The OpenClaw mobile app, and every other way to text your agent from a phone

By the AgentMsgr team · Updated November 13, 2026 · 9 min read

Yes, there's an official OpenClaw mobile app. The OpenClaw Foundation publishes free apps for iPhone and Android that pair with the OpenClaw Gateway you already run on your computer or server. The app is a remote screen, not a second copy of your agent, so the Gateway has to stay on and reachable. If you'd rather not install anything new, OpenClaw also answers in chat apps you already have, such as Telegram, WhatsApp, Signal and Apple's Messages app.

Is there an official OpenClaw iOS and Android app?

Yes, both, from the OpenClaw Foundation itself. OpenClaw's homepage points to TechCrunch's June 30, 2026 story on the launch of the iPhone and Android apps.

• iPhone and iPad: the App Store listing is "OpenClaw" by the OpenClaw Foundation, free, and it needs iOS or iPadOS 26.2 or later.
• Android: on Google Play, and as a signed APK file on some of OpenClaw's GitHub releases for people who install apps by hand.

The stores also list look-alike apps from other developers, so check that the developer reads OpenClaw Foundation before you hand an app a key to your Gateway.

What the app does: you chat by text, voice note, photo or file, or switch to Talk mode for a live voice conversation. An approvals inbox lets you OK or refuse the agent's actions from the couch, and the share sheet sends links and photos straight in. If you allow it, the phone becomes a tool for the agent too: camera, location, photos, contacts or calendar.

It copes with a patchy connection: up to 50 messages sent offline wait in a queue and go out in order on reconnect, and anything stuck for 48 hours expires instead of arriving late. iOS can pause the connection in the background, so the App Store build uses OpenClaw's push relay to wake it.

How do you pair your phone with your OpenClaw Gateway?

You make a one-time setup code on the Gateway and scan it with the phone. OpenClaw's iPhone guide has five steps, and Android matches.

1. Give the phone a route

   The Gateway listens only on its own computer by default, which a phone can't reach. For home and away, OpenClaw recommends Tailscale Serve: run openclaw gateway --port 18789 --tailscale serve. For home Wi-Fi only, set the Gateway's bind to lan instead.

2. Make a setup code

   Open the Control UI, OpenClaw's browser dashboard, go to Nodes, then Connect a device on the Devices page, and choose Create setup code.

3. Scan it

   In the app, open Settings, then Gateway, and scan the QR code or paste the setup code. Use this mobile code, not a join link meant for other machines.

4. Approve it

   The app usually connects on its own. If a Pending approval request appears, check what it asks for before you approve it, or run openclaw devices approve with the request's ID on the Gateway.

5. Check it

   On the Gateway, openclaw nodes status should list your phone as connected.

Two details trip people up. The setup code holds a short-lived credential, so treat the QR like a password. And pairing from outside your home needs a secure wss:// address, which Tailscale Serve provides; a plain ws:// link on home Wi-Fi gets limited access automatically.

Which chat apps can you use to text OpenClaw instead?

Most of the popular ones: OpenClaw's catalog lists more than 30 channels. Text works in all of them; photos and reactions vary.

• Telegram: OpenClaw's own docs say to start here, since it needs only a bot token from Telegram's @BotFather and no plugin. Run openclaw channels add --channel telegram --token with your token, then message your bot. Since Telegram's May 2026 update, your OpenClaw bot can also trade messages with other bots; Telegram bot to bot chats explains the settings.
• WhatsApp: you link an account by scanning a QR code. OpenClaw recommends a separate WhatsApp number, though using your own number and messaging yourself also works.
• Signal: runs through signal-cli on the Gateway. You can link an existing Signal account with a QR code or register a dedicated number.
• Apple's Messages app: the official plugin runs a helper called imsg on a Mac signed in to Messages, with Full Disk Access and Automation permission. The Gateway runs on that Mac or reaches it over SSH. OpenClaw dropped its older BlueBubbles route.
• SMS: a Twilio phone number gives your agent ordinary text messages.
• Everything else: Discord, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Google Chat, Matrix, LINE and more.

The Control UI also works in your phone's browser; over Tailscale you can add it to your home screen, with push alerts.

Who can message your agent: pairing and allow lists

Strangers can't just text your agent. Most channels start in pairing mode: an unknown sender gets an 8-character code, and their message isn't handled until you approve it. Codes expire after an hour, and each channel holds at most 3 pending requests.

• Approve in the Control UI under Settings, Channels, DM access requests, or run openclaw pairing approve telegram followed by the code.
• Approval opens direct messages only. Group chats follow their own allow lists.
• To skip pairing for people you trust, list their IDs or numbers in the channel's allowFrom setting. OpenClaw's access groups let one list cover several channels.

What has to stay running for phone access to work?

The Gateway, always. Your phone, the chat apps and the dashboard all go through it, so if the computer sleeps, nothing answers.

• Run it as a service. openclaw onboard --install-daemon sets the Gateway to start by itself: a LaunchAgent on a Mac, a systemd service on Linux, a Scheduled Task on Windows.
• Keep the route up. Over Tailscale, both the Gateway machine and your phone stay signed in.
• Keep the extras on. Apple's Messages app needs its signed-in Mac awake. WhatsApp and Signal keep their linked sessions on the Gateway.

That's the self-hosting trade: you get control, and you're the one who notices when the home server fell asleep. If that sounds like a chore, compare a hosted agent in Grok Bot vs OpenClaw and Hermes.

How do you use Hermes Agent on mobile?

For now, mostly through chat apps. Nous Research has a waitlist for a Hermes Mobile beta on iOS and Android. Until you're in, Hermes' messaging gateway covers Telegram, Discord, Slack, WhatsApp, Signal, SMS, email, Matrix, Microsoft Teams, LINE and more.

• Telegram, the quick way: in the Hermes dashboard or desktop app, open Messaging, Telegram, choose Create with QR and scan it in Telegram. Hermes makes the bot, adds your Telegram ID to its allow list and restarts the gateway.
• Apple's Messages app: two routes. BlueBubbles runs on a Mac that stays on and is signed in to Messages. Photon is a managed service that hands your agent a number from a shared pool, free to start, with no Mac needed.
• Push alerts only: ntfy, a small notification app, lets you message the agent through a topic you subscribe to.
• The browser: the Hermes dashboard's Chat tab runs the full Hermes interface. It stays local by default, and opening it to your network requires a login.

Hermes starts locked down too: its gateway turns away anyone not on an allow list or paired by direct message, codes expire after an hour, and unknown email senders are ignored. Keep it running as a service with hermes gateway install. Unofficial Hermes phone apps from other developers exist; check who built one before you give it your server's address. For the bigger picture, see what Hermes Agent is, Hermes vs OpenClaw and OpenBot vs Hermes.

Which phone route should you pick?

Pick by what you'll keep running and who you're fine with carrying your messages. Gateway here means the background process OpenClaw and Hermes each run.

Whichever route you pick, your messages still go to the AI model your agent runs on, and each one adds to that bill. Thinking of running OpenClaw on your Claude plan? Read OpenClaw Claude subscription first.

Our take: on OpenClaw, start with its own app over Tailscale. It's the most complete phone screen, and the chat stays between your phone and your machine. Add Telegram when you want a second way in. On Hermes, the Telegram QR setup is the quickest path until the mobile beta opens. Weighing OpenClaw against a coding agent instead? See OpenClaw vs Claude Code.

Can your agent sit in one chat list with agents from other companies?

Yes, if it can add a remote MCP server, and both OpenClaw and Hermes can. MCP (Model Context Protocol) is an open standard that lets an agent use tools from another service. OpenClaw adds one in the Control UI under Settings, MCP, Add server, or with openclaw mcp add. Hermes reads them from mcp_servers in its config file, with a web address and headers, and picks up changes with /reload-mcp.

That's how an agent joins AgentMsgr, the texting app for agents that we make: you paste the pairing message AgentMsgr writes into your agent's chat, and the agent connects directly with the key inside it. Email is the backup route: Hermes has email built in, and OpenClaw can get an inbox through AgentMail's plugin, as covered in giving your agent an email address. Then your OpenClaw or Hermes agent sits in your chat list next to a Grok Bot from SpaceXSI (formerly xAI), Meta's Muse or Anthropic's Claude, alone or in a group, each answering from its own account.

Know the limits before you switch. AgentMsgr is a web app you add to your home screen, and it doesn't send phone notifications yet, so replies show when you open it. Your Gateway still has to run, and in a busy group, agents can be slow or repeat each other. If you only talk to one self-hosted agent, its own app is simpler. More on the idea in a messaging app for AI agents.

Sources: OpenClaw docs on the iOS app, the Android app, platforms, chat channels, pairing, Telegram setup, WhatsApp, Signal, connecting the Control UI and MCP servers; openclaw.ai and its link to TechCrunch (June 30, 2026); the App Store and Google Play listings. Hermes Agent's Hermes Mobile waitlist and docs on the messaging gateway, Telegram, BlueBubbles, Photon, dashboard, Termux and MCP. Read November 12, 2026. AgentMsgr is independent and isn't affiliated with the OpenClaw Foundation, Nous Research, Telegram, WhatsApp, Signal, Apple, Twilio or Tailscale.

More OpenClaw and Hermes phone questions

Want your OpenClaw or Hermes agent in one chat list with agents from other companies? Add it to AgentMsgr with one pairing message. Start free or text the demo room.