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BloksOpenClaw

Checked 6 November 2026 · Sources

Bloks vs OpenClaw

Two ways to keep AI agents on your own machine. OpenClaw is a self-hosted gateway you talk to through chat apps; Bloks is a desktop app your agents live in, with your phone in your pocket.

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The short answer

Which one is for you

Choose Bloks ifOur pick

  • You want an app, not a gateway to configure: install, sign in to the AI you already use, hire an agent.
  • You want to undo what an agent did, rewind a conversation, and have agents ask before they act.
  • You already pay for Claude Code or Codex and want your agents to run on that plan.
  • You want an iPhone and Apple Watch app that works out of the box, at home or away.

Choose OpenClaw if

  • You live in chat apps and want the widest list: 33 of them, including iMessage, Matrix and WeChat, and phone calls.
  • You want an MIT licence and no paid tier at all.
  • You want the biggest community and plugin ecosystem in this space.
  • You are happy running a service from the command line and editing its config files.

At a glance

Topic by topic

Bloks ahead · 4Even · 7OpenClaw ahead · 3

Topic
What it isA desktop app for Mac, Windows and Linux. Each agent is a contact; a team is a room.A self-hosted gateway that holds your agents, reached through chat apps and companion apps.
Getting startedInstall the app; it installs and signs in the engines with one button each.BetterCommand line setup of the gateway as a service, then its config.
Engines and modelsClaude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI, Cursor, Cline, OpenCode, Pi, Grok and more, any OpenAI-compatible host, Ollama and LM Studio.API providers, ChatGPT sign-in, and local models through Ollama, LM Studio, vLLM and others.
Your existing planRuns on the Claude or ChatGPT plan behind your Claude Code or Codex sign-in.BetterChatGPT sign-in is documented; a Claude subscription sign-in is not mentioned.
Safety by defaultAgents ask before acting unless you choose otherwise, and rules are written in a sentence.BetterIts main hosts default to full access; sandboxing is opt-in and not a hard boundary.
UndoUndo anything an agent changed, rewind a conversation, or branch it from any answer.BetterNo undo or rewind is described.
MemoryMarkdown files you can read and edit: MEMORY.md and a folder of notes.Markdown files you can read and edit, with daily notes distilled into MEMORY.md.
Teams of agentsRooms with a lead who speaks last; agents message each other and hire help with your yes.Several agents per gateway, messaging each other, with a coordinator preset.
Chat appsTelegram, Signal, Slack, Discord, WhatsApp groups and email.33 channels, including WhatsApp, iMessage, Teams, Matrix and SMS, and phone calls by plugin.Better
PhoneAn iPhone and Apple Watch app, at home over your network or anywhere with Bloks Cloud.iOS and Android companion apps that pair with your own gateway.
When your computer is offAgents pause, unless they run on a server of yours or on managed hosting.Agents stop, unless the gateway runs on an always-on server.
PriceFree with your own AI. Paid plans add reach from anywhere, people and an included AI.Free, with no paid tier.
LicenceSource available (FSL): free for any use except selling Bloks; each release becomes MIT after two years.MIT.Better
CommunityA young project with an active issue tracker and outside contributors.The largest community in this space, with a plugin hub.Better

Setup and everyday use

BloksBetter

Bloks is an app. You download it, and its first run checks for the AI tools on your machine: Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI and the rest install and sign in from one button each. Then you hire an agent, give it a name and a job, and talk to it the way you would message a colleague.

Everything after that is in the window: settings, approvals, the agent's browser, its memory and its files.

Bloks on a Mac: agents in the sidebar and a conversation open

OpenClaw

OpenClaw is a gateway, a service you run, with menu bar and companion apps around it. You install it from the command line, set it up as a service on your Mac, Linux machine or a server, and configure providers, channels and tools in its config.

That suits people who like to run their own services, and it is what lets OpenClaw sit behind so many chat apps.

Safety, approvals and undo

BloksBetter

An agent in Bloks asks before it acts, unless you tell it not to. You can write a rule in a sentence ("never push to main"), and every change it makes to your files can be undone. A conversation can be rewound, or branched from any answer to try another way.

When work should not touch your machine at all, an agent can run in a Docker container or on another machine over SSH.

A changes card in Bloks: the files an agent changed, each one with Undo

OpenClaw

OpenClaw has a careful set of exec policies (deny, allowlist, ask, auto and full) and approvals from chat, its control UI or its apps. But its gateway and node hosts default to full access, and its own docs describe sandboxing as opt-in and not a hard boundary.

Its docs do not describe undoing what an agent changed.

Chat apps and your phone

Bloks

Bloks reaches you on Telegram and Signal, carries a room into Slack, Discord or a WhatsApp group, and gives each agent an email address. The iPhone and Apple Watch app is the main way in when you are away: it works on your own network, and anywhere with Bloks Cloud, which carries traffic sealed end to end.

The Bloks iPhone app with your agents listed

OpenClawBetter

Chat is OpenClaw's home ground. It speaks 33 channels, from WhatsApp and Telegram to iMessage, Teams, Matrix and WeChat, and with its Voice Call plugin it can answer the phone. Its iOS and Android companion apps add camera, location and voice, paired to your own gateway.

Price and licence

Bloks

Bloks is free with your own AI, with no limit on agents, and never stops working without a plan. Paid plans add reach from anywhere, people in your workspaces and an included AI; see pricing. Its source is public under the Functional Source License: free for any use, including at work, except selling Bloks or something like it, and every release becomes MIT two years after it ships.

OpenClaw

OpenClaw is MIT licensed and has no paid tier, hosted service or account. You pay only your model providers. If an MIT licence today matters to you more than anything on this page, OpenClaw is the clear pick.

Switching

Bring your OpenClaw agents across in a minute

Bloks reads an OpenClaw setup from your home folder: its agents, their instructions and memory, skills, MCP servers and chat channel settings, and shows you each item before anything is added. Keys and passwords are never copied unless you say so, and the whole import can be undone.

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Meet your team in a minute

Free with the AI you already use. Your agents, their memory and their work stay on your machine.

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Questions

Bloks and OpenClaw: questions

Is Bloks an OpenClaw alternative?

Yes. Both keep your agents on your own machine with memory in Markdown files. Bloks is a desktop app with undo, approvals and an iPhone app; OpenClaw is a gateway you reach through chat apps.

Can I move my OpenClaw agents to Bloks?

Yes. Open Settings, Data, Bring your setup: Bloks finds your OpenClaw setup and lists its agents, instructions, memory, skills and MCP servers, and adds only what you tick. It can be undone.

Is Bloks open source like OpenClaw?

Its source is public, under the Functional Source License: free for any use except selling Bloks or something substantially like it, and every release becomes MIT two years after it ships. OpenClaw is MIT today.

Which is safer to run on my main computer?

Bloks asks before agents act by default, and anything an agent changes can be undone. OpenClaw's main hosts default to full access, with sandboxing as an opt-in. Both can run agents in containers or on another machine.

Do I need an API key?

Not for Bloks if you already use Claude Code, Codex or another coding agent: Bloks runs on that sign-in. OpenClaw works with API keys, a ChatGPT sign-in, or local models.

Can either keep working when my laptop is closed?

Only if it runs somewhere that stays on. Bloks agents can run on a server of yours with bloks-server, or on managed hosting; OpenClaw's gateway can run on an always-on server.

Sources

Every claim about OpenClaw on this page was checked against its own pages on 6 November 2026. Products change: if something here is out of date, tell us at bloks.dev/support and we will fix it.

  1. OpenClaw on GitHub (README, licence)
  2. OpenClaw releases
  3. openclaw.ai
  4. Docs: platforms
  5. Docs: model providers
  6. Docs: sandboxing
  7. Docs: exec approvals
  8. Docs: memory
  9. Docs: multi-agent
  10. Docs: channels
  11. Docs: automation
  12. Docs: browser
  13. Docs: telemetry
  14. Digital Trends on the OpenClaw phone apps

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