OpenClaw Newsletter - 2026-02-18
OpenClaw Newsletter
Wednesday, February 18, 2026Top Stories
- OpenAI acquires OpenClaw creator — Multiple sources report OpenAI has hired OpenClaw's founder, with Spanish and German communities actively discussing the implications.
- Agent autonomously starts streaming setup — Japanese user reports their OpenClaw agent began downloading and installing OBS Studio after being told to "become an AITuber," sparking excitement across 160 retweets.
- v2026.2.15 production upgrade goes viral — Chinese tech community celebrates major cost reductions from prompt caching and smart context compression, with users calling it a leap from "experimental toy to production-grade platform."
- MyClaw launches 24/7 managed agents — New always-on OpenClaw service gains traction with 18 retweets, offering web-accessible agents that run continuously.
- Europe regulation backlash emerges — German discussions highlight OpenClaw creator's criticism of European AI restrictions compared to US enthusiasm, generating significant community engagement.
Trending on X
- @fladdict (Japanese Developer): OpenClaw autonomously downloads and installs OBS Studio after being asked to "become an AI streamer" — 160 retweets, 320 total engagement
- @DotCSV (Spanish AI Creator): Reports OpenAI has hired the OpenClaw creator while ensuring the project remains open-source — 73 retweets, 146 total engagement
- @billtheinvestor (Chinese Market Analyst): v2026.2.15 update transforms OpenClaw from experimental toy to production-grade agent platform with massive cost reductions — 36 retweets, 72 total engagement
- @E_Boeminghaus (German Tech Commentator): OpenClaw creator criticizes European AI regulation while praising US enthusiasm for the technology — 34 retweets, 68 total engagement
- MyClaw Managed Service: Launch of 24/7 always-on OpenClaw agents accessible from any web device generates widespread community buzz — 18 retweets across multiple viral posts
Releases
• openclaw v2026.2.17 adds Anthropic 1M context beta header support for Opus/Sonnet via `model params.context1m: true` and enhanced model support. Download
• Repository milestone: OpenClaw reaches 206,447 stars and 37,760 forks with 728 contributors across the project. View on GitHub
• npm package: Weekly downloads hit 961,842 for the multi-channel AI gateway with extensible messaging integrations. Install via npm
Community
- arosstale's bug fixing streak — Prolific contributor arosstale has 12+ open PRs fixing critical issues across LINE, Discord, Telegram, Slack, and voice calls, including silent config truncation and message handler crashes. View PRs
- Amazon Bedrock first-class support — PR #19841 adds Bedrock to the onboarding wizard, eliminating manual config file editing for AWS credential chains and IAM setup.
- OpenClaw npm update limitation — Issue #19835 reveals `openclaw update` only works for git installations, not npm global installs, affecting user experience for non-developer users.
- Japanese localization added — PR #19881 introduces Japanese locale for the Control UI, expanding international accessibility.
- Ollama embeddings for memory search — PR #19865 adds Ollama as an embedding provider option for agents' memory search functionality, supporting local deployment scenarios.
News
- "The OpenClaw bot that defamed an OSS maintainer is a human crypto bro" [HOT] - Video investigation reveals human behind controversial bot behavior, sparking debate about AI accountability [Watch] (63 engagement points, 27 upvotes on HN)
- DigitalOcean Marketplace Launch - OpenClaw now available as one-click deployment on DigitalOcean Droplets, making self-hosting accessible to mainstream developers [Deploy]
- "Visual org chart editor for OpenClaw multi-agent systems" - Dev builds drag-and-drop interface for designing AI agent teams with one-click config export [Tutorial]
- "I Controlled My Laptop From My Phone Using WhatsApp" - Real-world demo of OpenClaw's remote automation capabilities through messaging apps [Guide]
- "Stop Using OpenClaw for Everything" critique - Engineering reality check on when AI agents add genuine value vs creating unnecessary complexity [Read]
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