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Clawdbot is a viral AI assistant: What it is, how to try it
Updated on Tuesday, Jan. 27 at 5:11 p.m. ET — Clawdbot has officially changed its name, for very predictable reasons. Creator Peter Steinberger wrote on X that he’s changed the AI tool’s name under pressure from Anthropic, which makes the Claude family of large-language models. Moving forward, Clawdbot will henceforth be known as Moltbot.
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Interest in Clawdbot, an open-source AI personal assistant, has been building from a simmer to a roar. Over the weekend, online chatter about the tool reached viral status — at least, as viral as an open-source AI tool can be.
Clawdbot has developed a cult following in the early adopter community, and AI nerds in Silicon Valley are obsessively sharing best practices and showing off their DIY Clawdbot setups. The free, open-source AI assistant is commonly run on a dedicated Mac Mini (though other setups are possible), with users giving it access to their ChatGPT or Claude accounts, as well as email, calendars, and messaging apps.
Clawdbot has gone so viral on X that it’s reached meme status, with developers and fans sharing tongue-in-cheek memes about their Clawdbot setups.
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So, what is Clawdbot 🦞, how can you try it, and why is it suddenly the talk of the town in Silicon Valley?
Clawdbot is an AI personal assistant
As previously mentioned, Clawdbot is an open-source AI assistant that runs locally on your device. The tool was built by developer and entrepreneur Peter Steinberger, best known for creating and selling PSPDFKit. The tool is often associated with the lobster emoji, for reasons that should be obvious.
Clawdbot is an impressive example of agentic AI, meaning it’s a tool that can act autonomously and complete multi-step actions on behalf of the user. The year 2025 was supposed to be the year of AI agents; instead, many high-profile agentic AI implementations failed to deliver results, and there’s a growing sense that AI agents are hitting a wall.
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However, Clawdbot users say that the tool delivers where previous assistants have failed. The personal AI assistant remembers everything you’ve ever told it, and users can also grant it access to their email, calendar, and docs. On top of that, Clawdbot can proactively take personalized action. So, not only does Clawdbot check your email, but it can send you a message the moment a high-priority email arrives.
Based on its viral success, I’d be shocked if Steinberger isn’t being courted by AI companies like OpenAI and Anthropic. Mashable reached out to Steinberger to ask about Clawdbot, and we’ll update this post if we receive a response.
How to try Clawdbot
Steinberger has uploaded the source code for Clawdbot to GitHub, and you can download, install, and start experimenting with Clawdbot right away. (Find Clawdbot on Github.)
That said, downloading and setting up Clawdbot isn’t as simple as downloading a typical app or piece of software. You’ll need some technical know-how to get Clawdbot running on your device. There are also some serious security and privacy concerns to consider. More on that in a moment.
You can run Clawdbot on Mac, Windows, and Linux devices, and the Clawdbot website has installation instructions, system requirements, and tips.
Don’t try Clawdbot without understanding the risks
Part of the reason that Clawdbot succeeds where other AI agents have failed is that it has full system access to your device. That means it can read and write files, run commands, execute scripts, and control your browser.
Steinberger is clear about the fact that running Clawdbot carries certain risks.
“Running an AI agent with shell access on your machine is… spicy,” an FAQ reads. “Clawdbot is both a product and an experiment: you’re wiring frontier-model behavior into real messaging surfaces and real tools. There is no ‘perfectly secure’ setup.” (Emphasis in original.)
Users can access a security audit tool for Clawdbot on GitHub, and the Clawdbot FAQ also has a useful security section. A sub-section titled “The Threat Model” notes that bad actors could “Try to trick your AI into doing bad things” and “Social engineer access to your data.”
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The DJI Mini 5 Pro drone is $500 off right now at Amazon — save on this content creator favorite
SAVE $500: The DJI Mini 5 Pro Fly More Combo is on sale for $1,099 at Amazon. That’s $500 off the list price of $1,599.
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What’s going to happen to the drone market in 2026? Due to legislative pressure on DJI imports in the U.S., there is so much uncertainty at the moment. We expected stock issues by now, but we’re actually seeing strong discounts on some of the best drones in the DJI range.
The DJI Mini 5 Pro Fly More Combo is on sale for $1,099 at Amazon. That’s $500 off and close to the record-low price.
The DJI Mini 5 Pro offers a huge 1-inch CMOS sensor, so whether you’re shooting 50MP stills or 4K/120fps slow-motion, the dynamic range more than delivers. The DJI Mini 5 Pro also makes use of forward-facing LiDAR that powers the new Nightscape Omnidirectional Sensing, meaning it can dodge branches, power lines, and buildings even when you don’t have eyes on your drone.
This popular drone offers 42GB of internal storage, meaning you can actually capture a full session of 4K footage without needing an external card as backup. That can have a massive impact for content creators.
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Save $500 on the DJI Mini 5 Pro this weekend.
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Put multiple AI models to work at once with this $80 tool
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Most AI models spit out one answer. There’s one problem with this — you don’t know if it’s the best option unless you run it through multiple models, which takes a whole lot of time. That’s where 1min.AI shines, letting you put your prompt in one place and see answers from dozens of AI models.
Right now, you can streamline your AI workflow with a lifetime subscription to 1min.AI Advanced Business Plan for only $79.97 (reg. $540) through May 10.
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Imagine seeing results from dozens of popular AI models in one window, with no tab-hopping or copying and pasting required. That’s what 1min.AI offers — a one-stop-shop for all your AI needs.
With 1min.AI, you can see responses from major AI models like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, Mistral, and more, all in one spot.
Compare them all and easily find the best answer. You can get help with coding, video editing, image generation, answering simple questions, and much more. Just always give things a human once-over, because edits might be required.
Not only does 1min.AI let you consolidate your AI workflow, but it also saves you money in the long run. This lifetime subscription allows you to pay once and avoid not only monthly subscription fees, but also the cost of accessing multiple models.
Your lifetime subscription to the 1min.AI Advanced Business Plan provides an unlimited prompt library, unlimited storage, unlimited brand voice options, and weekly updates. You’ll also receive 4 million credits a month.
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Lock in major savings with a lifetime subscription to 1min.AI’s Advanced Business Plan for only $79.97 through May 10.
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NYT Connections Sports Edition today: Hints and answers for May 2, 2026
Today’s Connections: Sports Edition will require some knowledge of popular U.S. sports and pop culture.
As we’ve shared in previous hints stories, this is a version of the popular New York Times word game that seeks to test the knowledge of sports fans.
Like the original Connections, the game is all about finding the “common threads between words.” And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier — so we’ve served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.
If you just want to be told today’s puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for the latest Connections solution. But if you’d rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.
What is Connections: Sports Edition?
The NYT‘s latest daily word game has launched in association with The Athletic, the New York Times property that provides the publication’s sports coverage. The sports Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.
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Each puzzle features 16 words, and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there’s only one correct answer.
If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake — players get up to four mistakes before the game ends.
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Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.
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Here’s a hint for today’s Connections: Sports Edition categories
Want a hint about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:
Here are today’s Connections: Sports Edition categories
Need a little extra help? Today’s connections fall into the following categories:
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Yellow: A Pittsburgh Athlete
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Green: Seen on an MLB Scorebug
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Blue: Teams in the PWHL Playoffs
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Purple: Horse Racing Triple Crowns
Looking for Wordle today? Here’s the answer to today’s Wordle.
Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today’s puzzle before we reveal the solutions.
Drumroll, please!
The solution to today’s Connections: Sports Edition #585 is…
What is the answer to Connections: Sports Edition today?
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A Pittsburgh Athlete: PANTHER, PENGUIN, PIRATE, STEELER
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Seen on an MLB Scorebug: COUNT, INNING, OUTS, SCORE
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Teams in the PWHL Playoffs: CHARGE, FLEET, FROST, VICTORIE
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Horse Racing Triple Crowns: AFFIRMED, CITATION, JUSTIFY, WHIRLAWAY
Don’t feel down if you didn’t manage to guess it this time. There will be new sports Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we’ll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.
Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today’s Strands.
If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Not the day you’re after? Here’s the solution to today’s Connections.
