January 30, 2026
The Lobster Formerly Known As Moltbot
OpenClaw – Moltbot Renamed Again
Fans cheer, skeptics roll eyes, while a law firm owns the URL
TLDR: OpenClaw is the new name for the fast-growing, privacy-first AI helper that runs on your own machine, launching with new chat apps, model support, and security fixes. Comments are a cage match over brand whiplash, legal pressure, and domain jokes—some call it flaky, others say the new name finally clicks.
The lobster has molted again and the internet is in its feelings. OpenClaw is the new name for the viral DIY AI helper that blew up to 100k GitHub stars and millions of visits, and the comment section is split. One camp is rolling their eyes at a third rebrand in record time, pointing to the last rename saga like a sequel nobody asked for (receipts). Another camp is cracking jokes about all the wasted “molt*” domain names, while someone casually noted the .com goes to a law firm, which only fueled the chaos. Meanwhile, “Moltbook” randomly trending on Hacker News added meme energy to the mess.
Under the drama, there’s an actual project: a privacy-first assistant that runs on your computer and follows you into WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack, Discord, and more. The rebrand ships new channels (Twitch, Google Chat), new models, image sending in web chat, and a big push on security with 34 hardening commits. Fans say OpenClaw simply sounds better, the lobster mascot stays, and the mission—your data, your rules—still slaps. Critics fire back that caving to polite legal nudges sets a bad precedent. For now, the internet’s verdict is: great product, chaotic vibes, excellent claw puns.
Key Points
- •The project has rebranded to OpenClaw after prior names WhatsApp Relay, Clawd, and Moltbot, with trademark checks and domains secured.
- •OpenClaw is an open agent platform that runs on user-controlled infrastructure and integrates with chat apps like WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord, Slack, and Teams.
- •New release adds Twitch and Google Chat plugins, model support for KIMI K2.5 and Xiaomi MiMo‑V2‑Flash, and image sending in web chat.
- •Security updates include 34 security-related commits and release of machine-checkable security models; prompt injection risks are highlighted.
- •Roadmap focuses on security, gateway reliability, more models/providers, growing the maintainer team, and exploring funding for maintainers.