How It Compares

| | PaeanClaw | NanoClaw | OpenClaw | OpenPaean | |---|---|---|---|---| | Core source | 365 lines (5 TypeScript files, excl. HTML frontend) | ~8,000 lines | ~420,000 lines | ~12,800 lines | | Source files | 5 | 28 | ~4,900 | 66 | | Runtime deps | 2 | 9 | ~50 | 16 | | LLM providers | Any | Claude only | Multi (Pi) | Cloud only | | Runtime | Node.js / Bun | Node.js + Docker | Node.js 22 | Node.js | | Channels | PWA + Telegram | WhatsApp | 16+ platforms | Terminal | | Data | Local SQLite | Local SQLite | Local SQLite | Cloud PostgreSQL |

Benchmark Snapshot (macOS arm64, March 2026)

| | PaeanClaw (Bun) | NanoClaw | OpenClaw | | ------------------------ | ----------------- | ----------------- | ------------------ | | Cold Start | ~20ms | ~5s (container) | ~3s | | Memory (RSS) | ~30MB | ~200MB | ~150MB | | Install Time | ~5s | ~2 min | ~5 min | | Dist Size | ~0.8MB | ~4MB | ~28MB | | Native Addons | 0 | 3+ | Several | | Deployment Cost | $0 (any HW) | ~$5/mo | ~$20+/mo |

PaeanClaw on Bun: 150x faster startup than OpenClaw, 5x less memory, 60x faster install — with zero native compilation.

PaeanClaw is 1,150x smaller than OpenClaw. Its entire core runtime fits in a single LLM context window, making it the ideal foundation for AI-assisted customization. See the full comparison and why minimal code matters.

When to Use What

Choose PaeanClaw when you want:

• An agent you can fully read and understand in 15 minutes
• Provider freedom (OpenAI, Claude, Gemini, Ollama, DeepSeek, or any OpenAI-compatible API)
• A lightweight starting point to fork and customize with AI assistance
• Local-first data ownership with zero cloud lock-in
• Fast setup (2 minutes) with minimal dependencies

Choose NanoClaw when you want:

• Container-isolated agents (Docker / Apple Container)
• WhatsApp as the primary interface
• Claude Agent SDK's built-in tool ecosystem
• Security through OS-level sandboxing

Choose OpenClaw when you want:

• 16+ messaging platform support out of the box
• Native macOS, iOS, and Android apps
• 60+ built-in tools with a plugin ecosystem
• Voice wake and talk mode
• Hybrid memory (BM25 + vector search)

Choose OpenPaean when you want:

• Cloud-powered agent with rich backend services
• Cross-device gateway relay (mobile/web to local MCP tools)
• Task worker with multi-executor routing
• Full Paean ecosystem integration

What Can You Build?

PaeanClaw is a blank canvas — each use case is built by composing MCP servers and writing a few lines of AGENT.md. Here are some highlights:

| Scenario | What It Does | Channels | |----------|-------------|----------| | Morning Briefing | Wake up to a Telegram summary: calendar, PRs, headlines, weather — assembled while you slept | Telegram | | Voice Journal → Structured Notes | Record a voice memo on your commute; agent transcribes, extracts TODOs, files notes automatically | Telegram, PWA | | Cross-Device Dev Bridge | Run tests, check logs, and deploy from your iPad — your home machine works via Paean CLI gateway | PWA + CLI Gateway | | Habit Streak Coach | Daily check-ins, streak tracking, and weekly scorecards — an accountability partner in your messaging app | Telegram | | Meeting Prep & Follow-up | Get a 30-second prep brief before meetings; dictate notes after and get action items extracted | Telegram, PWA | | Family Coordination Hub | A WhatsApp family bot that manages shared todos, calendars, and notes — responds only when mentioned | WhatsApp | | Smart Home Commander | Control Home Assistant with natural language: "heading home in 30 min" triggers heat, lights, and music | Telegram, PWA | | Travel Itinerary Copilot | Plan trips with auto-researched local tips, then ask questions during travel from any channel | Telegram, PWA | | Pay-per-Answer Research Agent | Charge $0.25 USDC per deep research query — payment confirmed on-chain before the work begins | Telegram, PWA | | Agent Service Marketplace | Run specialized paid agents (legal review, brand naming, code audit) — humans and other agents pay in USDC | Telegram, PWA | | Milestone Payment Tracker | Break freelance projects into USDC-gated milestones — cryptographic proof of receipt, no invoice-chasing | Telegram, PWA | | Dollar-Cost Averaging Agent | Auto-buy ETH or SOL at a fixed amount every week via on-chain DEX swaps — DCA on autopilot, no exchange accounts | Telegram | | Portfolio Rebalancing Bot | Monitor allocation drift across Base and Solana; swap back to target percentages with one approval message | Telegram, PWA | | Token Research & Trade Agent | Describe a token in plain language; agent checks liquidity, quotes the swap, and executes on your approval | Telegram, PWA | | Smart Token Discovery | Daily scan of top gainers with auto security audit — filters out honeypots and scams, delivers vetted opportunities | Telegram | | On-Chain Due Diligence | Paste a token address, get a 30-second multi-source risk report: security audit, liquidity, whale activity, and verdict | Telegram, PWA | | Cross-Chain Swap Router | "Swap 1 SOL to USDC on Base" — agent handles routing, safety checks, and calldata across 9+ chains | Telegram, PWA | | Whale Activity Monitor | Hourly anomaly detection on your token positions — alerts on unusual volume, whale accumulation, or dump signals | Telegram |

Every scenario follows the same pattern: identify your channels, add MCP servers for your data, customize AGENT.md, and let your AI coding assistant wire it together.

→ See all 32 use cases with step-by-step build instructions in docs/USE-CASES.md and docs/USE-CASES-BITGET-WALLET.md

Install

bun install -g --no-optional paeanclaw   # recommended (skips native deps)
# or: npm install -g paeanclaw           # Node.js users

What Is This

PaeanClaw runs an AI agent on your local machine and exposes it through a web interface and optional Telegram bot. The agent can use tools (file access, shell commands, web search, etc.) via MCP servers.

Phone/Browser/Telegram → PaeanClaw (your machine) → LLM API + MCP Tools

Think of it as a personal AI assistant that runs where your data lives.

Quick Start

Option 1: bunx / npx (no install needed)

Run directly — PaeanClaw auto-creates config files on first run:

mkdir my-agent && cd my-agent
bunx paeanclaw        # recommended
# or: npx paeanclaw

Edit the generated paeanclaw.config.json with your API key, then run again:

bunx paeanclaw

Option 2: Global install

bun install -g --no-optional paeanclaw   # recommended (skips native deps)
# or: npm install -g paeanclaw           # Node.js users
mkdir my-agent && cd my-agent
paeanclaw

Option 3: Clone and customize

git clone https://github.com/paean-ai/paeanclaw.git
cd paeanclaw
bun install                  # or: npm install
cp paeanclaw.config.example.json paeanclaw.config.json
# Edit paeanclaw.config.json with your API key
bun run build && bun run start:bun    # or: npm run build && npm start

Open http://localhost:3007 in your browser.

The default config uses the Paean AI API with GLM-4.5. To use a different provider, edit paeanclaw.config.json.

Runtime: Bun (recommended) or Node.js

| | Bun (recommended) | Node.js | |---|---|---| | SQLite | bun:sqlite (built-in, zero deps) | better-sqlite3 (native addon) | | Startup | ~20ms | ~40ms | | Install | bun install (no native compile) | npm install | | Run | bunx paeanclaw | npx paeanclaw | | Native deps | 0 | 1 |

Bun eliminates all native dependencies, compiles nothing during install, and starts ~2x faster.

Tip: When installing with Bun, use --no-optional (e.g. bun install -g --no-optional paeanclaw) to skip the better-sqlite3 native compilation entirely. Bun uses its built-in bun:sqlite instead.

Configuration

Copy the example config and fill in your API key:

cp paeanclaw.config.example.json paeanclaw.config.json

{
  "llm": {
    "baseUrl": "https://api.paean.ai/v1",
    "apiKey": "${PAEAN_API_KEY}",
    "model": "GLM-4.5"
  },
  "mcpServers": {},
  "telegram": {
    "token": "${TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN}",
    "allowedUsers": []
  },
  "server": {
    "port": 3007
  }
}

Environment variables are interpolated via ${VAR_NAME} syntax. You can also write values directly in the config file.

Provider Examples

PaeanClaw works with any OpenAI-compatible API.

Paean AI (default):

{
  "llm": {
    "baseUrl": "https://api.paean.ai/v1",
    "apiKey": "os_ak_...",
    "model": "GLM-4.5"
  }
}

Available models: GLM-4.7, GLM-4.6, GLM-4.5, GLM-4.5-Air, claude-sonnet-4-6, claude-opus-4-6, gemini-3-flash-preview, gemini-3-pro-preview.

Get a free API key: Sign up at app.paean.ai, then go to Workspace Settings → Developer to generate your API key (os_ak_...). Every account includes a free monthly credit allowance — no payment required to get started.

OpenAI:

{ "llm": { "baseUrl": "https://api.openai.com/v1", "apiKey": "${OPENAI_API_KEY}", "model": "gpt-4o" } }

Anthropic (Claude):

{ "llm": { "baseUrl": "https://api.anthropic.com/v1", "apiKey": "${ANTHROPIC_API_KEY}", "model": "claude-sonnet-4-20250514" } }

Ollama (local, no API key needed):

{ "llm": { "baseUrl": "http://localhost:11434/v1", "apiKey": "ollama", "model": "llama3.2" } }

Google Gemini:

{ "llm": { "baseUrl": "https://generativelanguage.googleapis.com/v1beta/openai", "apiKey": "${GOOGLE_API_KEY}", "model": "gemini-2.5-flash" } }

Telegram Bot

1. Create a bot via @BotFather on Telegram
2. Add the token to paeanclaw.config.json under "telegram": { "token": "..." }
3. Restart PaeanClaw

In private chats, the bot responds to all messages. In group chats, it responds when mentioned or replied to.

Access Control

Restrict which Telegram users can interact with your bot by setting allowedUsers. Each entry can be a numeric user ID or a username (without @). If the array is empty or omitted, all users are allowed.

{
  "telegram": {
    "token": "...",
    "allowedUsers": ["123456789", "myusername"]
  }
}

Tip: To find your Telegram user ID, message @userinfobot.

Adding Tools via MCP

Configure MCP servers in paeanclaw.config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "filesystem": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem", "/path/to/dir"]
    },
    "fetch": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-fetch"]
    }
  }
}

Any MCP server works. The agent automatically discovers and uses available tools.

Customizing the Agent

Edit AGENT.md to change the agent's system prompt, personality, instructions, and behavior.

Architecture

src/index.ts     (~140 lines)  HTTP server, SSE streaming, API routes
src/agent.ts     (~130 lines)  LLM streaming tool-calling loop
src/store.ts      (~90 lines)  SQLite persistence (Node.js + Bun dual-runtime)
src/mcp.ts        (~60 lines)  MCP client, tool discovery and execution
src/telegram.ts   (~60 lines)  Telegram bot channel adapter

Runtime dependencies: @modelcontextprotocol/sdk, grammy. On Bun, SQLite uses the built-in bun:sqlite.

See DESIGN.md for the full design philosophy and docs/COMPARISON.md for a deep comparison with other projects.

API

| Method | Endpoint | Description | |--------|----------|-------------| | POST | /api/chat | Send message, returns SSE stream | | GET | /api/conversations | List all conversations | | GET | /api/messages?conversationId=... | Get messages for a conversation |

SSE Events

data: {"type":"start","conversationId":"..."}
data: {"type":"content","text":"Hello"}
data: {"type":"tool_call","name":"filesystem__read_file","args":"..."}
data: {"type":"tool_result","name":"filesystem__read_file","result":"..."}
data: {"type":"done","content":"Hello world"}

PWA

The web interface is a PWA -- installable on mobile and desktop. Open the URL in your browser and use "Add to Home Screen" for an app-like experience.

Adding More Channels

Beyond the built-in Telegram support, more channels and capabilities can be added via skills:

• WhatsApp -- See skills/add-whatsapp/SKILL.md
• USDC payments (Base & Solana) -- See skills/add-payment/SKILL.md
• DEX trading (Uniswap v3 on Base, Jupiter on Solana) -- Add paean-dex-mcp to your MCP config
• On-chain intelligence (9+ chains: prices, security audits, swap quotes, K-line data) -- Add bitget-wallet-mcp to your MCP config

Skills are markdown instructions that an AI coding agent (Claude Code, Cursor, etc.) follows to transform your installation. See Contributing.

Multi-Agent / Multi-Gateway

PaeanClaw is designed as a single, focused agent process. To run multiple agents with different roles, launch separate PaeanClaw instances in their own directories — each with its own config, system prompt, and port.

Directory Layout

my-agents/
  primary/
    paeanclaw.config.json    # port: 3007, general-purpose LLM
    AGENT.md                 # "You are a helpful personal assistant..."
  monitor/
    paeanclaw.config.json    # port: 3008, lightweight model
    AGENT.md                 # "You are a health-monitor agent. Check other agents periodically..."
  executor/
    paeanclaw.config.json    # port: 3009, powerful model with shell tools
    AGENT.md                 # "You are a task executor. Run code, manage files..."

Starting Multiple Agents

cd my-agents/primary  && paeanclaw &
cd my-agents/monitor  && paeanclaw &
cd my-agents/executor && paeanclaw &

Each instance runs independently on its own port.

Working Directory & Data Isolation

PaeanClaw resolves all paths relative to process.cwd() — the directory where you run the command. There are no CLI flags and no global config fallback.

| File | Resolved Path | |------|---------------| | Config | $CWD/paeanclaw.config.json | | System prompt | $CWD/AGENT.md | | Database | $CWD/data/paeanclaw.db |

Each directory is a fully isolated agent workspace with its own configuration, conversation history, and system prompt. To create a new agent, simply create a new directory and run paeanclaw from it:

mkdir my-new-agent && cd my-new-agent
paeanclaw   # auto-scaffolds config on first run

Stopping Instances

PaeanClaw does not currently have a built-in stop command. Use standard process management:

# Stop via Ctrl+C (foreground process — handles SIGINT gracefully)

# Find and stop by port
lsof -ti :3007 | xargs kill

# Stop all PaeanClaw instances
pkill -f paeanclaw

Remote Access with AnyClaw

Connect each agent to AnyClaw with its own bridge and ClawKey:

anyclaw bridge -g http://localhost:3007 -k ck_p_primary_key &
anyclaw bridge -g http://localhost:3008 -k ck_p_monitor_key &
anyclaw bridge -g http://localhost:3009 -k ck_p_executor_key &

All agents appear in the AnyClaw web UI with individual status indicators. Switch between them to chat with any agent from your phone or browser.

Architecture

                    AnyClaw Web UI (anyclaw.sh)
                    ┌──────────────────────────┐
                    │  [Primary]  [Monitor]     │
                    │  [Executor]               │
                    └────┬──────────┬───────┬───┘
                         │          │       │
                      relay      relay   relay
                         │          │       │
  Local Machine     ┌────▼──┐  ┌───▼───┐  ┌▼──────┐
                    │Bridge │  │Bridge │  │Bridge │
                    │ :3007 │  │ :3008 │  │ :3009 │
                    └───┬───┘  └───┬───┘  └───┬───┘
                        │          │          │
                    ┌───▼───┐  ┌───▼───┐  ┌───▼───┐
                    │Primary│  │Monitor│  │Executor│
                    │Agent  │  │Agent  │  │Agent   │
                    └───────┘  └──┬─┬──┘  └────────┘
                                  │ │
                          health checks on
                          Primary & Executor

Agent Role Examples

Monitor Agent — watches other agents and auto-recovers:

<!-- monitor/AGENT.md -->
You are a health-monitor agent. Every 5 minutes, check:
- http://localhost:3007/api/conversations (Primary)
- http://localhost:3009/api/conversations (Executor)
If any agent is unreachable, report the issue via Telegram.
Use the shell MCP server to restart failed agents.

Executor Agent — specialized for system tasks:

<!-- executor/AGENT.md -->
You are a task execution agent with full shell and filesystem access.
Focus on: running tests, deployments, file management, and code tasks.
Always confirm destructive operations before executing.

This multi-instance pattern keeps each agent's core at 365 lines while enabling sophisticated multi-agent workflows through composition.

Contributing

Don't add features. Add skills.

PaeanClaw's core must stay minimal. Instead of adding code to support new channels, tools, or behaviors, contribute skill files that teach AI coding agents how to transform a user's installation on demand.

See docs/CONTRIBUTING.md for the full guide.

Documentation

• DESIGN.md -- Design philosophy and architecture
• docs/USE-CASES.md -- 24 core use cases: morning briefings, voice journaling, habit coaching, travel planning, smart home, agent payments, DEX trading, and more
• docs/USE-CASES-BITGET-WALLET.md -- 8 on-chain intelligence use cases: token watchlists, smart discovery, due diligence, cross-chain swaps, arbitrage, portfolio dashboards, whale monitoring, and community price bots
• docs/COMPARISON.md -- Deep comparison with OpenClaw, NanoClaw, OpenPaean
• docs/WHY-MINIMAL.md -- Why minimal code matters in the agentic era
• docs/CONTRIBUTING.md -- How to contribute (skills over features)

Requirements

• Bun 1.0+ (recommended) or Node.js 20+
• An LLM API key (or a local model via Ollama) — get a free Paean AI key

License

MIT