In This Article
Introduction
The OpenClaw community is active and welcoming. Whether you need help, want to share a Skill, or are exploring the ecosystem, there are established places to connect. This guide points you to the right resources and explains how to get the most out of each.
OpenClaw's rapid growth — 100K GitHub stars in seven days — has created a vibrant ecosystem. The community includes solo developers running personal agents, DevOps teams deploying at scale, and businesses exploring agentic automation. The diversity of use cases means you'll find people who've solved problems similar to yours. The key is knowing where to look and how to ask.
This guide covers Discord (the primary hub), GitHub (for code and contributions), ClawHub (the Skills marketplace), and learning resources. We'll also cover best practices for getting help and contributing back. The OpenClaw community values helpfulness and technical depth. Come prepared, and you'll get excellent support.
The community formed quickly. When OpenClaw hit 100K GitHub stars in a week, thousands of new users flooded in. They had questions. They had problems. They needed help. The early adopters who had been running OpenClaw for months stepped up. They answered in Discord. They wrote guides. They shared configs. That culture of helpfulness persists. The community is technical — you'll get real answers, not hand-holding. But it's also welcoming. New users are encouraged. Stupid questions don't exist. If you're stuck, ask.
Discord: The Community Hub
The OpenClaw Discord is the primary community hub. Channels for: general discussion, setup help, Skills, announcements, and off-topic. Developers and users share solutions daily. Search before asking — many questions have been answered. The community is friendly to beginners.
The channel structure is logical. #general is for broad discussion. #setup-help is where deployment questions go. #skills is for Skill development and sharing. #announcements gets project updates. #off-topic is for everything else. There are often additional channels for specific topics — Kubernetes, Telegram, Docker — as the community grows. Check the channel list when you join. Read the rules. They're short and sensible.
How to get help. Describe your setup (OS, deployment type, OpenClaw version), what you've tried, and the exact error. Paste relevant config (redact secrets — API keys, tokens, passwords). Include logs if relevant. You'll typically get a response within hours. The community is global, so someone is usually online. Check pinned messages in each channel for FAQs — many common questions are answered there. If your question is about a specific Skill, mention it. Skill authors often monitor the channel and can provide targeted help.
The Discord is also where you'll hear about new releases, security advisories, and community events. If you're running OpenClaw in production, joining the announcements channel is essential. The Foundation posts CVE notifications and upgrade guidance there. Don't rely solely on GitHub notifications — Discord is often faster for urgent updates.
One more thing: the community has a strong "show don't tell" culture. When someone shares a problem, the best responses include working config snippets, exact commands, or links to relevant docs. Vague "have you tried X?" is less helpful than "here's the config that worked for me." If you're asking for help, include enough context that someone can give you a concrete answer. If you're answering, give them something they can copy-paste. That's how the community scales.
GitHub
The main OpenClaw repository hosts the core project. Report bugs, request features, and contribute via pull requests. The discussions tab has Q&A and ideas. Star the repo to stay updated. Community Skills and forks are also on GitHub.
Contributing. Fork, branch, make changes, open PR. For bugs: include steps to reproduce, logs, and environment (OS, Node version, OpenClaw version). The more detail, the faster the fix. For features: open a discussion first to align with roadmap. The maintainers appreciate early alignment — it avoids wasted effort on PRs that don't fit the project direction. For documentation: PRs are always welcome. The docs live in the repo; improvements help everyone.
GitHub is also where you'll find the Awesome OpenClaw Use Cases repo, community Skill repositories, and third-party integrations. The ecosystem extends beyond the core project. Explore the "OpenClaw" topic on GitHub to find related projects. Many Skills start as personal projects and mature into widely-used community contributions. If you build something useful, consider open-sourcing it. The community rewards contributors with recognition and feedback.
The issue tracker is the canonical place for bug reports. Use the issue templates. They're designed to capture the right information. Duplicate issues get closed — search first. If you find a security vulnerability, use the security advisory process rather than a public issue. The Foundation takes security seriously and will respond to responsible disclosure.
ClawHub: Skills Marketplace
ClawHub is the Skills marketplace for OpenClaw. Browse community-built Skills for browser control, APIs, integrations, and more. Install Skills to extend your agent's capabilities. Contribute your own Skills to help others.
Finding Skills. Search by use case: Gmail, Slack, HTTP, browser. Read Skill docs for setup. Many Skills require API keys or OAuth. Each Skill has a description, installation instructions, and configuration requirements. Pay attention to dependencies — some Skills require other Skills or specific OpenClaw versions. The ClawHub interface makes it easy to browse by category. Popular categories include Productivity, Integrations, and Developer Tools. Start with Skills that have high download counts and recent updates — they're likely well-maintained.
Contributing Skills. Publish your Skill to ClawHub. Document setup and usage thoroughly. Good documentation is the difference between a Skill that gets adopted and one that languishes. Include example configs. Explain the use case. Help others in Discord when they have questions. The community appreciates Skill authors who stick around. If you're building something for your own use, consider whether it could help others. The bar for publishing isn't high — useful, documented Skills get adopted. See create a custom skill for the technical guide.
Security note. Audit Skills before installing. The 340 malicious skills incident showed that not all Skills are trustworthy. Use SecureClaw to scan. Prefer Skills from known publishers. When in doubt, read the source code. Skills run with your agent's privileges — they can access everything your agent can access. Trust accordingly.
ClawHub isn't just a marketplace — it's a discovery layer. You might not know you need a "Polymarket paper trading" skill until you browse and find it. The categories help. So do the download counts and recent updates. A Skill with 500 installs and an update from last week is probably maintained. A Skill with 2 installs and no updates in six months might be abandoned. Use the signals. And when you build something useful, publish it. The ecosystem grows when contributors give back.
Resources & Learning
OpenClaw Consult's Lab (106+ articles) covers installation, use cases, comparisons, and best practices. The official documentation is comprehensive. YouTube tutorials exist for visual learners. OpenClaw Consult offers implementation support for businesses.
The Lab is organized by topic: Getting Started, Technical, Use Cases, Security, Concepts. Each article is self-contained but links to related content. Use the search to find what you need. The installation guide is the logical starting point. From there, pick a use case that matches your goals — personal assistant, Kubernetes monitoring, content factory — and follow the implementation checklist. The Lab also covers security (is OpenClaw safe), architecture (Gateway), and comparisons (vs AutoGPT).
Learning path. Start with installation guide. Then pick a use case (e.g., Gmail, Slack). Try the implementation checklist. Join Discord when stuck. For production deployments, consider professional implementation help. OpenClaw Consult offers implementation services for businesses that want expert guidance. The learning curve is manageable for technical users; the Lab and community can get you productive within a day. For complex deployments — multi-agent, enterprise integrations, regulated industries — professional support can save significant time.
Getting Started in the Community
Join Discord first. Lurk, search, then ask. Star the GitHub repo. Browse ClawHub for Skills. Read 2-3 Lab articles for your use case. You'll be productive within a day.
The optimal sequence: Install OpenClaw using the official guide. Get a minimal setup running — even if it's just the CLI. Join Discord. Introduce yourself if you want, or just read. Pick one use case. Maybe Telegram. Maybe email. Follow the Lab article. When you hit a blocker, search Discord. Then ask. As you get comfortable, browse ClawHub for Skills that extend your agent. Consider contributing — a fix, a Skill, a Lab article. The community grows when people give back. Most users go from zero to productive agent in a weekend. The resources are there. Use them.
Don't try to do everything at once. The temptation is to install ten Skills, connect five channels, and build a mega-agent on day one. Resist. Start with one channel. One Skill. One use case. Get it working. Understand how it works. Then expand. The users who struggle are often the ones who tried to run before they could walk. The community has seen it. The advice is always: simplify, get one thing working, then grow.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do I report bugs? GitHub Issues. Use the bug report template. Include reproduction steps and environment details.
How do I share a Skill? Publish to ClawHub. Document it well. Announce in Discord #skills if you want feedback.
Is there commercial support? OpenClaw Consult offers implementation and custom development. For enterprise deployments, regulated industries, or complex integrations, professional support can accelerate your rollout.
How do I stay updated? Star the GitHub repo. Join Discord announcements. Follow the Lab for new articles. The ecosystem moves fast; staying connected helps.
Wrapping Up
The OpenClaw community is your best resource for learning and troubleshooting. Join Discord, explore ClawHub, and reach out when you need expert implementation help. The community has grown rapidly because it's useful. Contribute back when you can — the ecosystem thrives on participation. See installation to get started and Awesome Use Cases for inspiration.