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OpenClaw surpasses React to become the most-starred software project on GitHub

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Re: OpenClaw surpasses React to become the most-starred software project on GitHub

#231

Post by brtkwr »

bombela wrote: post #183
brtkwr wrote: post #65

I got OpenClaw to compile Node from source on my old Jetson Nano so that I can run OpenClaw natively instead of using Bun. It took 30 hours but it did it by spinning up a tmux session for the build and using a cron to monitor the tmux pane every hour and even fixing a failure at 5 am which I would have had to find out later had crashed but it had actually found what needed to be changed for the build to continue and…

That's really cool. But wouldn't have been quicker and simpler to add ".bun/" to the pattern of authorized paths the same way it presumably works for ".npm/"?

It didn’t survive OpenClaw upgrades unfortunately, it ended up killing my OpenClaw gateway when I asked it to self upgrade. Bun is marked as an experimental package manager and the recommended way to run OpenClaw gateway is node so I wanted to do it properly. I would have liked Bun to be supported property. I’d raise a PR against the repo but looking at the 4.5K open PRs, it doesn’t give me much hope about it ever getting merged.

Re: OpenClaw surpasses React to become the most-starred software project on GitHub

#232

Post by BeetleB »

WD-42 wrote: post #172
simonw wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How much do you automate things in your life using Zapier and Automator? I know about those tools, and I'm always in the mood for automating thing... and yet I don't use them. I'm not yet running a Claw because of the prompt injection / lethal trifecta risks, but I absolutely understand the appeal. Reducing friction to automating stuff from "figure out Automator again" to "message your bot" is a material difference.

How much do you automate anything in your life at all? Seems like most daily drudgery comes from physical tasks. Feed the dog. Take out the trash. Personally I can’t think of anything digital that could be automated that isn’t already. I wouldn’t be surprised if this the case for most people, with the exception of marketers and spammers which we are seeing a ton of adoption from with these tools.

I don't automate much because it's a pain.

I have a desktop at home.

When I'm at work, I often think of TODOs for home. I write them on a post it note, and then at home have to remember to add it to my TODO (no, I'm not going to manage TODOs on my phone - whole other conversation).

I'll soon set up my Claw to be able to add TODOs (just add, not modify/delete). Then at work, I'll simply record a voice message to it telling it my TODO.

Same goes for movies I want to watch, books I want to read, reminders, etc.

I'm particular about the weather information I want (often want cloud cover percentage and precipitation probability for a set of hours). I couldn't find a good app on my phone that gives me this information. It was always a trip to a web site, modify some options, and hit Submit. Now I just ask my Claw and he has a skill for precisely my needs.

Here's an analogy: I carry a Leatherman multitool wherever I go. People ask me why. They can't comprehend needing it often to make it worth the hassle. But now that I have it on me, I use the knife very often - several times a week. And I almost never reach for a screwdriver. But until you've had it on you for a while, you can't comprehend the utility.

Back in 2005, lots of people asked "Why would I want a camera on my phone?"

Re: OpenClaw surpasses React to become the most-starred software project on GitHub

#233

Post by dg2fgfg »

silversmith wrote: post #10
sschueller wrote: post #7

What is an effective use case? I have set it up but I don't know what to do with it. Just a personal assistant (if you were to give it access to your stuff)? Mine is caged in a VLAN with only internet access.

I guess we are just boring and/or unimaginative. I don't get that many communications per day to require an abstraction level between me and the messages. The daily automations I need are more efficiently carried out by home assistant / n8n. I'm not in a position where I need automated briefs on every new company started in my area. I genuinely don't see how it could benefit me.

Most humans are unimaginative because to be imaginative is actually really, really hard. People are also incredibly overly optimistic about their own ideas etc... until they go through the craftsmanship of producing something great.

Most peoples thought process is "oh great idea, just gotta do this and that and out pops something that'll improve peoples lives". Erm no... its nothing like that in reality.

Re: OpenClaw surpasses React to become the most-starred software project on GitHub

#234

Post by Kriev »

BeetleB wrote: post #216
latexr wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What about the convenience of having your whole inbox deleted? https://www.pcmag.com/news/meta-security-researchers-opencla... Maybe OpenClaw was just practicing a really aggressive form of Inbox Zero.

So ... don't give it write access to your email? As I said elsewhere, complaining about this is like complaining that rm can let you delete your hard drive. It's a tool. Learn how to use it.

Bad take.

You can rm -rf your entire hard drive, but you can't blame rm for it, it's you who did it, maybe because you don't know, or a mistake, doesn't matter.

When you ask the clanker to delete x number of files in a directory, it can reason itself that is easier to just get rid of the directory.

Can't expect deterministic outcomes out of a statistical model.

At it's current state its a wildcard, sure you can build guard rails, reduce permissions, but it's still a wildcard.

Let's not kid ourselves saying is just a skill issue.

Re: OpenClaw surpasses React to become the most-starred software project on GitHub

#236

Post by BeetleB »

SunshineTheCat wrote: post #61

I keep reading folks saying OpenClaw has completely changed their life while posting a picture of 58 mac minis on their desk. But every single use case I've read so far could be done with a pretty affordable SaaS product, Zapier, Automator (app on a mac that's existed for over a decade), or something simple you could make yourself. It also feels like people are automating things that don't really need to be automated…

> But every single use case I've read so far could be done with a pretty affordable SaaS product, Zapier, Automator (app on a mac that's existed for over a decade),

I don't want to learn N different SaaS products (nor worry about them changing their TOS, going away, etc).

To be blunt, if OpenClaw were reliable, secure and affordable, lots of SaaS products would simply die. Why spend the time learning all of them when I can just tell the assistant what I want?

> or something simple you could make yourself.

That is OpenClaw at a higher abstraction! Instead of me sitting typing, or babysitting Claude Code, I can just tell OpenClaw what I want and it makes it for me.

(When it works, that is).

Re: OpenClaw surpasses React to become the most-starred software project on GitHub

#237

Post by BeetleB »

Volundr wrote: post #225
BeetleB wrote: post #216

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So ... don't give it write access to your email? As I said elsewhere, complaining about this is like complaining that rm can let you delete your hard drive. It's a tool. Learn how to use it.

Ignoring that you've just cut off a whole vector of usefulness, how do I keep it from exfilling my inbox to the Internet in response to a malicious email? Or using its access to take control of my online accounts? Honest question, this kind of stuff is what keeps me from using it.

Don't give it access to your email then. I haven't. Plenty of other uses for it!

Re: OpenClaw surpasses React to become the most-starred software project on GitHub

#238

Post by BeetleB »

Kriev wrote: post #234
BeetleB wrote: post #216

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So ... don't give it write access to your email? As I said elsewhere, complaining about this is like complaining that rm can let you delete your hard drive. It's a tool. Learn how to use it.

Bad take. You can rm -rf your entire hard drive, but you can't blame rm for it, it's you who did it, maybe because you don't know, or a mistake, doesn't matter. When you ask the clanker to delete x number of files in a directory, it can reason itself that is easier to just get rid of the directory. Can't expect deterministic outcomes out of a statistical model. At it's current state its a wildcard, sure you can build…

> When you ask the clanker to delete x number of files in a directory, it can reason itself that is easier to just get rid of the directory.

Oh sure, so don't give it write access to anything important. And make backups.

Mine is on a VM. It doesn't have access to my host's files. The worst it will do is delete the files on the VM. No great loss.

Yes, I do get it to modify things on my host, but only via a REST API I've set up on my host, and I whitelist the things it can do (no generic delete, for example). I even let it send emails. But only to me. It can't send an email to anyone else.

Re: OpenClaw surpasses React to become the most-starred software project on GitHub

#239

Post by skeledrew »

faize wrote: post #182

I spent around $5 setting up a small bot and sending a few requests through the Claude API. For those who use Claude (or similar LLM APIs) on a daily basis, what does your monthly spend look like in practice? And do you feel the cost is justified by the value you’re getting?

I got the full value of my Claude Pro subscription in the first couple few hours of having taking the leap. Hit the message limit and had to edit for reset, but I was already a happy customer given the progress I made on a project that I was trying to recover (couldn't quite figure what was needed to get it ready for real world usable, but Claude Code figured it and it was a good collab getting it there).

Re: OpenClaw surpasses React to become the most-starred software project on GitHub

#240

Post by skeledrew »

bombela wrote: post #183
brtkwr wrote: post #65

I got OpenClaw to compile Node from source on my old Jetson Nano so that I can run OpenClaw natively instead of using Bun. It took 30 hours but it did it by spinning up a tmux session for the build and using a cron to monitor the tmux pane every hour and even fixing a failure at 5 am which I would have had to find out later had crashed but it had actually found what needed to be changed for the build to continue and…

That's really cool. But wouldn't have been quicker and simpler to add ".bun/" to the pattern of authorized paths the same way it presumably works for ".npm/"?

Seems to have been addressed in the article:

> Starting around OpenClaw 2026.2.26, the project tightened plugin manifest validation. Manifests outside expected trust boundaries are now rejected as unsafe. On my Jetson, Bun’s global install layout (~/.bun/install/global/node_modules/...) tripped those checks for every single plugin

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