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Exploring a chat-first Android surface for OpenClaw (discussion + possible focused upstreaming) #46058

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@memphislee09-source

Hi OpenClaw team,

I’ve been building an independent Android fork from openclaw/openclaw (apps/android) to validate a narrower use case: a direct, chat-first mobile surface for interacting with OpenClaw agents.

I’m not asking to upstream the fork as a whole.
I’d like to ask whether maintainers would be open to discussing either:

  1. a chat-first mode/surface in the official Android app, or
  2. selective upstreaming of a small set of validated UX/media improvements.

Why this direction

Across testing, I consistently see demand for:

  • faster path from app launch to agent chat
  • lower setup/navigation friction
  • practical gateway connectivity (including LAN/Tailscale scenarios)
  • reliable Android media handling (image/audio/video)

What has worked well in the fork

  • chat-first navigation and conversation emphasis
  • stronger media receive/render behavior
  • more stable fullscreen image/video playback
  • Tailscale-friendly connection UX
  • simpler onboarding for chat-centric users

These changes have been validated on both emulator and physical Android devices.

Reference project:
https://github.com/memphislee09-source/clawchat2-public

If this direction is interesting, I’m happy to reduce the discussion to 1–2 focused proposals (rather than discussing the fork broadly), and prepare concrete diffs/PR slices.

If not, that’s also very helpful clarity. In that case, I’d still appreciate guidance on whether focused Android UX/media PRs would be welcome.

Thanks for your time.

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    P2Normal backlog priority with limited blast radius.clawsweeper:needs-maintainer-reviewClawSweeper marked this issue as needing maintainer review before automation.clawsweeper:needs-product-decisionClawSweeper marked this issue as needing a product or behavior decision.clawsweeper:no-new-fix-prClawSweeper does not recommend queueing a new automated fix PR for this issue.impact:otherThis issue has meaningful maintainer-visible impact outside the owned taxonomy.impact:ux-frictionUser-facing flow adds avoidable confusion or support burden without fully blocking progress.issue-rating: 🌊 off-meta tidepoolIssue quality rating does not apply to this item.maturity:stableIssue affects a taxonomy feature currently scored M4/M5.staleMarked as stale due to inactivity

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