WhatsApp AI Assistant Built with Claude Code as OpenClaw Alternative
A developer has created a WhatsApp AI assistant using Claude Code as an alternative to OpenClaw. The project addresses security concerns with OpenClaw by leveraging Anthropic's Claude Code runtime, which the developer already pays for through a Claude Max subscription.
Technical Stack
The implementation consists of three main components:
- A local relay server handling WhatsApp webhooks
- An MCP server bridging to Claude Code
- Arcade for scoped authentication to Google Calendar, Gmail, and Slack
The developer chose Claude Code because they were already using it heavily and trust Anthropic's runtime more than alternatives. The WhatsApp integration allows messaging an AI assistant directly through WhatsApp, with Claude Code serving as the "agentic brain."
Source Code
The complete working code is available on GitHub at https://github.com/manveer/whatsapp-assistant. This approach demonstrates how developers can build custom AI assistants using existing tools they already pay for and trust.
📖 Read the full source: r/ClaudeAI
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