Ask HN: Why is there a lack of useful use cases for OpenClaw?

Risk, imo. I am running it, and constantly identify use cases but they each carry some kind of risk I can’t get past. And so for now I am using individual purpose-built Claude Code harnesses, which has much more cognitive overhead and isn’t wired into discord, but I can really control access.

They are centered around managing information in/out, or “hey siri have groceries delivered“.

Yes, I use it that way too. Usually for things like code changes on my project when I'm away from home. Besides that, it does market research for me, but those were the only things I've been able to do so far. I can't find a use case that really stands out.

The issue is the amount of security and privacy risks you're undertaking by using it and its third-party developed skills. The more access you give, the more powerful and useful it gets.

There's a lot of useful use cases for OpenClaw but I wish I had the guts.

I agree, and I think we should create our own skins for OpenClaw. Otherwise, the use cases are very limited.

There are a lot of useful cases for OpenClaw, just like there are use cases for letting my dog drive my car. Still don’t let my dog drive though.