OpenClaw Outlook Add-in

Bring the full power of your OpenClaw agent into Outlook — with all your tools, skills, and automations. Read emails, ask questions, create calendar events, query databases, draft replies, or trigger any workflow your agent can do — all from a sidebar without leaving your inbox.

Features

• 📧 Email Context — Automatically reads subject, sender, recipients, date, and body of the selected email
• 💬 Chat Interface — Ask questions about the email, get summaries, translations, or any AI assistance
• ✏️ Draft Reply — One-click reply drafting based on the email context
• 📤 Send Reply — Opens Outlook's native reply compose with the drafted text pre-filled
• 🌗 Light/Dark Mode — Auto-detects Outlook theme (Office.js + prefers-color-scheme)
• 📌 Pinned Sidebar — Stays open when switching between emails (VersionOverrides v1.1)
• 💾 Per-Email Chat History — Each email gets its own session; switching back restores the conversation
• 📎 Smart Context — Email body sent only with the first message per email (saves tokens)
• 🔄 Auto-Reconnect — WebSocket reconnects automatically with exponential backoff
• 🔒 Token-based Auth — Gateway token stored in browser localStorage, never in code

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+
• OpenClaw Gateway running locally
• Outlook Desktop (Windows, Classic) or Outlook Web (OWA)
• Microsoft 365 account with sideloading enabled

Quick Start

1. Install dependencies

npm install

2. Install dev certificates (first time only)

npx office-addin-dev-certs install

3. Start the dev server

npm run dev

Starts webpack-dev-server at https://localhost:3000 with:

• HTTPS (required by Office.js)
• Hot reload
• WebSocket proxy to OpenClaw Gateway (/gateway-ws → ws://127.0.0.1:18789)

4. Sideload the add-in

Via OWA (recommended — syncs to Desktop automatically):

1. Open https://aka.ms/olksideload
2. Click My add-ins → Add a custom add-in → Add from file
3. Upload manifest.xml from this project

Note: Sideloading in OWA requires your Microsoft 365 admin to allow custom add-ins. Sync to Outlook Desktop can take up to 24 hours.

5. Configure Gateway Token

When you first open the add-in sidebar, it will ask for your OpenClaw Gateway token:

1. Find your token in ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json → gateway.auth.token
2. Paste it into the token input field in the sidebar
3. Click Save & Connect

The token is stored in browser localStorage and never leaves your machine.

6. Gateway Configuration

Add https://localhost:3000 to your Gateway's allowed origins:

{
  "gateway": {
    "controlUi": {
      "allowedOrigins": ["https://localhost:3000"]
    }
  }
}

Or via OpenClaw CLI:

openclaw config patch '{"gateway":{"controlUi":{"allowedOrigins":["https://localhost:3000"]}}}'

Usage

1. Open any email in Outlook
2. Click the OpenClaw AI button in the ribbon (or find it via ... → More actions)
3. The sidebar shows the email context and a chat interface
4. Type a question or click Draft Reply

Auto-Start (Windows)

To keep the dev server running permanently, create a Windows Scheduled Task:

$action = New-ScheduledTaskAction -Execute "node.exe" `
  -Argument "node_modules\webpack-cli\bin\cli.js serve --mode development" `
  -WorkingDirectory "C:\path\to\openclaw-outlook-addin"
$trigger = New-ScheduledTaskTrigger -AtLogOn
$settings = New-ScheduledTaskSettingsSet -AllowStartIfOnBatteries `
  -DontStopIfGoingOnBatteries -RestartCount 999 -RestartInterval (New-TimeSpan -Minutes 1)
Register-ScheduledTask -TaskName "OpenClaw Outlook Add-in" `
  -Action $action -Trigger $trigger -Settings $settings -Force

Build for Production

npm run build

Output goes to dist/. For production deployment, host the built files on any HTTPS server and update the URLs in manifest.xml.

Architecture

Browser (Outlook WebView)          Local Machine
┌─────────────────────┐           ┌──────────────────────┐
│  Outlook Add-in     │  wss://   │  Webpack Dev Server   │
│  (taskpane.html)    │◄────────►│  :3000 (HTTPS)        │
│                     │           │    │                  │
│  - Office.js        │           │    │ proxy /gateway-ws│
│  - Chat UI          │           │    ▼                  │
│  - Theme detection  │           │  OpenClaw Gateway     │
│                     │           │  :18789 (WS)          │
└─────────────────────┘           └──────────────────────┘

WebSocket Protocol

The add-in uses OpenClaw's native Gateway RPC protocol:

Authentication

1. Client connects to wss://localhost:3000/gateway-ws (proxied to Gateway)
2. Gateway sends connect.challenge event
3. Client sends connect RPC with auth token
4. Gateway responds with session info

Sending Messages

{
  "type": "req",
  "id": "1",
  "method": "chat.send",
  "params": {
    "sessionKey": "agent:main:main",
    "message": "Summarize this email",
    "deliver": false
  }
}

Receiving Responses

• Streaming: agent.delta / chat.delta events with incremental text
• Complete: agent.message / chat.message events with full response
• Tool calls: agent.tool_call / agent.tool_result events

Project Structure

├── manifest.xml              # Office Add-in manifest (XML)
├── package.json
├── webpack.config.js         # Dev server + WS proxy config
├── generate-icons.js         # Icon generator (uses sharp + OpenClaw SVG)
├── src/
│   ├── taskpane/
│   │   ├── taskpane.html     # Sidebar UI
│   │   ├── taskpane.js       # Office.js + Gateway RPC + chat logic
│   │   └── taskpane.css      # Light/dark theme styles
│   └── commands/
│       ├── commands.html
│       └── commands.js       # Ribbon command handlers
└── assets/
    ├── openclaw-logo.svg     # Source logo (from Gateway favicon)
    └── icon-*.png            # Generated icons (16-128px)

Troubleshooting

Problem	Solution
"Add-in installation failed"	Validate manifest: npx office-addin-manifest validate manifest.xml
"Disconnected" in sidebar	Check if dev server is running (npm run dev)
"Connecting..." stays	Verify Gateway is running and token is correct
No button in Outlook ribbon	Restart Outlook, or wait for OWA→Desktop sync
Icons not showing	Remove add-in in OWA, re-sideload manifest.xml
Mixed content errors	The WSS proxy should handle this — check webpack proxy config
Need to debug the sidebar	Open https://localhost:3000/taskpane.html directly in a browser tab
Duplicate responses	Check version tag (top-right of connection bar); kill old node processes on port 3000
Token prompt on every open	localStorage may be cleared; re-enter token from ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json
Icons not showing in OWA	Icons are served from GitHub raw URLs; ensure repo is public

Security Notes

• Gateway token is stored in browser localStorage only — never committed to Git
• The add-in has ReadItem permission (read-only access to current email)
• displayReplyForm() opens Outlook's native compose — user always reviews before sending
• WebSocket connection is local only (localhost:3000 → localhost:18789)

Privacy & Data Protection (GDPR / DSGVO)

⚠️ Important: This add-in sends email content (subject, sender, recipients, body text) to an AI model via your local OpenClaw Gateway. Before using it in a professional context, ensure the following:

• Data processing agreement (DPA/AVV): If you process personal data from emails, ensure your AI provider has an appropriate data processing agreement in place.
• Zero data retention (ZDR): Use an AI provider plan that does not retain or train on your data (e.g., Anthropic API, OpenAI API with ZDR, Google Gemini API — not free-tier consumer products).
• Local processing: All data flows through your local OpenClaw Gateway (localhost). No data is sent to third-party servers other than the configured AI model provider.
• No cloud storage: The add-in does not store emails, conversations, or tokens on any external server. The Gateway token is stored in browser localStorage on your machine only.
• Employee consent: If processing employee or customer emails, ensure appropriate legal basis under GDPR Art. 6 (e.g., legitimate interest, consent, or contractual necessity).
• Data minimization: The add-in sends only the currently selected email's content — not your entire mailbox.

Recommendation: For business use, pair this add-in with an enterprise AI plan that provides contractual guarantees for data privacy, such as:

• Anthropic Claude (API / Max for Business) — zero retention by default
• OpenAI API (with Zero Data Retention) — opt-in via API settings
• Self-hosted models (Ollama, vLLM) — data never leaves your infrastructure

This add-in is a tool — compliance with data protection regulations is the responsibility of the deploying organization.

Trademarks

The OpenClaw name and lobster logo are trademarks of their respective owners. This project is an independent community integration and is not officially endorsed by or affiliated with the OpenClaw project. The logo is used under the MIT license terms of the OpenClaw distribution.

License

MIT