PicoClaw: Ultra-Efficient AI Assistant in Go

$10 Hardware · 10MB RAM · 1s Boot · 皮皮虾，我们走！

--- 🦐 PicoClaw is an ultra-lightweight personal AI Assistant inspired by [nanobot](https://github.com/HKUDS/nanobot), refactored from the ground up in Go through a self-bootstrapping process, where the AI agent itself drove the entire architectural migration and code optimization. ⚡️ Runs on $10 hardware with <10MB RAM: That's 99% less memory than OpenClaw and 98% cheaper than a Mac mini!

## 📢 News 2026-02-09 🎉 PicoClaw Launched! Built in 1 day to bring AI Agents to $10 hardware with <10MB RAM. 🦐 皮皮虾，我们走！ ## ✨ Features 🪶 **Ultra-Lightweight**: <10MB Memory footprint — 99% smaller than Clawdbot - core functionality. 💰 **Minimal Cost**: Efficient enough to run on $10 Hardware — 98% cheaper than a Mac mini. ⚡️ **Lightning Fast**: 400X Faster startup time, boot in 1 second even in 0.6GHz single core. 🌍 **True Portability**: Single self-contained binary across RISC-V, ARM, and x86, One-click to Go! 🤖 **AI-Bootstrapped**: Autonomous Go-native implementation — 95% Agent-generated core with human-in-the-loop refinement. | | OpenClaw | NanoBot | **PicoClaw** | | --- | --- | --- |--- | | **Language** | TypeScript | Python | **Go** | | **RAM** | >1GB |>100MB| **< 10MB** | | **Startup**
(0.8GHz core) | >500s | >30s | **<1s** | | **Cost** | Mac Mini 599$ | Most Linux SBC
~50$ |**Any Linux Board**
**As low as 10$** |

## 🦾 Demonstration ### 🛠️ Standard Assistant Workflows

🧩 Full-Stack Engineer	🗂️ Logging & Planning Management	🔎 Web Search & Learning

Develop • Deploy • Scale	Schedule • Automate • Memory	Discovery • Insights • Trends

### 🐜 Innovative Low-Footprint Deploy PicoClaw can be deployed on almost any Linux device! - $9.9 [LicheeRV-Nano](https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006519668532.html) E(Ethernet) or W(WiFi6) version, for Minimal Home Assitant - $30~50 [NanoKVM](https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005007369816019.html), or $100 [NanoKVM-Pro](https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005010048471263.html) for Automated Server Maintenance - $50 [MaixCAM](https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005008053333693.html) or $100 [MaixCAM2](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/zepan/maixcam2-build-your-next-gen-4k-ai-camera) for Smart Monitoring https://private-user-images.githubusercontent.com/83055338/547056448-e7b031ff-d6f5-4468-bcca-5726b6fecb5c.mp4 🌟 More Deployment Cases Await！ ## 📦 Install ### Install with precompiled binary Download the firmware for your platform from the [release](https://github.com/sipeed/picoclaw/releases) page. ### Install from source (latest features, recommended for development) ```bash git clone https://github.com/sipeed/picoclaw.git cd picoclaw make deps # Build, no need to install make build # Build for multiple platforms make build-all # Build And Install make install ``` ### 🚀 Quick Start > [!TIP] > Set your API key in `~/.picoclaw/config.json`. > Get API keys: [OpenRouter](https://openrouter.ai/keys) (LLM) · [Zhipu](https://open.bigmodel.cn/usercenter/proj-mgmt/apikeys) (LLM) > Web search is **optional** - get free [Brave Search API](https://brave.com/search/api) (2000 free queries/month) **1. Initialize** ```bash picoclaw onboard ``` **2. Configure** (`~/.picoclaw/config.json`) ```json { "agents": { "defaults": { "workspace": "~/.picoclaw/workspace", "model": "glm-4.7", "max_tokens": 8192, "temperature": 0.7, "max_tool_iterations": 20 } }, "providers": { "openrouter": { "api_key": "xxx", "api_base": "https://open.bigmodel.cn/api/paas/v4" } }, "tools": { "web": { "search": { "api_key": "YOUR_BRAVE_API_KEY", "max_results": 5 } } } } ``` **3. Get API Keys** - **LLM Provider**: [OpenRouter](https://openrouter.ai/keys) · [Zhipu](https://open.bigmodel.cn/usercenter/proj-mgmt/apikeys) · [Anthropic](https://console.anthropic.com) · [OpenAI](https://platform.openai.com) · [Gemini](https://aistudio.google.com/api-keys) - **Web Search** (optional): [Brave Search](https://brave.com/search/api) - Free tier available (2000 requests/month) > **Note**: See `config.example.json` for a complete configuration template. **3. Chat** ```bash picoclaw agent -m "What is 2+2?" ``` That's it! You have a working AI assistant in 2 minutes. --- ## 💬 Chat Apps Talk to your picoclaw through Telegram | Channel | Setup | |---------|-------| | **Telegram** | Easy (just a token) | | **Discord** | Easy (bot token + intents) |

Telegram (Recommended)

**1. Create a bot** - Open Telegram, search `@BotFather` - Send `/newbot`, follow prompts - Copy the token **2. Configure** ```json { "channels": { "telegram": { "enabled": true, "token": "YOUR_BOT_TOKEN", "allowFrom": ["YOUR_USER_ID"] } } } ``` > Get your user ID from `@userinfobot` on Telegram. **3. Run** ```bash picoclaw gateway ```

Discord

**1. Create a bot** - Go to https://discord.com/developers/applications - Create an application → Bot → Add Bot - Copy the bot token **2. Enable intents** - In the Bot settings, enable **MESSAGE CONTENT INTENT** - (Optional) Enable **SERVER MEMBERS INTENT** if you plan to use allow lists based on member data **3. Get your User ID** - Discord Settings → Advanced → enable **Developer Mode** - Right-click your avatar → **Copy User ID** **4. Configure** ```json { "channels": { "discord": { "enabled": true, "token": "YOUR_BOT_TOKEN", "allowFrom": ["YOUR_USER_ID"] } } } ``` **5. Invite the bot** - OAuth2 → URL Generator - Scopes: `bot` - Bot Permissions: `Send Messages`, `Read Message History` - Open the generated invite URL and add the bot to your server **6. Run** ```bash picoclaw gateway ```

## ⚙️ Configuration Config file: `~/.picoclaw/config.json` ### Providers > [!NOTE] > Groq provides free voice transcription via Whisper. If configured, Telegram voice messages will be automatically transcribed. | Provider | Purpose | Get API Key | |----------|---------|-------------| | `gemini` | LLM (Gemini direct) | [aistudio.google.com](https://aistudio.google.com) | | `zhipu` | LLM (Zhipu direct) | [bigmodel.cn](bigmodel.cn) | | `openrouter(To be tested)` | LLM (recommended, access to all models) | [openrouter.ai](https://openrouter.ai) | | `anthropic(To be tested)` | LLM (Claude direct) | [console.anthropic.com](https://console.anthropic.com) | | `openai(To be tested)` | LLM (GPT direct) | [platform.openai.com](https://platform.openai.com) | | `deepseek(To be tested)` | LLM (DeepSeek direct) | [platform.deepseek.com](https://platform.deepseek.com) | | `groq` | LLM + **Voice transcription** (Whisper) | [console.groq.com](https://console.groq.com) |

Zhipu

**1. Get API key and base URL** - Get [API key](https://bigmodel.cn/usercenter/proj-mgmt/apikeys) **2. Configure** ```json { "agents": { "defaults": { "workspace": "~/.picoclaw/workspace", "model": "glm-4.7", "max_tokens": 8192, "temperature": 0.7, "max_tool_iterations": 20 } }, "providers": { "zhipu": { "api_key": "Your API Key", "api_base": "https://open.bigmodel.cn/api/paas/v4" }, }, } ``` **3. Run** ```bash picoclaw agent -m "Hello" ```

Full config example

```json { "agents": { "defaults": { "model": "anthropic/claude-opus-4-5" } }, "providers": { "openrouter": { "apiKey": "sk-or-v1-xxx" }, "groq": { "apiKey": "gsk_xxx" } }, "channels": { "telegram": { "enabled": true, "token": "123456:ABC...", "allowFrom": ["123456789"] }, "discord": { "enabled": true, "token": "", "allow_from": [""] }, "whatsapp": { "enabled": false }, "feishu": { "enabled": false, "appId": "cli_xxx", "appSecret": "xxx", "encryptKey": "", "verificationToken": "", "allowFrom": [] } }, "tools": { "web": { "search": { "apiKey": "BSA..." } } } } ```

## CLI Reference | Command | Description | |---------|-------------| | `picoclaw onboard` | Initialize config & workspace | | `picoclaw agent -m "..."` | Chat with the agent | | `picoclaw agent` | Interactive chat mode | | `picoclaw gateway` | Start the gateway | | `picoclaw status` | Show status | ## 🤝 Contribute & Roadmap PRs welcome! The codebase is intentionally small and readable. 🤗 discord: https://discord.gg/V4sAZ9XWpN

## 🐛 Troubleshooting ### Web search says "API 配置问题" This is normal if you haven't configured a search API key yet. PicoClaw will provide helpful links for manual searching. To enable web search: 1. Get a free API key at [https://brave.com/search/api](https://brave.com/search/api) (2000 free queries/month) 2. Add to `~/.picoclaw/config.json`: ```json { "tools": { "web": { "search": { "api_key": "YOUR_BRAVE_API_KEY", "max_results": 5 } } } } ``` ### Getting content filtering errors Some providers (like Zhipu) have content filtering. Try rephrasing your query or use a different model. ### Telegram bot says "Conflict: terminated by other getUpdates" This happens when another instance of the bot is running. Make sure only one `picoclaw gateway` is running at a time. --- ## 📝 API Key Comparison | Service | Free Tier | Use Case | |---------|-----------|-----------| | **OpenRouter** | 200K tokens/month | Multiple models (Claude, GPT-4, etc.) | | **Zhipu** | 200K tokens/month | Best for Chinese users | | **Brave Search** | 2000 queries/month | Web search functionality | | **Groq** | Free tier available | Fast inference (Llama, Mixtral) |