OpenClaw Architecture
Gateway Centric Architecture · Agent Loop Mechanism · Multimodal Interaction
Gateway Centric Architecture
Single Gateway Process controlling everything
Single Control Plane
A long-running Gateway process unifying all connections, preventing multi-process fragmentation.
WebSocket Core
All control commands transmitted via local WebSocket, ensuring low latency and high response.
Multi-Channel Adaptation
Native support for WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack, and 10+ mainstream communication channels.
Agent Loop Mechanism
How OpenClaw Thinks and Acts
Receive Message
Route Dispatch
Load Context
LLM Thinking
Tool Execution
Stream Response
State Update
Streaming Response Technology
OpenClaw supports Block Streaming and Tool Streaming. This means users see real-time feedback while tools (like browser operations) are executing, without waiting for the entire task to complete.
Network & Security Model
Secure by Default, Remote by Choice
Local Machine
Session Isolation System
Main Session
Personal exclusive main session, tools run on host machine with highest privileges.
Group Session
Group chat environment automatically isolated, running in Docker sandbox to prevent misoperation.
Isolated Session
On-demand manually created isolated environment for testing unsafe code.
Powerful Toolbox
CDP Browser
Deep browser control based on Chrome DevTools Protocol
Canvas UI
Generate visual interactive components and dashboards
FileSystem
Secure sandboxed file read/write capabilities
Cron Jobs
Natural language defined scheduled tasks
Deployment & Operations
Ready to deploy your own agent?