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FAQ
Quick answers to the questions we hear most about BrainClaw.
What is BrainClaw?
BrainClaw is a personal, always-on AI agent that runs on its own isolated cloud VM tied to your MegaBrain account. It keeps long-term memory, has full shell access and a headless browser, and is reachable from the web, Telegram, Discord, Slack, and email. It's the managed way to run OpenClaw — see the overview.
How is it different from ChatGPT or a normal chatbot?
A chatbot is stateless. BrainClaw is an autonomous agent on its own VM with shell access, persistent storage, a headless browser, scheduling, and cross-session memory. It runs commands, controls browsers, reads email, monitors repos, and works 24/7 — not just one-off replies.
How is BrainClaw related to OpenClaw and KiloClaw?
OpenClaw is the free, open-source agent. BrainClaw is MegaBrain’s managed hosting for it — like GitHub is to Git, or Vercel is to Next.js. We stay compatible with upstream releases and add smoother integrations and convenience features on top.
Which AI models can it use?
All 500+ models available through the MegaBrain Gateway — including Claude, GPT, Gemini, DeepSeek, and open-weight models. The default, Auto Balanced, routes automatically, and you can change the model per conversation. BYOK is supported.
How do I provision and configure an instance?
Follow the end-to-end setup: provision, test in web chat, connect a channel, add secrets, pick a model, and redeploy. The dashboard reference shows where each setting lives.
Do I need to redeploy after changing settings?
Yes. Channels, secrets, model selection, and feature toggles take effect on the next deploy. Use Redeploy in the Control UI after making changes.
Does it remember me between conversations?
Yes. BrainClaw keeps editable memory files (USER.md, SOUL.md, IDENTITY.md, MEMORY.md) plus optional vector search, and an opt-in Dreaming mode that consolidates short-term signals into long-term memory. See Memory.
Where does my data live and is it private?
Each instance runs in an isolated VM with AES-256 encryption at rest and TLS in transit. Access is agent-mediated — there is no direct SSH. We don’t train on your data, and you can export or delete everything at any time.
Can I run scheduled or automated tasks?
Yes — set up recurring work with Triggers (scheduled cron tasks, inbound email, and chat-driven runs) for digests, monitors, and reports.
What does it cost?
There's a free trial with no credit card required. Model usage is billed through the gateway at the provider's rate (0% markup), and BYOK is supported. See pricing for hosting plans.
Can I still self-host?
Absolutely. OpenClaw is fully open source — you can always run it yourself on a VPS. BrainClaw exists to save you the install, Docker, SSL, updates, and key management, giving you a running agent in minutes instead.