Openclaw Nerve
Openclaw Nerve — Real-time web cockpit for OpenClaw: voice conversations, agent automated kanban board, workspace/file control, sub-agent sessions, inline charts, and usage visibility.
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What is Openclaw Nerve?
Openclaw Nerve is an open-source, self-hosted web UI cockpit for managing OpenClaw AI agents. It provides a unified control plane for voice conversations, workspace/file control, automated kanban boards, sub-agent sessions, inline charts, and usage visibility. The tool is designed for developers, AI engineers, and teams who want full visibility and control over their AI agent fleet without relying on cloud services. Key features include real-time chat streaming with reasoning blocks and tool-use visualization, voice I/O with local Whisper transcription and multi-provider TTS (no API key required), per-agent workspace file browser with tabbed editor, cron job scheduling with run history, memory and agent config editor, sub-agent session monitoring, inline TradingView/Recharts rendering, built-in code editor, session tree, kanban task board with agent automation, token usage and cost tracking, and 14 themes with responsive UI. Installation happens in 60 seconds via one command. Nerve is ideal for developers building with OpenClaw, self-hosting enthusiasts who want their AI stack in their own infrastructure, teams managing multiple AI agents that need separate workspaces and memories, and anyone who wants voice-ready agent interaction with built-in speech-to-text and text-to-speech without external API dependencies.
Openclaw Nerve pricing
Pricing model: Freemium
Completely free and open-source under MIT license. No paid tiers or subscription plans. The tool ships with free speech-to-text (local Whisper) and text-to-speech models requiring no API keys or API configuration. Users only incur their own hosting costs for self-deployment. Both master (stable) and next (bleeding edge) branches are freely available.
Openclaw Nerve pros
- Open-source with MIT license
- Self-hosted - full data control
- One-command install in 60 seconds
- No sudo required on macOS/Linux
- Built-in free speech-to-text with local Whisper
- Built-in text-to-speech with multiple providers
- No API key needed for voice features
- Voice activation with wake words
- Multilingual support in 12 languages
- Real-time chat streaming with reasoning blocks
- Per-agent workspaces with separate memory
- Agent fleet control from one dashboard
- Sub-agent session monitoring and delegation
- Built-in cron job scheduling panel
- Automated kanban task board with agent workflows
- Inline TradingView and Recharts rendering
- Built-in code editor with syntax highlighting
- Token usage and cost tracking visible live
- 14 themes with font size controls (10px-24px)
- Responsive UI with mobile-safe input
- Command palette for quick navigation
- Auto-updater with automatic rollback on failure
- Hot-reloadable settings without restart
- Session tree for tracking agent activity
Openclaw Nerve cons
- Requires Node.js 22+ (recent version)
- Requires separate OpenClaw gateway to function
- Self-hosting requires technical setup knowledge
- Primarily optimized for macOS and Linux
- No official Windows installer mentioned
- next branch can change quickly and be unstable
- Password auth only when binding to network (not default)
- Limited to one gateway connection per instance
- Documentation spread across multiple pages
- No official cloud-hosted version available
Frequently asked questions about Openclaw Nerve
What is Nerve?
Nerve is the open-source, self-hosted web UI cockpit for OpenClaw AI agents. It provides voice-ready chat, live workspace control, task board, memories, and scheduled work in one interface. OpenClaw remains the engine while Nerve gives it a rich operating surface in the browser.
How do I install Nerve?
Run the one-line installer: curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/daggerhashimoto/openclaw-nerve/master/install.sh | bash. The installer handles dependencies (Node.js 22+, git, build tools), clones the repo to ~/nerve, builds everything, runs an interactive setup wizard for gateway URL/token/port/TTS settings, and launches Nerve on port 3080 by default.
Does Nerve require an API key?
No. Nerve ships with free speech-to-text using local Whisper transcription and multiple TTS providers. No API key or API configuration is needed for voice features. Everything stays in your stack when self-hosted.
What operating systems does Nerve support?
Nerve officially supports macOS and Linux with one-command install. The installer can set up a systemd service on Linux or launchd agent on macOS for automatic startup. Windows is not explicitly mentioned as having official installer support.
Can I run multiple agents from Nerve?
Yes. Nerve provides fleet control where you can run multiple agents from one control plane. Each agent can have its own workspace, subagents, memory, identity, soul, and skills. You can switch context, inspect state, and operate the whole fleet from a single interface.
How do I access Nerve remotely?
By default Nerve binds to 127.0.0.1 for local access. For remote access, you can set HOST=0.0.0.0 and enable password authentication. The docs also include a Tailscale guide for private remote access via tailnet IP or Tailscale Serve. Cloud, hybrid (local Nerve + cloud Gateway), and full cloud deployments are all supported.
How do I update Nerve?
Run npm run update -- --yes. This fetches the latest release, rebuilds, restarts, verifies health, and automatically rolls back on failure. The update command is git-based with rollback protection built in.
What languages does voice support?
Voice I/O works in 12 languages with on-device Whisper transcription, wake words, multi-provider TTS, and multilingual stop/cancel phrases. Explicit language selection is available in the UI.
Is there a Kanban board in Nerve?
Yes. Nerve includes an automated kanban task board with agent automation. The nerve-kanban skill is bundled and auto-installed during setup. You can delegate work onto the kanban board and review what came back from agents.
How does Nerve connect to OpenClaw?
Nerve sits in front of the OpenClaw gateway. The browser connects to Nerve on port 3080 via WebSocket, SSE, and REST. Nerve proxies these to the OpenClaw gateway on port 18789. OpenClaw remains the engine handling files, memories, TTS, and models while Nerve provides the richer browser interface.