Signal

Signal offers the strongest privacy guarantees of any OpenClaw channel. Messages remain end-to-end encrypted throughout. No metadata exposed to third parties, no unofficial API emulation.

The tradeoff: setup is the most involved of any channel. Plan 30–60 minutes for your first attempt.

Before You Start: Use a Dedicated Number

Do not use your personal Signal account. Signal links your account to your phone number, and using your personal number creates conflicts when the agent sends messages on your behalf.

Get a separate number for your agent:

• Google Voice (free, US only)
• Twilio (+$1/month)
• Prepaid SIM

Install signal-cli

signal-cli is the command-line Signal client that OpenClaw uses.

macOS:

brew install signal-cli

Linux:

# Download the latest release from GitHub
wget https://github.com/AsamK/signal-cli/releases/latest/download/signal-cli-*.tar.gz
tar -xzf signal-cli-*.tar.gz
sudo mv signal-cli-*/bin/signal-cli /usr/local/bin/

Verify:

signal-cli --version

Register Your Number

# Register with your dedicated number
signal-cli -u +15559876543 register

# You'll receive a verification code via SMS
signal-cli -u +15559876543 verify 123456

# Trust your own number
signal-cli -u +15559876543 updateAccount

Configuration

{
  "channels": {
    "signal": {
      "enabled": true,
      "signalCliPath": "/usr/local/bin/signal-cli",
      "phoneNumber": "+15559876543",
      "dmPolicy": "allowlist",
      "allowedContacts": [
        "+15551234567",
        "+15559999999"
      ],
      "groupPolicy": "never"
    }
  }
}

Testing

Send a test message from your personal Signal account to the agent's number:

# Or watch logs as you send a test message
openclaw logs --follow | grep signal

Group Chat Limitations

Signal groups work differently from other platforms, and the integration has less mature group support. Group messages may not route correctly in all configurations.

For team use cases, Slack or Telegram are more reliable choices. Use Signal for one-on-one personal communication where privacy is the priority.

Why Signal Complexity Is Worth It

For the right use case — private, sensitive communications — Signal's end-to-end encryption means:

• Messages aren't readable by OpenClaw's infrastructure
• No metadata exposed to Apple, Google, or Meta
• No corporate server storing your conversation history

If you're using your agent for anything sensitive (medical, legal, financial), Signal is the right channel.

Troubleshooting

Registration fails: Check that your number is in E.164 format (+15559876543) and that you're receiving SMS.

Agent doesn't receive messages: Verify signalCliPath points to your actual installation, and that the phone number in config matches your registered number exactly.

Session errors: Re-register the number if signal-cli reports authentication failures:

signal-cli -u +15559876543 register --force

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