Community proposal

Strength that welcomes.

Power becomes useful when people can understand it, shape it and make it their own.

Foundation value

Open

Open source, community participation and lasting independence.

Our design response

Publish inspectable files, clear rules and examples others can extend.

Foundation value

Neutral

Independence from any one company and broad ecosystem access.

Our design response

Give devices, platforms and model choices an equal place in the system.

Foundation value

Personal

An assistant on hardware you control, serving your context.

Our design response

Make identity, choices and the place where work happens easy to understand.

Value names: OpenClaw Foundation. Descriptions are paraphrases; design responses are this proposal’s interpretation.

A human test

“an agent that even my mum can use”

Peter Steinberger’s ambition gives us a practical test: can someone understand what the agent will do, make a choice and recover when something changes? Peter’s statement, 14 February 2026 ↗

Our design principles

01

Keep the channel open.

Give the mark room, the page a clear reading path, and the person a visible next step.

Generous clear space, legible hierarchy and unobstructed controls. Use the approved opening as a compositional cue; preserve the actual logo paths.

02

Put the person in command.

Make capability understandable before asking people to trust it.

Name the active agent, conversation and device. Show what an action will do and distinguish a draft, a queued request and a confirmed result.

03

Let capability travel.

One recognizable character. A language that adapts to the moment.

Carry consistent identity and action words across computer, phone, watch and voice. Adapt density and feedback to each surface. Label future concepts clearly.

04

Welcome through strength.

Give powerful software a calm presence.

Use rounded structure, grounded posture and restrained movement. Let shell and silhouette carry strength while the face stays open and kind.

05

Build in the open.

Make the system useful to its next contributor.

Include source, tokens, clear examples and provenance. Keep changes focused enough for maintainers to evaluate and take over.

06

Make warmth precise.

Sound human. Say exactly what is happening.

Invite with personality; explain errors, permissions and recovery with plain facts and useful actions.

A voice with warmth

Use the shortest clear explanation that helps the person decide or act. Let personality welcome; let facts explain.

Invitation

What would you like a hand with?

Friendly and open without requiring lore.

Draft complete

Draft ready to review.

Names the actual outcome; does not imply sending.

Confirmed send

Message sent.

Use only after a confirmed send result.

Connection interrupted

Your connection was interrupted. Reconnect to continue.

Pairs a concrete state with the next available action.

Voice active

Listening

Use only while capture is actually active; pair with visible mute and end controls.

Send outcome unknown

Delivery uncertain. Check the conversation before sending again.

Protects against accidental duplicate action.

“Fluid software” is our design philosophy: capability adapts to the surface while identity and authority remain understandable. It is not an attributed founder quotation or a promise of automatic cross-device continuity.