Show HN: Relay – The open-source Claude Cowork for OpenClaw

What Is Relay · Why Relay · Features · Use Cases · Quickstart · Development

If OpenClaw is the runtime, Relay is your local command center.

Relay is an Electron desktop app that gives you the same experience as Claude Cowork — autonomous task execution, scheduling, sub-agents, connectors — but on your infrastructure, with your model, and with real governance.

Claude Cowork is excellent. But companies are looking for alternatives because of three structural limits:

Data sovereignty— Cowork runs files through a sandboxed VM on Anthropic's servers. Regulated industries can't send sensitive data there.Model lock-in— Cowork only works with Claude. Companies want to route tasks to GPT-4, Llama, Gemini, or custom endpoints.Compliance gaps— Anthropic themselves recommend against using Cowork for regulated workflows because activities aren't yet captured in standard audit logs or compliance APIs.

Relay solves all three. Same workflow pattern — different trust model.

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ You (Operator) │
│ give goals · review deliverables · approve risky actions │
└─────────────────────────────┬───────────────────────────────────────────┘
│
┌───────────────▼───────────────┐
│ Relay (Desktop App) │
│ ── Control Plane ── │
│ │
│ Dispatch & Chat │ You see everything.
│ • Give a task in natural lang │ You approve what matters.
│ • Agent plans steps for you │ You stay in control.
│ • Review polished deliverable │
│ │
│ Governance │
│ • Approval gates (file ops, │
│ shell commands, data sends) │
│ • Exportable audit trail │
│ • Cost tracking per task │
│ │
│ Configure │
│ • Schedule recurring tasks │─ ─ ┐ Relay defines.
│ • Browse & edit agent memory │ │ OpenClaw executes.
│ • Manage connectors (Slack, │ │
│ Notion, GitHub, Jira, etc.) │ │
│ • Set project working folder │ │
└───────────────┬───────────────┘ │
│ │
WebSocket / API │
│ │
┌───────────────▼───────────────┐ │
│ OpenClaw Gateway (Runtime) │◄ ─ ┘
│ local · VPS · custom URL │
│ ── Execution Plane ── │
│ │
│ Agent Runtime │ Runs on YOUR infra.
│ • Autonomous task execution │ Your keys. Your data.
│ • Multi-step planning & tools │
│ • Sub-agent orchestration │
│ │
│ Persistence │
│ • Memory storage & retrieval │
│ • Schedule runner (cron) │
│ • File read / write / search │
│ │
│ Integrations │
│ • Connectors (Slack, Notion, │
│ GitHub, Jira, email, etc.) │
│ • Computer use (browser, UI) │
│ • Shell / script execution │
│ │
│ Model Router │
│ • Routes to any LLM backend │
└──┬──────────┬──────────┬──────┘
│ │ │
┌─────▼──┐ ┌────▼───┐ ┌────▼─────┐
│ Claude │ │ GPT-4 │ │ Llama │
│ Gemini │ │ Mixtral│ │ Custom │
└────────┘ └────────┘ └──────────┘

Relay is the control plane — you see, configure, and approve. OpenClaw is the execution plane — agents run, remember, and act on your infrastructure.

Example: Scheduled daily briefing
Relay (you define) OpenClaw (it executes)
────────────────── ──────────────────────
Create schedule: "Daily 8am" ────► Stores schedule
Set connectors: Slack + Notion Cron fires at 8am
Agent reads project files
Pulls Slack threads & Notion pages
Calls LLM (your model choice)
Writes briefing to memory
Briefing appears in Relay ◄────── Returns deliverable
You review, approve, or redirect
Full audit trail exported

| Problem | Relay's Answer | |---|---| Data sovereignty | Your files never leave your machine. Agents run on your server. Your keys. | Model lock-in | Use any LLM through OpenClaw. Claude, GPT-4, Llama, custom endpoint — your choice. | No compliance-ready audit | Full audit trail with exportable execution history, approval records, and action rationale. | Always-on execution | Agents run 24/7 on a VPS while you control them from the desktop. | Token cost at scale | Cowork burns through plan limits fast. Relay + OpenClaw lets you manage costs with your own infrastructure. | No syncing friction | Your workspace files are in agent context in real-time. No FTP, no SSH, no copy-paste. |

You give the goal → Agent plans the steps → You approve what matters → Agent executes → Everything is logged

| Step | What Happens | | |---|---|---| 01 | Connect | Point Relay to your OpenClaw gateway (local, VPS, or custom). Verify health. | 02 | Dispatch | Give the agent a task in a project context. Agent plans and starts working. | 03 | Approve | High-risk actions pause for your review. You approve, reject, or redirect. | 04 | Track | Full timeline: every action, approval, cost, and result — exportable. |

• ✅ You run OpenClaw on a VPS and want a desktop control plane
• ✅ You need data sovereignty (GDPR, HIPAA, or internal policy)
• ✅ You work in regulated industries (finance, legal, healthcare, government)
• ✅ You want model-agnostic routing, not Claude-only lock-in
• ✅ You need exportable audit trails for compliance
• ✅ You want to control token costs on your own infrastructure

Not for you if:

• ❌ You're happy with Claude-only on Anthropic's cloud (just use Cowork)
• ❌ You want fully autonomous agents with zero human oversight

You could wire OpenClaw to Telegram, Discord, or Slack and talk to your agent there. Many people do. Here's why that breaks down:

| Capability | Chat app (Telegram, etc.) | Relay | |---|---|---| Send a message to an agent | ✅ Works | ✅ Works | Approve risky actions before they run | ❌ No approval gates — agent just does it | ✅ File deletes, shell commands, data sends pause for review | See what the agent actually did | ❌ You get a text reply, not an execution log | ✅ Full timeline: every action, tool call, file change, cost | Schedule recurring tasks | ❌ You'd need a separate cron + glue code | ✅ Define schedules in the UI, OpenClaw runs them | Project context | ❌ Every message starts from zero | ✅ Tasks scoped to a working folder with persistent context | Agent memory | ❌ Chat history is all you get | ✅ Structured memory that persists across sessions | Manage connectors | ❌ You wire each integration yourself | ✅ Configure Slack, Notion, GitHub, Jira from the UI | Audit trail | ❌ Scroll through chat logs | ✅ Exportable execution history with approval records | Cost visibility | ❌ No idea what a task cost | ✅ Token usage and cost tracked per task | Multi-step execution | ❌ Agent replies in one shot | ✅ Agent plans steps, uses tools, reports back with deliverables |

The bottom line: A chat app gives you a text box. Relay gives you an operator desk — dispatch, govern, track, and audit everything your agent does.

| Native Electron app with persistent local state. Reliable day-to-day operations, not a browser tab. | Dispatch tasks, guide decisions, and review results in one unified interface. | Every task scoped to a working folder. No context drift between runs. | | File deletes, shell commands, data exports — risky actions pause for your review. | Every action logged with execution timeline, rationale, and approval records. Exportable. | Connect to local, VPS, or custom OpenClaw-compatible endpoints. Any model. | | Persistent operator context injected into every interaction. Agents remember. | Create recurring tasks from the UI. Daily reports, weekly cleanups, continuous monitoring. | Files, activity, memory, schedule, safety, and approvals in one operator shell. |

| Capability | Relay | Claude Cowork | |---|---|---| Autonomous task execution | ✅ | ✅ | Scheduling | ✅ | ✅ | Sub-agents / multi-agent | ✅ | ✅ | Connectors / integrations | ✅ | ✅ (Anthropic cloud) | Desktop app | ✅ | ✅ | Local file access | ✅ Truly local | | Self-hosted runtime | ✅ | ❌ | Model choice | ✅ Any model via OpenClaw | ❌ Claude only | Compliance-ready audit trail | ✅ Exportable | ❌ Not in audit logs or compliance APIs yet | Approval gates | ✅ Per-action risk scopes | | Data on your infrastructure | ✅ | ❌ | Token cost control | ✅ Your infra, your budget |

The bottom line: Claude Cowork is excellent for personal productivity on Anthropic's cloud.