Users flock to open source Moltbot for always-on AI, despite major risks
Ars Technica • • general
Key Points:
- Moltbot, an open-source AI assistant created by Austrian developer Peter Steinberger, rapidly gained 69,000 stars on GitHub within a month, making it one of 2026's fastest-growing AI projects; it integrates with popular messaging platforms like WhatsApp, Slack, and iMessage to offer proactive task management and reminders.
- The assistant runs locally but relies on subscriptions or API keys for access to powerful commercial AI models like Anthropic’s Claude Opus 4.5, with local AI models currently less effective; setup requires technical knowledge including server configuration and security sandboxing.
- Despite its innovative features, Moltbot poses significant security risks due to its need for extensive access to messaging accounts, API keys, and system commands,
