A ready-made agent for people who want reports, decks and code produced without self-hosting OpenClaw. Z.ai makes both the app and the GLM models, and offers five of them inside it. Run your first task on a copy of your files, because it works on your own machine.
What changed
AutoClaw is Z.ai's desktop AI agent for Windows, macOS and Linux, built on the OpenClaw framework and run with GLM models by default. It works across local files, a browser and chat apps through more than 50 built-in skills. Z.ai's changelog lists ten releases between 2 July and 27 August 2026.
Maker: Z.ai (Zhipu AI) · Autonomy: semi autonomous · Maturity: GA
Underlying models: GLM-5.3, GLM-5.3-Flash, GLM-5.2, GLM-5-Turbo, GLM-5V-Turbo, DeepSeek series
About AutoClaw
AutoClaw is a desktop AI agent from Z.ai, the Zhipu AI group behind the GLM models. You install it, sign in, and give it a goal in chat. It then plans the steps, works across files, a browser and connected apps, checks its own output and hands back a finished report, spreadsheet, slide deck, design or tested code. That plan-act-check loop is what separates it from a chat assistant that only answers questions. Z.ai's own blog calls it a one-click local version of the OpenClaw framework, and its changelog records an upgrade of the OpenClaw kernel to version 6.8 in July 2026.
The models come from the same maker. Z.ai's model page lists GLM-5.3 as the flagship for long engineering tasks, GLM-5.3-Flash as the fast multimodal option, GLM-5.2 for project-scale context, plus GLM-5-Turbo and GLM-5V-Turbo, and the site also mentions the DeepSeek series with switching inside a conversation. Z.ai describes 50+ built-in skills for documents, data, web and automation, two heavier modes (Agent Cluster splits a job across specialist agents, Goal Mode keeps working until a stated outcome is met), and chat access from WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord and Lark. These are vendor claims and we have not benchmarked them.
It suits people who want an agent without the setup work of self-hosting. Compared with OpenClaw you install an app rather than run a gateway, and compared with Manus the work runs on your own machine instead of a cloud sandbox, which Z.ai argues keeps contracts and financial files on the device while model calls still send context out. Similar desktop work agents include ChatGPT Work, QwenWork, WorkBuddy and Doubao Phone Assistant. For a wider view of the personal agent space, see Hermes Agent, Grok Bot, Muse, Cue, Dots and Gemini Spark.
Basic use is free with a daily credit allowance, and paid monthly plans exist for heavier use. Installers cover Windows 10 and later, macOS on Apple silicon and Intel, and Linux AppImages for x64 and ARM64. Updates arrive often, with a new build about every week through July and August 2026, and GLM-5.3-Flash reached the app the day Z.ai announced it. The changelog tops out at version 1.17.8 while the Linux builds are numbered 2.0.3, so version numbers on the site do not line up. The older AutoGLM name still appears in the site footer, and autoglm.z.ai now opens AutoClaw's web workspace.
Pricing
Read on autoclaw.z.ai on 24 October 2026. Basic usage is free with a daily free credit allowance, and the download page says paid plans are available for heavier usage. Z.ai's October 2026 promotion post names AutoClaw Monthly Subscription tiers Lite, Base, Pro and Max, a Group Subscription, and GLM Coding Plan Individual plans (Lite, Pro, Max) that also work in the app, but no dollar or yuan price for any tier appears on the pages we could read, so none is stated here. Credits convert at 10,000 credits to 100 million tokens of the Flash model. Current promotions: new users can claim 200 million tokens (valued by Z.ai at 120 yuan), and the post for 26 October to 1 November offers 40 million tokens for logging in. These are time-limited offers and may change. Compare with [Manus](/hub/tools/manus), which bills on a subscription plus usage.
Key Features
- Goal-driven task planning: You describe an outcome in chat and AutoClaw plans the steps, runs them and returns reports, spreadsheets, decks or code you can review.
- Agent Cluster mode: Z.ai says a complex job is split into parallel tasks for specialist agents and merged into one deliverable, such as PDF, PPT and Excel files.
- Goal Mode: You state an outcome with acceptance criteria and the agent tracks progress and keeps working until the result is ready.
- Built-in skill library: Ready-made skills cover documents, data analysis, browser automation, content creation and office tasks without installing Python, Node.js or a command-line toolchain.
- Model switching: The app offers five GLM models plus the DeepSeek series, and you can switch model inside a conversation.
- Chat-app access: Tasks can be handed over from WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord and Lark, so work can start from a phone.
- Connectors: A connector feature added in version 1.15.3 links the agent to services such as GitHub, Gmail, Google Calendar, Notion and Figma, with Cloudflare and Vercel added a week later.
Strengths
- Agent and models come from one company, and GLM-5.3-Flash was usable in the app on the day it was announced (27 August 2026 changelog).
- Installing takes one download with no environment setup, which removes the hours of configuration that self-hosting OpenClaw needs.
- The public changelog shows ten releases in under two months, from version 1.10.3 on 2 July to 1.17.8 on 27 August 2026.
- Free basic use with daily credits, plus recurring log-in token promotions, lets you test real tasks before paying.
Weaknesses
- Paid plan prices are not published on the pages we could read, so a monthly cost cannot be worked out before signing in.
- Version numbering is inconsistent: the newest changelog entry carries a lower number than the 2.0.3 label on the Linux builds.
- Z.ai publishes no benchmark scores for the agent itself, only model descriptions, so task quality rests on vendor examples.
- Model calls need an internet connection and send task context to Z.ai's servers, so local processing is partial.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does AutoClaw cost in 2026?
Basic use is free and includes a daily free credit allowance, according to Z.ai's download page. Paid monthly plans exist for heavier use, named Lite, Base, Pro and Max, but no price for any of them appears on the pages we could read on 24 October 2026. New users can currently claim 200 million tokens, which Z.ai values at 120 yuan, and weekly log-in token offers run alongside it.
Is AutoClaw the same thing as AutoGLM?
They are connected but not identical. AutoGLM is Zhipu's earlier agent brand and its browser-control technology, and the AutoClaw site footer still reads 'by AutoGLM'. The old autoglm.z.ai address now opens AutoClaw's web workspace, so treat AutoClaw as the current product.
Which AI models does AutoClaw use?
Z.ai's model page lists GLM-5.3, GLM-5.3-Flash, GLM-5.2, GLM-5-Turbo and GLM-5V-Turbo, and the site also names the DeepSeek series. You can switch model inside a conversation. GLM-5.3-Flash is described as the first natively multimodal GLM-5 model, with 320B total and 18B active parameters.
Does AutoClaw run on my computer or in the cloud?
The app installs and runs locally, and Z.ai says files are processed on the device while the context needed for a model call is sent out. Model calls need an internet connection. That is a vendor description, so check what each task sends before using it on sensitive files.
How do you get started with AutoClaw?
Download the installer for Windows, macOS (pick Apple silicon or Intel) or Linux from autoclaw.z.ai, then sign in on first launch. The built-in skills work straight away with no Python or Node.js setup. Start with a small task such as summarising a folder of documents.
Top Alternatives
- OpenClaw: Pick AutoClaw for a one-download app, OpenClaw if you want to host and customise the gateway yourself.
- Manus: Pick Manus for cloud-run tasks from any browser, AutoClaw if the work needs to touch files on your own computer.
- QwenWork: Pick AutoClaw for GLM models and a desktop install, QwenWork if you build on Alibaba's stack.