# Golem vs OpenClaw

> Side-by-side comparison of two projects in the OpenClaw ecosystem.

Canonical HTML: https://shelldex.com/compare/golem-vs-openclaw/
JSON: https://shelldex.com/api/compare/golem-vs-openclaw.json

| Field | Golem | OpenClaw |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Tagline | Your AI agent, single binary, zero dependencies | The OG self-hosted AI super-agent |
| Language | go | typescript |
| Status | active | active |
| Stars | 197 | 372k |
| Forks | 15 | 77049 |
| Open issues | 75 | 7041 |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Last commit | 2026-05-14T22:59:21Z | 2026-05-15T16:50:31Z |
| 7d growth | 10 | 3106 |
| MCP support | no | yes |
| Requires LLM | yes | yes |
| Platforms | cli, server, messaging | server |
| Categories | self-hosted, lightweight, developer-tools | reference, self-hosted |
| Health score | 55/100 | 95/100 |
| Leaderboard rank | #42 | #1 |

## Key differences

- OpenClaw has 1889x more stars (372k vs 197), indicating significantly broader adoption.
- OpenClaw is growing faster with +3.1k stars this week vs +10 for Golem.
- Golem is written in Go while OpenClaw uses TypeScript, which may influence your choice depending on your stack.
- OpenClaw has a higher fork-to-star ratio (21% vs 8%), suggesting more active contributor participation.
- OpenClaw has MCP (Model Context Protocol) support while Golem does not.
- Golem focuses on lightweight, developer-tools while OpenClaw targets reference.

## Descriptions

### Golem

Terminal-first personal AI agent built in pure Go. Single binary deployment with TUI, multi-channel bot support, tool calling, long-term memory, skill packs, cron scheduling, and gateway API. No Python, Node, or Docker required.

### OpenClaw

The original. Self-hosted AI super-agent platform. Formerly Clawdbot, then Moltbot. The project that started it all.