Liputan6.com, Jakarta - The open-source AI project, formerly known as Clawdbot, officially changed its name to Moltbot on January 27, 2026.
This identity change was announced directly by Clawdbot's founder, Peter Steinberger.
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This rebranding decision stems from a request from Anthropic, the developer of the 'Claude' AI model.
Anthropic sent an email requesting the name change due to the similarity and potential trademark conflict between 'Clawd' and 'Claude'.
The new name, 'Moltbot', was chosen to symbolize 'rebirth' or 'reappearance,' inspired by the molting process of the lobster, the project's mascot.
Despite the name change, the project's core mission and functionality remain unchanged.
According to the developers, only the 'shell' or name has changed, while the 'soul' and capabilities remain the same.
Peter Steinberger's GitHub repository has been renamed, and the old clawd.bot website has been replaced by molt.bot as the new official resource.
From Clawdbot to Moltbot
The name change from Clawdbot to Moltbot was a strategic move taken following trademark concerns.
The agency's name, previously 'Clawd', has also been changed to 'Molty'.
The iconic lobster mascot remains, but with a new narrative that the lobster has 'molted' to emerge as the new Molty.
Co-founder Peter Steinberger explained that despite the name change, the project's essence remains unchanged.
Moltbot remains focused on developing an innovative, open-source personal AI assistant.
All of the project's online resources have been updated to reflect this new identity.
Users and contributors can access the latest information through the Moltbot GitHub repository and the official molt.bot website.
Moltbot: A Personal AI Assistant with Many Capabilities
Moltbot is an open-source personal AI assistant designed to operate directly on the user's device.
It's not just a typical chatbot, but rather a personal operating system for AI capable of interacting through various communication platforms like WhatsApp, Telegram, and Discord.
Moltbot's is an “AI that actually does things” — whether it’s managing your calendar, sending messages through your favorite apps, or checking you in for flights.
Moltbot functions as a Multi-Channel Communication Hub that connects to almost any messaging platform.
Furthermore, Moltbot excels in Tool Integration & Automation, enabling shell command execution, file management, script automation, and direct web actions.
Launched in late 2025, the project quickly gained popularity, reaching 9,000 stars on GitHub within 24 hours and surpassing 60,000 stars, making it one of the fastest-growing open-source projects.
Its community is also thriving, with over 30,000 GitHub stars, 8.9,000 Discord members, and over 130 contributors.
The Controversies Behind Moltbot
One of the most notable incidents was the hijacking of Clawdbot's old Twitter account (@clawdbot) by cryptocurrency scammers.
These scammers used the account to promote a fake cryptocurrency called $CLAWD, causing losses to many enthusiasts unaware of the name change.
Steinberger himself was served with a reminder that malicious actors exist when he “messed up” the renaming of his project.
He complained on X that “crypto scammers” snatched his GitHub username and created fake cryptocurrency projects in his name, and he warned followers that “any project that lists [him] as coin owner is a SCAM.” He then posted that the GitHub issue had been fixed but cautioned that the legitimate X account is @moltbot, “not any of the 20 scam variations of it.”
Some reviews even point to how Moltbot can "invade and hack all information" and "relentlessly consume tokens" if granted API access.