Unofficial Tutorials The guides the official docs won't write
Ai-tools

OpenClaw — Your Open-Source Personal AI Assistant

Published 2026-07-18 ~426 words Tags: openclaw, ai-assistant, automation, setup

OpenClaw is an open-source personal AI assistant that runs on your machine and works from the chat apps you already use. It organizes your inbox, sends emails, manages your calendar, checks you in for flights — all from WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord, or SMS.

What Makes OpenClaw Different

Unlike cloud-only assistants, OpenClaw runs locally on your hardware. It's built by the OpenClaw Foundation, sponsored by OpenAI, GitHub, NVIDIA, and Vercel. The project has grown rapidly with thousands of contributors and an active community.

Key capabilities:

  • Platform agnostic — works from any chat app
  • Open source — fully inspectable at github.com/openclaw/openclaw
  • Locally run — your data stays on your machine
  • Extensible — plugins and skills from ClawHub
  • Multi-step actions — handles complex workflows like flight check-in

Installation

Choose your preferred method:

# One-liner (recommended for most people)
curl -fsSL https://openclaw.ai/install.sh | bash
# npm (if you have Node.js)
npm i -g openclaw
# From source (for developers)
git clone https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw.git
cd openclaw
corepack enable && pnpm install
pnpm openclaw onboard

First Run — Onboarding

openclaw onboard

The onboard command walks you through:

  1. Setting up authentication
  2. Connecting your first chat platform
  3. Basic configuration

After onboarding, OpenClaw is ready to receive commands.

Connecting Integrations

Connect the chat apps you already use:

# Telegram
openclaw integration add telegram
# WhatsApp
openclaw integration add whatsapp
# Discord
openclaw integration add discord
# SMS
openclaw integration add sms

Once connected, just message your assistant from any platform.

What You Can Do

OpenClaw handles real-world tasks through natural language:

  • "Check my email and summarize the important messages"
  • "Add a calendar event for tomorrow at 3pm"
  • "Send a message to Bob on WhatsApp saying I'm running late"
  • "What's my flight status?"
  • "Remind me to call the dentist tomorrow at 10am"
  • "Organize my inbox by priority"

Extending With Plugins

From ClawHub, install plugins to add capabilities:

openclaw plugin search email
openclaw plugin install email-organizer
openclaw plugin list

Skills are prompt-based reusable templates. Plugins add actual backend capabilities like API integrations.

Configuration

openclaw config show           # View current config
openclaw config set key value  # Change a setting
openclaw config edit           # Open in editor

Config lives at ~/.config/openclaw/config.yaml.

Resources

| Resource | URL | |----------|-----| | Website | https://openclaw.ai | | Docs | https://docs.openclaw.ai | | GitHub | https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw | | Discord | https://discord.com/invite/clawd | | ClawHub | https://clawhub.openclaw.ai | | Foundation | https://openclaw.org |

Install with curl -fsSL https://openclaw.ai/install.sh | bash, run openclaw onboard, connect your chat app, and you're live.