79.99/month (10M tokens/month + bring your own API key). All plans include hosting, AI API access, and support for Telegram, WhatsApp, and Discord. Annual billing saves you 2 months.

Yes. Every plan includes a 7-day free trial with full access to all features. No credit card required to start. If you cancel before the trial ends, you pay nothing.

Sign up, deploy your bot, and use it with full access for 7 days. No credit card needed. At the end of the trial, choose a plan to continue or let it expire. Your bot stays configured — just reactivate anytime.

ClawMate accepts all major credit and debit cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express) through Stripe. Payments are processed securely with PCI-compliant encryption.

Starter ($9.99/month) includes 500K tokens/month — ideal for light personal use. Pro ($29.99/month) includes 3M tokens/month — great for daily use and longer conversations. Power ($79.99/month) includes 10M tokens/month plus the ability to bring your own API key (BYOK) for unlimited usage with your own AI provider account.

Cancel anytime from your dashboard — no contracts, no cancellation fees. Your bot keeps working until the end of your current billing period. You can reactivate anytime without losing your configuration.

ClawMate supports Claude (by Anthropic), GPT-4 and GPT-4o (by OpenAI), and Gemini (by Google). You choose your model during setup and can switch at any time. On the Power plan, you can bring your own API key to use any OpenAI-compatible endpoint.

There's no hard message limit — usage is measured in tokens. Starter includes 500K tokens/month (roughly 250-400 messages depending on length), Pro includes 3M tokens/month (roughly 1,500-2,500 messages), and Power includes 10M tokens/month. With BYOK on the Power plan, usage is unlimited based on your own API key.

A token is the basic unit that AI models use to process text. One token is roughly 3/4 of a word in English. A typical message and response together use about 1,000-2,000 tokens. ClawMate's Starter plan (500K tokens) supports roughly 250-400 conversations per month.

Yes, on the Power plan ($79.99/month). This is called BYOK — Bring Your Own Key. You enter your own OpenAI, Anthropic, or Google API key, and ClawMate uses it for all AI requests. This gives you unlimited tokens based on your own API account and lets you use any model your provider supports.

BYOK stands for Bring Your Own Key. It means you provide your own AI API key (from OpenAI, Anthropic, or Google) instead of using ClawMate's bundled API access. Available on the Power plan, BYOK gives you unlimited usage, access to the latest models the moment they launch, and full control over your AI spending.

Every message you send to the AI and every response it generates consumes tokens. Longer messages use more tokens. ClawMate tracks your monthly token usage and shows it in your dashboard. When you approach your limit, you can upgrade your plan or add BYOK for unlimited usage.

Yes. ClawMate runs your bot in a dedicated cloud container that stays online around the clock. We handle uptime monitoring, automatic restarts, and infrastructure maintenance. Your bot is always ready to respond.

Yes. Each ClawMate subscription supports one bot deployment with multiple platform connections (Telegram + WhatsApp + Discord simultaneously). If you need additional separate bots, you can add extra subscriptions from your dashboard.

Yes. ClawMate never stores or reads your conversations. Messages flow directly between your messaging app and the AI model through your dedicated container. No conversation logging, no training on your data, no third-party access. Each bot runs in an isolated container for security.