Engine Overview

xCloud is powered by OpenClaw — an open-source gateway that connects AI agents with 30+ messaging platforms.

What is OpenClaw?

xCloud's engine is powered by OpenClaw, an open-source MIT-licensed self-hosted gateway that connects AI agents with 30+ messaging platforms simultaneously.

For the default local setup, xCloud starts and manages OpenClaw for you. For always-on setups, xCloud can connect to OpenClaw running on another PC or on a VPS.

Architecture

┌──────────────────────────────────────┐
│  xCloud Desktop (Tauri + React)       │
│  ├─ Sidebar: agent list               │
│  ├─ Center: chat interface            │
│  └─ Right: visual canvas              │
└──────────────────┬────────────────────┘
                   │ WebSocket + HTTP
                   ▼
┌──────────────────────────────────────┐
│  OpenClaw Engine                      │
│  ├─ Agent runtime (35+ providers)     │
│  ├─ Session management                │
│  ├─ Tool streaming                    │
│  ├─ Channel integrations              │
│  └─ Security & sandboxing             │
└──────────────────────────────────────┘

Key Concepts

Concept	Description
Gateway	Central process managing all channels, sessions, and routing
Agent	AI runtime with tool streaming, supports 35+ model providers
Session	Conversation context scoped by channel/sender
Tool	Structured function an agent can invoke (exec, browser, web_search, etc.)
Skill	Markdown file injected into agent system prompts
Channel	Integration with a messaging platform
Workspace	Agent or project working directory with files, memory, and config
Agent UI	Visual web interface owned by a specific agent

Supported Providers

OpenClaw supports 70+ AI model providers including:

Anthropic (Claude)
OpenAI (GPT)
Google (Gemini)
Mistral
Groq
DeepSeek
Ollama (local)
Together AI
Fireworks AI
AWS Bedrock
Azure OpenAI
And many more

Supported Channels

30+ messaging platforms including:

Discord
Slack
Telegram
WhatsApp
Signal
iMessage
Matrix
Microsoft Teams
Google Chat
Zalo

Runtime Tiers

Tier	Description	Cost
Local	Runs on your laptop	Free
Mac mini / PC	Runs on any always-on computer on your network	Self-hosted
OpenClaw host / VPS	Runs on any remote server through an SSH tunnel	Self-hosted

See Engine Connection Modes for setup commands and connection fields.

Requirements

Node.js 24 (recommended) or 22.14+
API key from at least one LLM provider
xCloud Desktop: macOS 14+ on Apple Silicon or Intel
Remote engine hosts: macOS, Linux, or any server capable of running OpenClaw