Overview

This guide shows you how to connect Anthropic to WhatsApp using OpenClaw. You'll configure the messaging channel, set up AI provider authentication, and deploy your assistant.

WhatsApp Capabilities

Direct messages
Group chats
Media support

Anthropic Features

200K context window
Image understanding
Tool/function calling
Streaming responses

Step 1: Configure WhatsApp

Enable WhatsApp in your openclaw.json configuration
Start the OpenClaw gateway with 'openclaw gateway start'
Scan the QR code displayed in terminal with WhatsApp mobile app
Wait for authentication to complete
Configure DM policy and allowlist for access control

Step 2: Configure Anthropic

Standard API key authentication

Create an account at console.anthropic.com
Navigate to API Keys section
Generate a new API key
Set ANTHROPIC_API_KEY environment variable

Environment variable: ANTHROPIC_API_KEY

Step 3: Combined Configuration

Add both configurations to your openclaw.json:

{
  "agents": {
    "defaults": {
      "model": {
        "primary": "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-20250514"
      }
    }
  },
  "models": {
    "providers": {
      "anthropic": {
  "models": {
    "providers": {
      "anthropic": {
        "apiKey": "${ANTHROPIC_API_KEY}
    }
  },
  "channels": {
    "whatsapp": {
      "enabled": true,
      "dmPolicy": "pairing",
      "allowFrom": ["111@s.whatsapp.net"],
      "groupPolicy": "allowlist",
      "mediaMaxMb": 5
    }
  }
}
}

Step 4: Start and Test

# Start the gateway
openclaw gateway start

# Check connection status
openclaw status

# View real-time logs
openclaw logs --follow

Access Control

WhatsApp supports the following access control policies:

DM Policies

Policy	Description
`allowlist`	Only senders in allowFrom list are processed
`pairing`	Unknown senders receive a pairing code; admin must approve
`open`	All DMs are processed (requires allowFrom: ["*"])