Athena Protocol vs Openclaw MCP
A side-by-side look at the Athena Protocol and Openclaw MCP MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Verdict: choose Athena Protocol for coding agents work as a local process; choose Openclaw MCP for coding agents as a local process. You can also run both side by side in one mcpServers block.
Which MCP server should you choose?
Choose Athena Protocol when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Coding Agents domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- Its auth model fits you: API key required.
- You have the keys it needs:
DEFAULT_LLM_PROVIDER, PROVIDER_SELECTION_PRIORITY.
Choose Openclaw MCP when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Coding Agents domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- Its auth model fits you: API key required.
- You have the keys it needs:
OPENCLAW_URL, OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN, OPENCLAW_AGENT_ID, OPENCLAW_MODEL, OPENCLAW_TIMEOUT_MS, AUTH_ENABLED, MCP_CLIENT_ID, MCP_CLIENT_SECRET. - You want tools like
openclaw_chat, openclaw_status, openclaw_chat_async.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Coding Agents | Coding Agents |
| Quality signal | 44/100 · Fair | 68/100 · Great |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Local subprocess (stdio) | Local subprocess (stdio) |
| Auth | API key required | API key required |
| Pricing | BYOK (pay the provider) | Free |
| Required env vars | DEFAULT_LLM_PROVIDERPROVIDER_SELECTION_PRIORITY | OPENCLAW_URLOPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKENOPENCLAW_AGENT_IDOPENCLAW_MODELOPENCLAW_TIMEOUT_MSAUTH_ENABLEDMCP_CLIENT_IDMCP_CLIENT_SECRET |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 7 | 188 |
| Directory activity | 5 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 8 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | Not listed | 7 |
| Full listing | View Athena Protocol | View Openclaw MCP |
Tools & capabilities
Athena Protocol tools
No tool names declared yet. Check the project README from the listing page.
Openclaw MCP tools 7
openclaw_chatSend a message to OpenClaw and get a responseopenclaw_statusGet OpenClaw gateway status and health informationopenclaw_chat_asyncSend a message to OpenClaw asynchronously. Returns a task_id immediately that can be polled for results. Use this for potentially long-running conversations.openclaw_task_statusCheck the status of an async task. Returns status, and result if completed.openclaw_task_listList all tasks. Optionally filter by status, session, or instance.openclaw_task_cancelCancel a pending task. Only works for tasks that haven't started yet.openclaw_instancesList all configured OpenClaw instances. Shows instance names, URLs, and which is the default. Use instance names in other tools to target a specific OpenClaw gateway.
Ready-to-paste client configs
Paste either block (or both) into your client config, e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json. We only show a config when the install command is confirmed.
Athena Protocol
{
"mcpServers": {
"athena-protocol": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"usage"
],
"env": {
"DEFAULT_LLM_PROVIDER": "YOUR_DEFAULT_LLM_PROVIDER_HERE",
"PROVIDER_SELECTION_PRIORITY": "YOUR_PROVIDER_SELECTION_PRIORITY_HERE"
}
}
}
}
Openclaw MCP
{
"mcpServers": {
"freema-openclaw-mcp": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"openclaw-mcp"
],
"env": {
"OPENCLAW_URL": "YOUR_OPENCLAW_URL_HERE",
"OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN": "YOUR_OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN_HERE",
"OPENCLAW_AGENT_ID": "YOUR_OPENCLAW_AGENT_ID_HERE",
"OPENCLAW_MODEL": "YOUR_OPENCLAW_MODEL_HERE",
"OPENCLAW_TIMEOUT_MS": "YOUR_OPENCLAW_TIMEOUT_MS_HERE",
"AUTH_ENABLED": "YOUR_AUTH_ENABLED_HERE",
"MCP_CLIENT_ID": "YOUR_MCP_CLIENT_ID_HERE",
"MCP_CLIENT_SECRET": "YOUR_MCP_CLIENT_SECRET_HERE"
}
}
}
}
Frequently asked questions
Athena Protocol is categorized under Coding Agents and uses a local stdio subprocess. Openclaw MCP belongs to Coding Agents and uses a local stdio subprocess. Pick Athena Protocol for coding agents work and Openclaw MCP for coding agents.
Copy the mcpServers block from the config section on this page into your client's config (for example claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json), then fully restart the client.
Athena Protocol is bring-your-own-key: usage is billed by the API provider you supply a key for. Auth: api key required. Openclaw MCP is listed as free. Auth: api key required. If a server needs environment variables such as API keys, define them under the env key in your client's MCP config.
Yes. MCP clients support multiple servers: add athena-protocol and freema-openclaw-mcp as separate keys in the same mcpServers object, and your assistant will call tools from either one.
On AllMCPs, Athena Protocol has a quality signal of 44/100 (Fair) with 5 views, 0 installs and 7 GitHub stars. Openclaw MCP has 68/100 (Great) with 8 views, 0 installs and 188 GitHub stars.