In This Article
Introduction
ZeroClaw is a pure Rust rewrite of OpenClaw that operates in less than 5MB of RAM and boots in under 10ms. It is designed for users who want to run agents on $10 embedded hardware — Raspberry Pi Zero, ESP32, or similar. It represents the extreme end of the "minimalism movement" in agent frameworks: maximum performance, minimum footprint. If OpenClaw is the full-featured Swiss Army knife, ZeroClaw is the scalpel — one job, done with minimal resources.
This post covers ZeroClaw's specs, use cases, trade-offs, and when to choose it over OpenClaw. For embedded deployments, edge computing, or performance-critical scaling, ZeroClaw is worth a look.
Specifications
- Memory: < 5MB RAM — runs where OpenClaw would struggle
- Boot time: < 10ms — instant startup for rapid scaling
- Language: Rust — memory-safe, no garbage collector, predictable performance
- Codebase: < 1,000 lines (core) — auditable, minimal attack surface
- Platforms: Telegram, WhatsApp (minimal) — the essentials
- Encryption: Local, encrypted storage for credentials
ZeroClaw strips everything non-essential. No Heartbeat (or minimal cron-based scheduling). No ClawHub. No multi-agent orchestration. Just: receive message, call LLM, respond. For many use cases — simple Q&A, task delegation, basic automation — that's enough. The complexity of OpenClaw pays off when you need Heartbeats, Skills, and rich memory. ZeroClaw is for when you don't.
Use Cases
Embedded deployment: Run on Raspberry Pi Zero for ultra-low power, always-on bot. A Pi Zero draws ~100mA. You can run it on a battery or solar for extended periods. Ideal for field deployments, IoT gateways, or "agent in a box" products.
Edge computing: Agent at the edge; minimal cloud dependency. ZeroClaw can run in constrained environments — factory floors, retail locations, vehicles. The agent is local; only LLM calls go to the cloud. Latency and privacy improve.
Performance enthusiasts: Sub-10ms boot for rapid scaling. Spin up thousands of instances. Cold start is negligible. For serverless or bursty workloads, ZeroClaw's boot time is a differentiator.
Cost-sensitive: $10 hardware vs $300 Mac Mini. If you're running at scale, hardware cost matters. ZeroClaw lets you use the cheapest devices that can run a Rust binary.
Trade-offs
ZeroClaw sacrifices:
- Heartbeat / proactive tasks: No scheduled briefings, no 4 AM log review. Request-response only.
- Rich memory system: Simplified key-value. No semantic search, no long-term memory with embeddings.
- Skill ecosystem: No ClawHub. No Skills. You get the core loop and that's it.
- Multi-platform support: Telegram and WhatsApp, minimal. No Slack, Discord, or custom channels out of the box.
You get: minimal resource usage, fast boot, Rust's safety guarantees. Choose when those matter more than features.
When to Choose ZeroClaw vs OpenClaw
Choose ZeroClaw when: (1) hardware is constrained — Pi Zero, ESP32, embedded; (2) boot time matters — serverless, scale-to-zero; (3) you need a simple request-response agent — no Heartbeats, no Skills; (4) cost is paramount — $10 devices at scale. Choose OpenClaw when: (1) you need Heartbeats, Skills, or rich memory; (2) you want the full ecosystem — ClawHub, multi-agent, many channels; (3) you have headroom — Mac Mini, cloud VM, or similar. See OpenClaw vs Nanobot for the broader lightweight landscape.
Getting Started
ZeroClaw is a community project. Check the GitHub repo for build instructions. You'll need Rust installed. Cross-compile for your target (e.g., arm-unknown-linux-gnueabihf for Pi Zero). Configure with a minimal YAML or env vars: LLM API key, Telegram/WhatsApp token. Run. The surface area is small — expect to read the source if you need to customize.
Wrapping Up
ZeroClaw is for the performance and embedded niche. OpenClaw for full features; ZeroClaw for minimal footprint. The agent ecosystem is diversifying — from full-featured OpenClaw to ultra-light ZeroClaw to cloud-hosted alternatives. Pick the right tool for the job. See OpenClaw vs Nanobot for more comparisons.