How to connect OpenClaw to your WhatsApp business number
OpenClaw is a self-hosted agent gateway: your own AI agent, running on a machine you control and reachable from the chat apps you already use. Because it runs all the time, it can do something chat apps cannot. It can keep an eye on your business WhatsApp and answer customers while you are busy or asleep. This guide covers adding Spaces to OpenClaw, connecting the business number, the rules to give an agent that can act on its own, and the safety nets Spaces puts underneath it.
What you need
- OpenClaw running on a machine you control that stays on and online.
- A Spaces account. Your trial starts when you connect a chat account, with no card needed.
- Your business WhatsApp number, and the phone it lives on to scan a QR code.
- A separate way to talk to your agent, so your own chats never mix with customer chats.
- A short set of rules: what it may answer alone, what it must ask you about, and what it must never do.
Step 1: connect your WhatsApp account to Spaces
You scan a QR code with the phone that has the number, the same way you would link WhatsApp on a computer. Your account stays yours, and you keep using it on your phone as normal.
Once it is connected, the account shows in your Spaces dashboard. Connecting does not send anything. It only means Spaces can read and send on that account when an AI agent you have added asks it to.
Connect the business number your customers already message, with the phone it lives on. A number with a long history of real conversations is the safest choice. A brand-new number gets no new chats at all from Spaces for its first 24 hours, though replies to customers go out from day one.
Step 2: add Spaces to OpenClaw
- Add Spaces once on the gateway, so every channel it routes gets the tools.
- Run openclaw mcp login spaces, open the address it prints, sign in to Spaces, then run the command again with the code it gives you.
openclaw mcp add spaces --url https://api.spacesos.com/mcp --transport streamable-http
openclaw mcp login spacesTo check it worked: Run openclaw mcp probe spaces. It lists the Spaces tools.
You sign in on Spaces' own page during this step, so OpenClaw never sees your WhatsApp login or your Spaces password. If Spaces does not show up:
- Check the address is exactly https://api.spacesos.com/mcp, with nothing added at the end.
- Run the sign-in step again, in case the first sign-in in the browser did not finish.
- Restart OpenClaw so it reads the new settings.
- If it still does not appear, the OpenClaw MCP docs have the current steps, and our OpenClaw setup page has ours.
Step 3: try it
Message your OpenClaw agent the way you usually do, and ask in plain words:
- List my Spaces WhatsApp accounts and tell me which one is the business number.
- Summarise the chats on the business number from today.
- Draft replies to anything unanswered using my business notes, and send them to me first.
- From now on, tell me here whenever a customer asks about a refund.
Start with a question that only reads, like the first one. It shows you that OpenClaw can see your WhatsApp messages before you let it send anything. Then try a draft, read it carefully, and only then let it send.
Good to know
OpenClaw runs all the time, so unlike ChatGPT or Claude in the browser it does not wait for you to open a chat. It can answer customers on your business number while you are busy or asleep. That is the reason to use it, and the reason to give it clear rules before you let it send.
Start with OpenClaw sending you its drafts to approve, then let it answer the simple, safe questions on its own once you have read a few days of replies. Keep a Spaces routine as a fallback holding reply. A routine is not an AI. It sends text you wrote in advance, and it runs on Spaces even if your OpenClaw machine is off.
Two kinds of chat: yours and your customers'
With OpenClaw there are two separate conversations, and keeping them apart avoids confusion.
| Conversation | Who is in it | How it connects |
|---|---|---|
| You and your agent | You and OpenClaw | Through whichever chat apps you set up OpenClaw to use. |
| Your business and its customers | Customers and your business number | Through Spaces, which links the business number with a QR code. |
OpenClaw reads and answers customer chats through Spaces, and talks to you through its own channels. Use a different number or app for talking to your agent than the business number customers write to, so a message meant for OpenClaw never lands in a customer chat.
A worked example: an evening at a holiday let
Here is how an evening might go for someone who runs two holiday cottages and has a day job. Names and details are examples.
| Who | Message |
|---|---|
| Guest, on WhatsApp | Hi, is the Garden Cottage free from 14 to 17 March? And are dogs allowed? |
| OpenClaw, to the owner | New enquiry from Lucy on the business number: Garden Cottage, 14 to 17 March, with a dog. Your notes say one dog is welcome for £20. I cannot see the calendar. Shall I reply with the dog policy and say you will confirm dates by tomorrow morning? |
| Owner, to OpenClaw | Yes, and give her the booking page link. |
| OpenClaw, to the guest | Hi Lucy, thanks for asking. One well-behaved dog is welcome at the Garden Cottage for £20 a stay. I will confirm those dates first thing tomorrow, or you can check and book here: [link]. |
| Guest, on WhatsApp | What time is check-in? |
| OpenClaw, to the guest | Check-in is from 4pm and check-out is by 10am. |
OpenClaw asked before the first reply because the notes say so for new enquiries, then answered the check-in question on its own because the notes say that one is safe. That split, ask for some things and answer others, is the heart of running an always-on agent well.
Rules for an agent that never sleeps
An always-on agent needs clearer rules than a chat app, because nobody reads its drafts by default. Write them in the notes OpenClaw reads:
You answer the business WhatsApp for Brook Cottages, two holiday lets.
Answer on your own: check-in 4pm, check-out 10am, parking, wifi, dogs (one, £20), directions.
Ask me first: any new booking enquiry, dates, prices for a stay, anything you are unsure of.
Never: confirm dates (you cannot see the calendar), offer discounts, take payment, share the key-safe code.
Hand to me at once: complaints, damage, anything about money or refunds, anything urgent at the property.
Quiet hours: between 10pm and 7am, only send the set holding reply unless I say otherwise.
Tone: friendly, short, first names.Read a few days of its replies on your phone before you widen the "answer on your own" list. When something comes out wrong, the fix is usually a clearer rule.
The safety nets Spaces adds
- Every send goes through Spaces' WhatsApp limits, however OpenClaw is prompted: at least 10 seconds between messages, up to 200 a day and 10 new chats a day once settled.
- If OpenClaw tries to go faster, Spaces holds the message and says when it can try again. Nothing goes out early.
- Spaces refuses the same cold text sent to many people, so a confused agent cannot turn into a broadcast.
- Pause all sending stops every send at once. Reading keeps working, so OpenClaw can still tell you what is coming in.
- Turn on approvals in Spaces and replies wait for you to approve them before they go out.
Keeping the machine running
OpenClaw only answers while the machine it runs on is on and online. If it is a laptop that sleeps, customers wait until it wakes. For a business number, a small always-on computer or a server is the reliable choice.
As a fallback, set a Spaces routine for a holding reply when no reply has been sent after a few hours. A routine runs on Spaces itself, so it still works if your OpenClaw machine is off. It is not an AI, and it sends text you wrote in advance.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Using the business number to talk to OpenClaw. Keep your own chat with the agent on a different number or app.
- Giving it a long "answer on your own" list on day one. Start short and widen it.
- Letting it confirm bookings it cannot see.
- Leaving the machine to sleep at night and assuming customers are being answered.
- Asking it to message past guests about a new offer. WhatsApp's terms prohibit bulk messaging.
Summing up
OpenClaw and Spaces together give you an agent that can answer your business WhatsApp around the clock, from your own number, inside safe limits. Keep your chat with the agent separate from customer chats, write clear rules about what it answers alone, keep the machine running, and keep the pause switch and a holding-reply routine as your safety nets.
How Spaces keeps your account safe
Whatever you ask, Spaces keeps your WhatsApp account inside safe limits: at least 10 seconds between messages, up to 200 a day, and 10 new conversations a day at most, with a gentler start for a newly connected account. If your AI tries to go faster, Spaces holds the message and says when it can try again.
New conversations warm up over the first weeks after you connect:
| Since connecting | New chats an hour | New chats a day |
|---|---|---|
| First 24 hours | None | None |
| Rest of week 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Week 2 | 2 | 6 |
| Weeks 3 and 4 | 3 | 8 |
| After that | 5 | 10 |
Replies to people who message you are not held back by the warm-up, so customers get answers from the first day.
These are Spaces' own limits. They lower the risk of a restriction, but they cannot remove it, because WhatsApp makes its own decisions about accounts. Read the note at the top of this page before you connect.
Pricing
FAQ
Can OpenClaw answer customers while I sleep?
Yes, as long as the machine it runs on is on. That is the main difference from chat apps such as ChatGPT or Claude, which act only when you ask them.
Is this the same as connecting OpenClaw to WhatsApp to talk to it?
No. How you talk to OpenClaw is set up in OpenClaw. Spaces connects your business number so OpenClaw can read and answer your customers' chats. Keep the two on different numbers or apps.
Where do I add Spaces?
Once, on the OpenClaw gateway, so every channel it routes gets the Spaces tools. The steps above are from OpenClaw's own docs.
What if OpenClaw sends something wrong?
Correct it from your phone in the chat, then pause all sending in Spaces if you need time to fix the rules. Reading keeps working while sending is paused.
Does OpenClaw see my WhatsApp login?
No. The business number is linked to Spaces with a QR code, and OpenClaw signs in to Spaces. OpenClaw never touches a WhatsApp login.
What happens if my OpenClaw machine goes offline?
Customers wait until it is back. A Spaces routine runs on Spaces itself, so a holding reply can still go out while the machine is off.
Can OpenClaw message people who have not written to me?
Within the new-chat limits below, and never in the first 24 hours after connecting. Keep it to people who expect to hear from you, such as a guest who asked you to confirm.
Can I use Hermes instead?
Yes. Hermes is another always-on agent that works with Spaces. The limits and the advice here are the same, because they belong to the WhatsApp account in Spaces.