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Why is "lobster" so popular? After OpenClaw reaches the top of GitHub, is the AI Agent era really here?
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Source: 36氪
GitHubStar-history Recently, Openclaw surpassed Meta's React and topped the history of GitHub open source projects with 252,000 stars! You must know that React is a classic front-end framework created by Facebook (now renamed Meta). In the past ten years or so, most of the websites and apps we are familiar with on the Internet have the underlying technical architecture built on it. Openclaw officials even issued a high-profile article mocking Meta, "We are iterating and innovating, but you are only holding meetings." OpenClaw, affectionately called "lobster" by developers around the world, has single-handedly ignited a nationwide carnival in the AI Agent field and become the most phenomenal product in the technology circle in 2026. OpenClaw release record Behind this carnival, there is a very contrasting reality: on one side, it is officially advertised as an "open source AI assistant that everyone can play", on the other side, ordinary users have to spend money to seek help from professionals even for installation; on the other side, the technology circle is pursuing it as a "pioneer" in the AI Agent era, and on the other side, the public just treats it as a chat robot. Figure 3 What is this “lobster” that suddenly appeared? Why does it make developers around the world crazy about it? How can an open source tool give rise to a sky-high price installation business? By reaching the top of GitHub, has it really opened a new era for AI Agents? The core of the answer lies in the OpenClaw product itself and the new industrial ecosystem that has been spawned by its popularity. Figure 4 First of all, we need to clarify a core definition: OpenClaw is not just a chatbot that can complete conversation responses, but an open source, local-first, self-hosted autonomous AI agent and automation platform. Its core capability is to perform actual tasks directly on the user's device through natural language instructions - organizing mailboxes, managing calendars, linking office software for data summary, controlling the device to reply to text message processing notifications, and even completing customized workflow automation according to user needs. OpenClaw also supports access to various IM (instant chat tool) channels