Migrating from OpenClaw: A Step-by-Step Guide

Why people are switching

OpenClaw proved something important: people want AI agents that actually do things, not just chat about doing things. It showed real demand for autonomous code execution, background task automation, and multi-platform integration. Credit where it’s due.

But proving demand and delivering a safe product are different things. And over the past few months, the gap between OpenClaw’s promise and its reality has become hard to ignore.

The security issues are well-documented – researchers found malware in the ClawHub marketplace, and five major security organizations published warnings. The cost issues are equally clear – users report unpredictable API bills with no built-in controls. And the setup friction – 3+ days of local configuration – has pushed many users toward simpler alternatives.

As one HN commenter put it: “I spent three days configuring Moltbot and lost $50 in tokens.” Another noted that “simpler alternatives cover 99% of what they actually need.”

What transfers and what doesn’t

If you’ve been using OpenClaw, you’ve already built mental models around skills, workspaces, and model selection. Those concepts carry over directly to LikeClaw. The learning curve is minimal.

What transfers:

• Workflows — Email automation, code execution, data processing, and web scraping all work in LikeClaw. The same tasks, running in sandboxed E2B containers instead of on your bare machine
• Skills — Our ClawHub import tool detects E2B compatibility and runs a security review on each skill before importing. Compatible skills come over. Malicious ones don’t
• Model preferences — If you were using Claude, GPT-4, Gemini, or DeepSeek with OpenClaw, they’re all available under one LikeClaw subscription. No separate API keys required

What doesn’t transfer:

• Skills that require raw system access (by design — that’s the security model working as intended)
• Custom channel adapters built for OpenClaw’s WebSocket Gateway
• Local file references that point to paths on your machine (you’ll re-upload to your persistent workspace)

None of these are blockers for most users. The skills that need raw system access are, by definition, the ones most likely to cause the security problems you’re migrating away from.

What you gain

Beyond fixing OpenClaw’s problems, LikeClaw adds things OpenClaw doesn’t offer at all.

Sandboxed execution. Every task runs in an isolated E2B container that’s created on demand and destroyed after use. Your code executes in a real environment with a file system and network access — but it can’t touch your machine, read your files, or access your credentials. This is what OpenClaw’s “allowlist-based command approval” was trying to be.

Predictable pricing. Fixed tiers from $0 to $40/month. The Free plan gives you 50 tasks per month to evaluate. Pro at $15-20/month covers unlimited chat, 500 sandbox executions, and access to every model. No surprise API bills. No scrambling to set up cost alerts after the fact.

Zero setup. Browser-based. No local installation, no dependency management, no permission configuration. Signup to first task in 30 seconds. Not 30 seconds if everything goes right on a clean machine with all prerequisites installed. 30 seconds, period.

Multi-model access. Claude, GPT-4, Gemini, DeepSeek – all through one interface, one subscription. Instead of stacking overlapping AI subscriptions, one plan covers every model you need.

For a detailed feature-by-feature breakdown, see our full comparison of LikeClaw vs OpenClaw. And if you want to see what these capabilities look like in practice, our email automation use case walks through a complete workflow.

The bottom line

OpenClaw showed the world what AI agents could do. LikeClaw is what they should have been: the same capabilities, running securely in the cloud, with predictable costs and zero setup friction.

If you’ve been thinking about switching, the migration takes less time than reading OpenClaw’s getting-started guide. And your plaintext API keys in ~/.clawdbot will thank you for the retirement.