How to connect OpenClaw to your CRM

By Linas Valiukas · March 13, 2026

Your CRM is where deals live. Your OpenClaw agent is where conversations happen. The problem is they don't talk to each other by default. A lead comes in through WhatsApp, your agent qualifies them, and then... you manually copy their details into HubSpot. Or you don't, and the lead disappears into a chat log you'll never scroll back to.

There are three ways to fix this, depending on your CRM and how much setup you're willing to do. I'll walk through each one.

Method 1: ClawHub skills (the easy path)

ClawHub has native CRM skills for the big platforms. You install one, set an API key, and your agent can read and write to your CRM through chat. No code, no webhooks, no middleware.

HubSpot

The HubSpot skill is one of the more complete CRM integrations on ClawHub. It connects through HubSpot's REST API and covers contacts, companies, deals, owner assignment, and associations between records.

npx clawhub@latest install hubspot

You'll need a HubSpot private app access token. Go to Settings > Integrations > Private Apps in HubSpot, create one with CRM scopes (contacts, companies, deals), and set it as HUBSPOT_ACCESS_TOKEN in your environment.

Once it's connected, you can do things like:

• "Create a contact for Sarah Chen, [email protected], she's interested in the enterprise plan"
• "Search HubSpot for all deals closing this month"
• "Update the Acme deal to Negotiation stage and assign it to me"
• "What's the last activity on the Johnson account?"

Your agent translates these into API calls. You talk in sentences, it talks in REST. The gap between "I just had a great call" and "the CRM is updated" shrinks from hours to seconds.

Salesforce

Salesforce's skill uses OAuth (not just an API key), so setup takes a few more steps. You'll create a Connected App in Salesforce, configure the OAuth scopes, and authenticate through the flow. After that, you get full CRUD on standard objects — Contacts, Accounts, Leads, Opportunities — plus the ability to run SOQL queries in plain English.

"Show me all leads from the last 7 days that haven't been contacted" becomes a SOQL query your agent writes and executes. You don't need to know SOQL. That's the point.

The OAuth token needs refreshing periodically. If you're self-hosting, that's on you to monitor. One of those things that works fine until it doesn't, usually at the worst possible time.

Pipedrive

No dedicated Pipedrive skill on ClawHub yet. You've got two options: use Method 2 (MCP through Composio), or use OpenClaw's built-in Skill Creator to generate a custom Pipedrive skill. Pipedrive's REST API is straightforward enough that the Skill Creator can handle it — you'll just need your API token from Settings > Personal preferences > API in Pipedrive.

Method 2: MCP servers (the flexible path)

MCP — Model Context Protocol — is how OpenClaw connects to external tools beyond its skill system. Think of it as a standard plug that different services can build adapters for. Composio is the most popular MCP provider for CRM integrations right now.

The advantage over ClawHub skills: Composio handles OAuth for you. No manually refreshing tokens. No debugging expired credentials at 2am. It acts as a proxy between OpenClaw and your CRM's API, managing the auth layer so you don't have to.

This is how most people connect Pipedrive today. It also works for HubSpot and Salesforce if you'd rather not deal with their auth setup yourself.

The trade-off: you're adding a third-party service between your agent and your data. Composio sees your API calls. For some teams that's fine. For others, especially those handling sensitive customer data, it's a dealbreaker.

Method 3: purpose-built CRM agents (the all-in path)

Some teams have gone further and built entire CRMs that run on top of OpenClaw. These aren't just skills — they're standalone applications that use OpenClaw as the AI backbone.

openclaw-crm is an open-source, self-hosted CRM with OpenClaw baked in. It has 8 read tools (auto-execute, no confirmation needed) and 5 write tools (require your approval before changing data). People, Companies, Deals as standard objects. Works with Claude, GPT-4o, Llama, and Gemini through OpenRouter.

DenchClaw takes a different approach — it's a local CRM that uses your Chrome profile for LinkedIn scraping and outreach. Kanban pipeline views, cron jobs for automated sequences, DuckDB for local storage. It made the rounds on Hacker News recently. Interesting if you're doing outbound sales and want everything on your own machine.

Ironclaw (YC W26) is the funded version of this idea — replaces the spreadsheet + LinkedIn Sales Nav + CRM + email tool stack with a single AI-native interface built on OpenClaw.

These are more work to set up than a ClawHub skill. But if your CRM is the center of your business and you want the AI deeply embedded in it, not just bolted on, this is the direction things are heading.

What you can actually automate

Connecting your CRM is step one. Here's what becomes possible after:

Lead capture from conversations

Someone messages you on WhatsApp. Your agent qualifies them — name, company, what they need, budget range. Then it creates the contact and deal in your CRM automatically. You open HubSpot and the record is already there, complete with conversation notes.

Deal updates via chat

"Move the Acme deal to Closed Won" through Telegram. Your agent updates the deal stage, logs the activity, and you never opened a browser tab. This matters more than it sounds — the reason most CRMs have stale data isn't that people don't care, it's that updating takes just enough friction to skip.

Follow-up sequences

After a call, tell your agent: "Follow up with Sarah in 3 days if she hasn't replied." It checks, sends the follow-up through WhatsApp or email, and updates the CRM activity log. If she does reply, the sequence stops automatically. No drip campaign software needed for simple sequences like this.

Pipeline queries in plain English

"What deals are closing this quarter?" "How many leads came in last week?" "Show me all contacts at companies with over 50 employees." Your agent queries the CRM and gives you answers in chat. No dashboards, no report builders, no waiting for the page to load.

Activity logging

"Log a 30-minute call with Johnson Corp, discussed pricing for Q2 renewal." The note goes into the CRM with timestamp and context. Your sales manager can see activity without chasing people for updates.

Which method should you pick?

If you're already on HubSpot or Salesforce and just want your agent to log leads, start with the ClawHub skill. Ten minutes and you're done. If you need Pipedrive or want someone else handling OAuth, go the Composio route. If your current CRM frustrates you and you're open to something new, the purpose-built options are worth a look.

The part nobody warns you about

CRM integrations break. OAuth tokens expire. API rate limits get hit. Schema changes in your CRM (a renamed custom field, a new required property) silently break your agent's ability to create records. You won't notice until a lead falls through the cracks.

Self-hosting means you're the one who notices. And fixes it. And tests it. And monitors it going forward. This is the unglamorous reality of connecting any two systems — it works great until it doesn't, and the failure mode is usually silent.

If your pipeline depends on this integration (and if you're reading this post, it probably will), you need a plan for when things go wrong. Check your agent's CRM actions weekly. Set up a test contact that your agent updates daily so you'll know quickly when the connection drops.

Or let someone else handle the plumbing

On TryOpenClaw.ai, CRM integrations are pre-configured and monitored. HubSpot, Salesforce, and Pipedrive connect through a guided setup. Token refresh, error handling, and connection monitoring happen in the background. When something breaks, we get paged — not you.

Managed hosting starts at $39/month. Your agent talks to your CRM from day one, and you spend zero hours debugging expired OAuth tokens.