# OpenClaw vs OpenCrabs

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

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

| Field | OpenClaw | OpenCrabs |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Tagline | The OG self-hosted AI super-agent | Autonomous, self-improving Rust agent |
| Language | typescript | rust |
| Status | active | active |
| Stars | 372k | 748 |
| Forks | 77049 | 68 |
| Open issues | 7041 | 2 |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Last commit | 2026-05-15T16:50:31Z | 2026-05-14T22:13:22Z |
| 7d growth | 3106 | 40 |
| MCP support | yes | no |
| Requires LLM | yes | yes |
| Platforms | server | desktop, server |
| Categories | reference, self-hosted | security, privacy |
| Health score | 95/100 | 95/100 |
| Leaderboard rank | #1 | #29 |

## Key differences

- OpenClaw has 497x more stars (372k vs 748), indicating significantly broader adoption.
- OpenClaw is growing faster with +3.1k stars this week vs +40 for OpenCrabs.
- OpenClaw is written in TypeScript while OpenCrabs uses Rust, which may influence your choice depending on your stack.
- OpenClaw has a higher fork-to-star ratio (21% vs 9%), suggesting more active contributor participation.
- OpenClaw has MCP (Model Context Protocol) support while OpenCrabs does not.
- OpenClaw focuses on reference, self-hosted while OpenCrabs targets security, privacy.

## Descriptions

### OpenClaw

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

### OpenCrabs

Single Rust binary with multi-channel support, local TTS/STT via whisper.cpp, SQLite memory, and zero network listeners. Keys zeroized from RAM on drop. Inspired by OpenClaw.