Ai Phone Receptionist Assistant

---
name: ai-phone-receptionist-assistant
description: "AI phone assistant and virtual receptionist for OpenClaw. Answers inbound phone calls, screens callers, makes outbound phone calls, and books appointments — all over Twilio + OpenAI Realtime voice. Full telephone workflow: phone call screening, live call transcripts, CRM contact…"
category: "AI & Agents"
author: community
version: "5.5.7"
icon: bot
---

# Amber — AI Phone Assistant & Virtual Receptionist

## Overview

Amber gives any OpenClaw deployment a **phone-capable AI voice assistant**. It ships with a **production-ready Twilio + OpenAI Realtime bridge** (`runtime/`) that handles inbound phone call screening, outbound phone calls, appointment booking, and live OpenClaw knowledge lookups — all via natural voice conversation over a real telephone number.

**✨ New in v5.4.0:** Amber now ships as a **Claude Desktop MCP plugin** with 9 tools — make outbound calls by name, check call history, query CRM contacts, manage calendar, and control call screening, all from Claude Desktop or Claude Cowork. Includes Apple Contacts integration and a call confirmation safeguard to prevent wrong-number dials.

**✨ Also:** Interactive setup wizard (`npm run setup`) validates credentials in real-time and generates a working `.env` file — no manual configuration needed!

## See it in action

![Setup Wizard Demo](demo/demo.gif)

**[▶️ Watch the interactive demo on asciinema.org](https://asciinema.org/a/l1nOHktunybwAheQ)** (copyable text, adjustable speed)

*The interactive wizard validates credentials, detects ngrok, and generates a complete `.env` file in minutes.*

### What's included

- **Runtime bridge** (`runtime/`) — a complete Node.js server that connects Twilio phone calls to OpenAI Realtime with OpenClaw brain-in-the-loop
- **Amber Skills** (`amber-skills/`) — modular mid-call capabilities (CRM, calendar, log & forward message) with a spec for building your own
- **Built-in CRM** — local SQLite contact database; Amber greets callers by name and references personal context naturally on every call
- **Call log dashboard** (`dashboard/`) — browse call history, transcripts, and captured messages; includes **manual Sync button** to pull new calls on demand
- **Setup & validation scripts** — preflight checks, env templates, quickstart runner
- **Architecture docs & troubleshooting** — call flow diagrams, common failure runbooks
- **Safety guardrails** — approval patterns for outbound calls, payment escalation, consent boundaries

## 🔌 Amber Skills — Extensible by Design

Amber ships with a growing library of **Amber Skills** — modular capabilities that plug directly into live voice conversations. Each skill exposes a structured function that Amber can call mid-call, letting you compose powerful voice workflows without touching the bridge code.

### 👤 CRM — Contact Memory *(v5.3.0)*

Amber remembers every caller across calls and uses that memory to personalize every conversation.

- **Runtime-managed** — lookup and logging happen automatically; Amber never has to "remember" to call CRM
- **Personalized greeting** — known callers are greeted by name; personal context (pets, recent events, preferences) is referenced warmly on the first sentence
- **Two-pass enrichment** — auto-log captures the call immediately; a post-call LLM extraction pass reads the full transcript to extract name, email, and `context_notes`
- **Symmetric** — works identically for inbound and outbound calls
- **Local SQLite** — stored at `~/.config/amber/crm.sqlite`; no cloud, no data leaves your machine
- **Native dependency** — requires `better-sqlite3` (native build). macOS: `sudo xcodebuild -license accept` before `npm install`. Linux: `build-essential` + `python3`.

### 📅 Calendar

Query the operator's calendar for availability or schedule a new event — all during a live call.

- **Availability lookups** — free/busy slots for today, tomorrow, this week, or any specific date
- **Event creation** — book appointments directly into the operator's calendar from a phone conversation
- **Privacy by default** — callers are only told whether the operator is free or busy; event titles, names, and locations are never disclosed
- Powered by `ical-query` — local-only, zero network latency

### 📬 Log & Forward Message

Let callers leave a message that is automatically saved and forwarded to the operator.

- Captures the caller's message, name, and optional callback number
- **Always saves to the call log first** (audit trail), then delivers via the operator's configured messaging channel
- Confirmation-gated — Amber confirms with the caller before sending
- Delivery destination is operator-configured — callers cannot redirect messages

### Build Your Own Skills

Amber's skill system is designed to grow. Each skill is a self-contained directory with a `SKILL.md` (metadata + function schema) and a `handler.js`. You can:

- **Customize the included skills** to fit your own setup
- **Build new skills** for your use case — CRM lookups, inventory checks, custom notifications, anything callable mid-call
- **Share skills** with the OpenClaw community via [ClawHub](https://clawhub.com)

See [`amber-skills/`](amber-skills/) for examples and the full specification to get started.

> **Note:** Each skill's `handler.js` is reviewed against its declared permissions. When building or installing third-party skills, review the handler source as you would any Node.js module.

### Call log dashboard

```bash
cd dashboard && node scripts/serve.js   # → http://localhost:8787
```

- **⬇ Sync button** (green) — immediately pulls new calls from `runtime/logs/` and refreshes the dashboard. Use this right after a call ends rather than waiting for the background watcher.
- **↻ Refresh button** (blue) — reloads existing data from disk without re-processing logs.
- Background watcher (`node scripts/watch.js`) auto-syncs every 30 seconds when running.

## Why Amber

- **Ship a voice assistant in minutes** — `npm install`, configure `.env`, `npm start`
- Full inbound screening: greeting, message-taking, appointment booking with calendar integration
- Outbound calls with structured call plans (reservations, inquiries, follow-ups)
- **`ask_openclaw` tool (least-privilege)** — voice agent consults your OpenClaw gateway only for call-critical needs (calendar checks, booking, required factual lookups), not for unrelated tasks
- VAD tuning + verbal fillers to keep conversations natural (no dead air during lookups)
- Fully configurable: assistant name, operator info, org name, calendar, screening style — all via env vars
- Operator safety guardrails for approvals/escalation/payment handling

## Personalization requirements

Before deploying, users must personalize:
- assistant name/voice and greeting text,
- own Twilio number and account credentials,
- own OpenAI project + webhook secret,
- own OpenClaw gateway/session endpoint,
- own call safety policy (approval, escalation, payment handling).

Do not reuse example values from another operator.

## 5-minute quickstart

### Option A: Interactive Setup Wizard (recommended) ✨

The easiest way to get started:

1. `cd runtime`
2. `npm run setup`
3. Follow the interactive prompts — the wizard will:
   - Validate your Twilio and OpenAI credentials in real-time
   - Auto-detect and configure ngrok if available
   - Generate a working `.env` file
   - Optionally install dependencies and build the project
4. Configure your Twilio webhook (wizard shows you the exact URL)
5. Start the server: `npm start`
6. Call your Twilio number — your voice assistant answers!

**Benefits:**
- Real-time credential validation (catch errors before you start)
- No manual `.env` editing
- Automatic ngrok detection and setup
- Step-by-step guidance with helpful links

### Option B: Manual setup

1. `cd runtime && npm install`
2. Copy `../references/env.example` to `runtime/.env` and fill in your values.
3. `npm run build && npm start`
4. Point your Twilio voice webhook to `https://<your-domain>/twilio/inbound`
5. Call your Twilio number — your voice assistant answers!

### Option C: Validation-only (existing setup)

1. Copy `references/env.example` to your own `.env` and replace placeholders.
2. Export required variables (`TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SID`, `TWILIO_AUTH_TOKEN`, `TWILIO_CALLER_ID`, `OPENAI_API_KEY`, `OPENAI_PROJECT_ID`, `OPENAI_WEBHOOK_SECRET`, `PUBLIC_BASE_URL`).
3. Run quick setup:
   `scripts/setup_quickstart.sh`
4. If preflight passes, run one inbound and one outbound smoke test.
5. Only then move to production usage.

## Credential scope (recommended hardening)

Use least-privilege credentials for every provider:

- **Twilio:** use a dedicated subaccount for Amber and rotate auth tokens regularly.
- **OpenAI:** use a dedicated project API key for this runtime only; avoid reusing keys from unrelated apps.
- **OpenClaw Gateway token:** only set `OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN` if you need brain-in-the-loop lookups; keep token scope minimal.
- **Secrets in logs:** never print full credentials in scripts, setup output, or call transcripts.
- **Setup wizard validation scope:** credential checks call only official Twilio/OpenAI API endpoints over HTTPS for auth verification; no arbitrary exfiltration endpoints are used.

These controls reduce blast radius if a host or config file is exposed.

## Safe defaults

- Require explicit approval before outbound calls. **Note on confirmation enforcement:** For MCP-initiated outbound calls (`make_call`), confirmation is enforced at the MCP server layer in code (the tool returns a preview and requires `confirmed=true` on a second call before dialing) — this is not LLM-only instruction. The LLM instruction layer provides an additional reminder, but the code gate is the primary enforcement mechanism.
- If payment/deposit is requested, stop and escalate to the human operator.
- Keep greeting short and clear.
- Use timeout + graceful fallback when `ask_openclaw` is slow/unavailable.

## Workflow

1. **Confirm scope for V1**
   - Include only stable behavior: call flow, bridge behavior, fallback behavior, and setup steps.
   - Exclude machine-specific secrets and private paths.

2. **Document architecture + limits**
   - Read `references/architecture.md`.
   - Keep claims realistic (latency varies; memory lookups are best-effort).

3. **Run release checklist**
   - Read `references/release-checklist.md`.
   - Validate config placeholders, safety guardrails, and failure handling.

4. **Smoke-check runtime assumptions**
   - Run `scripts/validate_voice_env.sh` on the target host.
   - Fix missing env/config before publishing.

5. **Publish**
   - Publish to ClawHub (example):  
     `clawhub publish <skill-folder> --slug amber-voice-assistant --name "Amber Voice Assistant" --version 1.0.0 --tags latest --changelog "Initial public release"`
   - Optional: run your local skill validator/packager before publishing.

6. **Ship updates**
   - Publish new semver versions (`1.0.1`, `1.1.0`, `2.0.0`) with changelogs.
   - Keep `latest` on the recommended version.

## Troubleshooting (common)

- **"Missing env vars"** → re-check `.env` values and re-run `scripts/validate_voice_env.sh`.
- **"Call connects but assistant is silent"** → verify TTS model setting and provider auth.
- **"ask_openclaw timeout"** → verify gateway URL/token and increase timeout conservatively.
- **"Webhook unreachable"** → verify tunnel/domain and Twilio webhook target.

## Guardrails for public release

- Never publish secrets, tokens, phone numbers, webhook URLs with credentials, or personal data.
- Include explicit safety rules for outbound calls, payments, and escalation.
- Mark V1 as beta if conversational quality/latency tuning is ongoing.

## Install safety notes

- Amber does **not** execute arbitrary install-time scripts from this repository.
- Runtime install uses standard Node dependency installation in `runtime/`.
- CRM uses `better-sqlite3` (native module), which compiles locally on your machine.
- Review `runtime/package.json` dependencies before deployment in regulated environments.

## Resources

- **Runtime bridge:** `runtime/` (full source + README)
- Architecture and behavior notes: `references/architecture.md`
- Release gate: `references/release-checklist.md`
- Env template: `references/env.example`
- Quick setup runner: `scripts/setup_quickstart.sh`
- Env/config validator: `scripts/validate_voice_env.sh`