Close is a CRM designed for inside sales teams with built-in calling, emailing, and SMS. Connecting it to OpenClaw means your reps can check lead status, review activity history, and query pipeline data from Slack.
How OpenClaw Integrations Work
OpenClaw is a self-hosted AI assistant that runs on your own server — typically an EC2 instance — and connects to Slack. It uses Claude under the hood to process requests. Out of the box, OpenClaw doesn't ship with pre-built connections to third-party tools. Instead, integrations are built using the skills system: markdown files in ~/.openclaw/skills/ that give Claude instructions for a particular domain, combined with HTTP tool calls to any API you expose to it.
In practice, adding a real integration means: getting API credentials from the third-party service, building or configuring a small proxy/endpoint that OpenClaw can call, and writing a skill file that tells Claude how to use it. For some tools this is an afternoon of work. For others — like Close CRM — it's considerably more involved.
Connecting OpenClaw with Close CRM: Step by Step
Step 1: Get Your Close API Key
Log into Close and go to Settings → Developer → API Keys. Create an API key. The Close REST API base URL is https://api.close.com/api/v1/. Authentication uses HTTP Basic with the API key as the username and an empty password.
Step 2: Use the Lead and Activity Endpoints
Key endpoints: /lead (search and list leads), /lead/{id}/ (lead detail with contacts and activities), /activity (log of all activities across leads — calls, emails, notes), /opportunity (deal pipeline and stage data). Close uses a _search query parameter on most list endpoints for flexible filtering.
Step 3: Build the Proxy and Skill File
Build your proxy around lead search and opportunity endpoints. Write ~/.openclaw/skills/close.md with your pipeline stage names and common query patterns. Close's activity log is particularly useful — include instructions for querying recent call/email activity for a specific lead.
Challenges and Caveats
Lead vs Contact vs Opportunity Hierarchy
Close organises data as Leads (companies) → Contacts (people) → Opportunities (deals). Understanding this hierarchy is essential for writing a useful skill file. A query about "a deal" maps to Opportunities; "a person" maps to Contacts under a Lead.
Rate Limits Apply
Close's API has rate limits that vary by plan. For teams with many reps all using OpenClaw simultaneously, parallel queries can hit limits. Build retry logic and caching into your proxy.
Skip All of This — Use Cody Instead
Cody has Close CRM integration built in. Query deals and activity history from Slack without API configuration.
Related Guides
- Connecting OpenClaw with Hubspot: A Practical Guide
- Connecting OpenClaw with Pipedrive: A Practical Guide
- Connecting OpenClaw with Salesforce: A Practical Guide
Need the model-flexible version? See: How to Connect Close CRM to OpenClaw: Setup, Models, and Workflow Guide.