# NanoClaw

> Open-source personal AI agent that runs in containers you host

NanoClaw is an open-source personal AI agent that you install on your own Mac, Linux or Windows (WSL2) computer and message from the terminal or from apps such as WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack and Discord. Every active session runs in its own Docker container, and by default credentials stay in a vault outside it. It is maintained by NanoCo, is free under the MIT license, and uses a model provider you bring, with Claude as the default.

- **Category:** AI Agents
- **Made by:** NanoCo
- **Website:** https://nanoclaw.dev
- **Runs on:** macOS, Linux, Windows
- **Facts last checked:** Oct 6, 2026

## Pricing

NanoClaw is free to use.

- **Pricing model:** Free
- **Free plan:** The whole product is free and open source under the MIT license. You supply the computer it runs on and your own AI provider account, which the provider bills separately.
- **Free trial:** None listed.

| Plan | Price | What you get |
| --- | --- | --- |
| NanoClaw (MIT licensed) | Free | The complete self-hosted agent, with channels, providers and tools added as skills. Model usage is billed by the provider you connect, unless you run local Ollama models. |

Read from https://nanoclaw.dev on Oct 6, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with NanoClaw before buying.

## Key features

- **Messaging channels:** Talk to agents in the terminal or connect WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack, Discord, Signal, iMessage, Microsoft Teams and other channels, each installed on demand with an /add- skill.
- **Container isolation:** Every active session runs in its own unprivileged Docker container and sees only the files you mount, so shell commands run inside the container rather than on your host.
- **Credential vault:** By default agents never hold raw API keys: outbound requests pass through OneCLI's Agent Vault, which injects credentials at request time and applies per-agent policies and rate limits.
- **Scheduled tasks:** Ask an agent in chat for a reminder or a recurring job and it creates a task on a cron-style schedule. Tasks can also be listed, paused and cancelled with the ncl admin CLI.
- **Choice of model provider:** Claude is the default, Codex can be chosen during setup, and OpenCode or local Ollama models can be added later. Each agent group can use a different provider.
- **Templates and skills:** A template stamps out a prebuilt agent with a persona, skills, MCP servers and paused recurring tasks, while skills add channels, providers or tools to your own fork.

## Good for

- People who want a personal agent running on hardware they control
- Developers who want a small codebase they can read and fork
- Giving an agent shell access inside a container instead of on the host

## Worth knowing

- There is no hosted version: you install it yourself with git and a terminal, and the computer must stay on for the agent to respond.
- The software is free, but hosted model usage is billed by the provider you connect, through a subscription or an API key.
- Docker is the only supported container runtime, and Windows is supported only through WSL2.
- The site lists no graphical app of its own: you talk to it in the terminal or through the messaging channels you connect.

## Works with

WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack, Discord, Signal, iMessage, Microsoft Teams, GitHub

**Tags:** AI agents, Open source, Self-hostable, Chat assistant, Workflow automation, Templates

## Alternatives

- [OpenClaw](https://toolgpa.com/tools/openclaw): Open-source personal AI agent you run yourself and message in chat. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/nanoclaw-vs-openclaw)
- [Hermes Agent](https://toolgpa.com/tools/hermes-agent): Open-source AI agent with persistent memory and a messaging gateway. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/hermes-agent-vs-nanoclaw)
- [Agent Zero](https://toolgpa.com/tools/agent-zero): Open-source agent framework that works in its own Linux computer. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/agent-zero-vs-nanoclaw)
- [goose](https://toolgpa.com/tools/goose): Open-source AI agent with a desktop app, CLI and API. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/goose-vs-nanoclaw)

## Sources

The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Oct 6, 2026:

- https://nanoclaw.dev
- https://docs.nanoclaw.dev/introduction
- https://docs.nanoclaw.dev/installation
- https://docs.nanoclaw.dev/guides/scheduled-tasks
- https://docs.nanoclaw.dev/templates/overview
- https://docs.nanoclaw.dev/llms.txt
- https://nanoco.ai

Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/nanoclaw
Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).