养龙虾

What does 养龙虾 mean?

养龙虾 means installing, configuring and "training" the AI agent OpenClaw so it can handle tasks like sorting files, answering emails or drafting reports. The farming metaphor is half joke, half pride: people talk about whether their lobster is "grown up" yet, and call themselves 养虾人 ("lobster farmers"). A common brag is "my lobster works while I rest", which gives it a 躺平-style daydream flavor. The phrase started among tech enthusiasts but is now used by everyday office workers too.

Where does 养龙虾 come from?

OpenClaw is an open-source AI agent framework released in November 2025 by Austrian developer Peter Steinberger; it has a red lobster logo and "Claw" in its name. When it went viral in China in early 2026, users started calling the process of deploying it 养龙虾, and the phrase spread from AI circles to the general public, with coverage from Xinhua and a Baidu Baike entry in March 2026.

How to use 养龙虾

• 我最近在养龙虾，周报都让它写了。
  Wǒ zuìjìn zài yǎng lóngxiā, zhōubào dōu ràng tā xiě le.
  I've been raising a lobster lately — I even let it write my weekly reports.
• 你的龙虾养好了吗？能帮我整理文件吗？
  Nǐ de lóngxiā yǎng hǎo le ma? Néng bāng wǒ zhěnglǐ wénjiàn ma?
  Is your lobster all set up yet? Can it sort out my files?