Warelay -> OpenClaw
The OpenClaw project has undergone several name changes since its initial commit in November, evolving from Warelay to its current name. It began as a WhatsApp relay CLI tool using Twilio and later expanded to support AI agent integration. The final rebranding to OpenClaw reflects its current role as a personal AI assistant platform.
- ▪The project started as Warelay, a WhatsApp Relay CLI tool using Twilio.
- ▪It was later renamed to CLAWDIS, then CLAWDBOT, Clawdbot, Moltbot, and finally OpenClaw.
- ▪Each name change reflected shifts in functionality, including support for AI agents and multiple messaging platforms.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
In preparation for a lightning talk I'm giving at PyCon US this afternoon I decided to figure out how many names OpenClaw has actually had since that first commit back in November. Thanks to this first_line_history.py tool (code here) the answer, according to the Git history of the OpenClaw README, is: Warelay → CLAWDIS → CLAWDBOT → Clawdbot → Moltbot →🦞 OpenClaw Or in detail (the output from the tool): 2025-11-24T11:23:15+01:00 16dfc1 # Warelay — WhatsApp Relay CLI (Twilio) 2025-11-24T11:41:37+01:00 d4153d # 📡 Warelay — WhatsApp Relay CLI (Twilio) 2025-11-24T17:47:57+01:00 343ef9 # 📡 warelay — WhatsApp Relay CLI (Twilio) 2025-11-25T04:44:10+01:00 14b3c6 # 📡 warelay — WhatsApp Relay CLI 2025-11-25T12:48:40+01:00 481402 # 📡 warelay — Send, receive, and auto-reply on…
Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Simon Willison.
Discussion
0 commentsMore from Simon Willison
