The short version
- Your assistant has two halves: a cloud Gateway that is always on, and an optional Workstation on your own Mac.
- The Gateway does the thinking, holds the memory and handles your messaging. The Workstation gives it hands on your real browser, files and iMessage.
- You start with the cloud in minutes and add your Mac later, only if you want to.
- Cloud reliability and local reach, without you running anything.
This is how the two halves fit together, why we built it this way, and what it means for the work you can hand off.
Two pieces, one assistant
Your assistant has two parts. Both are OpenClaw, the same open-source AI engine on each side, packaged and connected for you by ZeroToClaw. You see it as one thing. Under the hood, work is routed to whichever piece is right for the job.
The Gateway
Your assistant's brain. OpenClaw running in the cloud, hosted and run for you. Online around the clock, handles the AI, holds your assistant's memory and instructions and gives you a single place to talk to it from any device.
The Workstation
OpenClaw running on your Mac, packaged inside the ZeroToClaw Companion app. It gives the Gateway a trusted set of hands on your own machine. You install it, you sign in, you decide what it is allowed to do.
When the work needs nothing local, the Gateway handles it. When it needs your real browser, an iMessage or a file on your Mac, the Gateway hands that part to your Workstation. One assistant, two halves working together.
Why this is the best of both worlds
Cloud-only AI assistants are reliable and effortless to run, but they live in a sandbox. They cannot touch your real browser session, your Messages app or your files. Local-only setups, where the whole assistant runs on your own machine, can do all of that. The catch is that keeping it running, patched and secure is now your job.
ZeroToClaw gives you both halves and keeps the upkeep on our side.
| What you want | Cloud-only | Local-only | ZeroToClaw |
|---|---|---|---|
| Always on, no setup | Yes | No | Yes |
| Managed updates and security | Yes | No | Yes |
| Single dashboard from anywhere | Yes | No | Yes |
| Use your real browser session | No | Yes | Yes |
| Send and read iMessage | No | Yes | Yes |
| Reach files on your own Mac | No | Yes | Yes |
| Run your own AI model on your hardware | No | Yes | Yes |
You are not choosing
You get the cloud assistant first. You plug your Mac in later, if and when you want to.
What it looks like for you
Three steps. The first is the only one that is required.
Sign up
We set up your Gateway. You are using it within minutes. No Mac required.
Plug in your Mac(optional)
Install the ZeroToClaw Companion, sign in with the same account and your Gateway pairs with your Mac.
Use one assistant
It uses your Mac when it needs to, and the cloud the rest of the time. You do not think about which is which.
What is here today, what is coming
Today
- The managed cloud assistant. Your own isolated environment, ready to use.
Coming, in stages
- The Mac Companion. First, local browser and desktop.
- Then iMessage.
- Then the option to run your own AI model on your Mac.
If your Mac matters to you, it matters to us. We are not going to ask you to throw it away.
In short
A managed AI assistant with the door left open to your own machine. Without making you the system administrator.
Want to see how this fits your setup?
We will walk through your environment, the integrations you need and whether the Mac side is worth turning on yet.
Book a 15-minute call →