Overview

This guide shows you how to connect OpenRouter 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

OpenRouter Features

Access to 100+ models
Unified billing
Model comparison
Automatic fallbacks

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 OpenRouter

OpenRouter API key

Create account at openrouter.ai
Generate API key
Set OPENROUTER_API_KEY environment variable

Environment variable: OPENROUTER_API_KEY

Step 3: Combined Configuration

Add both configurations to your openclaw.json:

{
  "agents": {
    "defaults": {
      "model": {
        "primary": "openrouter/anthropic/claude-sonnet-4"
      }
    }
  },
  "models": {
    "providers": {
      "openrouter": {
  "models": {
    "providers": {
      "openrouter": {
        "apiKey": "${OPENROUTER_API_KEY}
    }
  },
  "channels": {
    "whatsapp": {
      "enabled": true,
      "dmPolicy": "pairing",
      "allowFrom": ["[email protected]"],
      "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: ["*"])