Build Your Own AI Assistant

What is a Terminal / Command Line?

The terminal (also called command line, console, or shell) is a text-based way to control your computer. Instead of clicking icons, you type commands.

Think of it as texting your computer instead of pointing at things.

What is Node.js?

Node.js is a program that lets your computer run JavaScript code. OpenClaw is built with JavaScript, so you need Node.js installed.

It's like installing a translator so your computer can understand OpenClaw's language.

What is npm?

npm (Node Package Manager) comes with Node.js. It's a tool for installing programs and add-ons (called "packages").

When you run npm install -g openclaw, you're telling npm to download and install OpenClaw globally on your computer.

What is an API Key?

An API key is like a password that lets your assistant talk to AI services. When you get an API key from Anthropic, you're getting permission to use their Claude AI.

What is a .env File?

A .env file (pronounced "dot env") stores secret information like API keys. It's a simple text file that keeps sensitive data separate from your main code.

# Example .env file
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-xxxxx
TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN=123456:ABC

Why Use .env Files?

• Security: Keeps secrets out of your main config files
• Easy backup: You can share your code without sharing secrets
• Industry standard: This is how professionals handle secrets

My Story

I'm a neurologist in India. Between seeing patients, teaching, and managing social media, I was drowning in tasks. Then I built my AI assistant "Meow" — and everything changed.

Meow now handles my patient education content, schedules posts, manages my to-do lists, researches papers, and even reminds me about birthdays.

This guide will show you exactly how to build your own.

💰 Total Cost

$0-15/month — seriously!

• VPS hosting: $5-10/month (or free on your Mac)
• AI API credits: FREE with Groq/Gemini, or ~$5/month with Claude

Compare that to hiring a human assistant at $500+/month!

🎁 Free API Options

For Everyone

• Anthropic API key — Get at console.anthropic.com ($5 to start)
• Telegram account — For bot creation
• 1-2 hours — Time to set everything up

1 Install Node.js

Mac:

First, install Homebrew (Mac's package manager) if you don't have it:

# Install Homebrew (Mac only) - paste this entire line:
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

Then install Node.js:

brew install node

Ubuntu:

curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_20.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt-get install -y nodejs

Verify: node --version — should show v20.x or higher

2 Install OpenClaw

npm install -g openclaw

Verify it worked:

openclaw --version

3 Create Your Workspace

mkdir ~/my-assistant
cd ~/my-assistant
openclaw init

Verify: ls -la — should show openclaw.json and workspace/

This creates your assistant's home:

4 Add Your API Key

Create a .env file with your Anthropic key:

# Create .env file (use any text editor)
nano .env

# Add this line (replace with your actual key):
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-xxxxx

echo "ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-xxxxx" >> .env

How to Get Your API Key

1. Go to console.anthropic.com and sign up
2. Add a payment method (credit card required)
3. Navigate to Settings → API Keys
4. Click Create Key
5. Copy the key (starts with sk-ant-...)

Verify: cat .env — should show your key

Option A: Groq (Free Tier)

Groq offers free API access to Llama 3.3 70B — a powerful open-source model.

1. Go to console.groq.com
2. Sign up with Google or email (no credit card needed!)
3. Navigate to API Keys in the sidebar
4. Click Create API Key
5. Copy the key (starts with gsk_...)

Add to your .env:

GROQ_API_KEY=gsk_xxxxx

Then in your openclaw.yaml, set:

defaultModel: groq/llama-3.3-70b-versatile

Option B: Google Gemini (Free Tier)

Google's Gemini 2.0 Flash is completely free for up to 15 requests/minute.

1. Go to aistudio.google.com
2. Sign in with your Google account
3. Click Get API Key in the top menu
4. Click Create API Key
5. Copy the key (starts with AIza...)

Add to your .env:

GEMINI_API_KEY=AIzaSy_xxxxx

Then in your openclaw.yaml, set:

defaultModel: google/gemini-2.0-flash

5 Start Your Assistant

openclaw gateway start

You should see:

✓ Gateway started on port 3000
✓ Agent ready
✓ Waiting for messages...

Verify it's running:

openclaw gateway status

1 Create a Bot with BotFather

1. Open Telegram, search for @BotFather
2. Send /newbot
3. Choose a display name: "My Assistant"
4. Choose a username: "my_assistant_bot"
5. Copy the token BotFather gives you

2 Configure OpenClaw

Edit openclaw.json using nano:

nano openclaw.json

Find the channels section and update it to look like this:

{
  "channels": {
    "telegram": {
      "enabled": true,
      "botToken": "YOUR_BOT_TOKEN_HERE",
      "allowlist": ["your_telegram_username"]
    }
  }
}

3 Restart & Chat!

openclaw gateway restart

Find your bot in Telegram and send /start — it's alive!

1 Enable WhatsApp Channel

Edit openclaw.json:

{
  "channels": {
    "whatsapp": {
      "enabled": true
    }
  }
}

2 Link Your Account

openclaw whatsapp link

A QR code appears. On your phone:

1. Open WhatsApp then Settings
2. Tap Linked Devices
3. Tap Link a Device
4. Scan the QR code

3 Start Chatting

Send yourself a message — your assistant will respond!

Quick Setup Overview

1. Create a bot at discord.com/developers/applications
2. Copy your bot token
3. Invite the bot to your server
4. Add the token to your OpenClaw config

{
  "channels": {
    "discord": {
      "enabled": true,
      "botToken": "YOUR_DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN"
    }
  }
}

Be Specific

Give Context

Example Conversations

Email Help:

You: "Draft a polite email declining a meeting. I'm too busy this week but open next week."

Research:

You: "Search for the latest studies on intermittent fasting and summarize the key findings"

Power User Tips

Commands

When to Use Different Models

Give It a Name & Personality

Edit IDENTITY.md in your workspace:

# IDENTITY.md

- Name: Jarvis
- Personality: Professional but friendly
- Style: Concise, uses bullet points

Set the Tone

Edit SOUL.md to define how it communicates:

# SOUL.md

## Communication Style
- Be warm and friendly, not robotic
- Use simple language, avoid jargon
- Keep responses concise unless asked
- Use emojis sparingly but naturally

## Boundaries
- Never share private information
- Always confirm before sending messages
- Ask clarifying questions when unsure

Teach It About You

Edit USER.md:

# USER.md

## About Me
- Name: Sarah
- Profession: Marketing Manager
- Timezone: EST

## Preferences  
- I prefer bullet points over paragraphs
- Morning person - schedule before noon
- Boss prefers formal communication

Example MEMORY.md

# MEMORY.md

## About Me
- Vegetarian - never suggest meat recipes
- Allergic to penicillin

## People
- Mom: Call every Sunday
- Best friend Jake: Birthday Feb 14

## Preferences
- Coffee: Oat milk latte, no sugar
- Don't schedule meetings before 10am

Tell Your Assistant to Remember

Just say things like:

• "Remember that Sarah's birthday is May 3rd"
• "Remember I prefer morning meetings"
• "Remember the project deadline moved to April"

Your assistant will automatically store these!

🧠 Three-Layer Memory Architecture

Unlike other AI assistants that forget everything between chats, OpenClaw builds a persistent, intelligent memory that grows smarter over time.

🏗️ Setting Up Your Memory System

1. Initialize Memory Structure

OpenClaw automatically creates these directories in your workspace:

workspace/
├── MEMORY.md              # Permanent facts
├── memory/
│   ├── 2026-02-20.md     # Daily timeline
│   ├── 2026-02-21.md     # Auto-created each day
│   └── self-review.md    # Self-reflection logs
└── knowledge/            # Knowledge graph
    ├── areas/            # People, companies
    ├── projects/         # Active work
    ├── resources/        # Reference material
    └── archives/         # Completed items

2. Core Memory Configuration

Start with essential facts in MEMORY.md:

# MEMORY.md — Your Assistant's Core Knowledge

## About You
- Name: [Your Name]
- Role: [Your Job Title]
- Timezone: [Your Timezone]
- Work Schedule: [Your Hours]

## Communication Preferences
- Meeting style: [Formal/Casual]
- Response length: [Brief/Detailed]
- Decision making: [Quick/Deliberate]

## Key People
- Manager: [Name] - Meeting style, preferences
- Team members: [Names] - Relationships, communication styles

## Work Patterns
- Best productivity hours: [Time range]
- Meeting preferences: [Morning/Afternoon]
- Break patterns: [When you're unavailable]

## Technical Preferences
- Programming languages: [Languages you use]
- Tools & platforms: [Your tech stack]
- Project management: [How you organize work]

3. Knowledge Graph Structure

The knowledge graph organizes information using the PARA method:

• Projects — Active work with deadlines
• Areas — People, companies, ongoing responsibilities
• Resources — Reference material and topics
• Archives — Completed or inactive items

4. Example Knowledge Graph Entry

# knowledge/areas/people/jane-smith/summary.md

## Jane Smith — Project Manager

**Role:** Senior Project Manager, Marketing Team  
**Relationship:** Direct colleague, weekly 1:1s  
**Communication Style:** Prefers detailed status updates  
**Key Projects:** Q1 Campaign, Website Redesign  

**Hot Facts (Last 7 Days):**
- Promoted to Senior PM (Feb 15)
- Leading website redesign project
- Prefers morning meetings (9-11 AM)

**Warm Facts (8-30 Days):**
- Joined company 6 months ago
- Previously worked at TechCorp
- Has background in UX design

⏰ Automatic Memory Synthesis

OpenClaw includes intelligent memory decay to keep information relevant:

Memory Decay Tiers

Automatic Synthesis Commands

# Weekly memory synthesis (runs Sunday 3 AM)
openclaw cron add --name "weekly-memory-synthesis" \
  --schedule "0 3 * * 0" \
  --task "Run weekly memory synthesis and update summaries"

# Daily fact extraction
openclaw cron add --name "fact-extraction" \
  --schedule "0 */4 * * *" \
  --task "Extract durable facts from recent conversations"

🎯 Using Your Memory System

Teaching Your Assistant

Just tell it things naturally:

• "Remember that I prefer morning meetings"
• "Sarah's birthday is March 15th"
• "The project deadline moved to next Friday"
• "I'm allergic to shellfish"
• "My manager prefers email over Slack"

Memory Commands

Advanced Memory Features

• Relationship Mapping — Understands connections between people
• Project Context — Links conversations to active work
• Preference Learning — Adapts to your communication style
• Conflict Resolution — Handles contradictory information

🚀 Advanced Memory Workflows

Daily Memory Routine

1. Morning: "What should I focus on today?"
2. During work: Tell your assistant about new people, decisions, changes
3. Evening: "What did we accomplish today?"

Weekly Memory Review

# Review and clean memory every Sunday
openclaw memory status --deep
openclaw memory search "people added this week"
openclaw memory compact --dry-run

Memory Search & Analysis

• Find patterns: "What meetings do I have with Sarah?"
• Track changes: "How has this project evolved?"
• Relationship insights: "Who do I work with most often?"
• Preference analysis: "What communication patterns have you learned?"

Managing To-Do Lists

Setting Up a To-Do System

# workspace/TODO.md

## High Priority
- [ ] Finish quarterly report
- [ ] Call insurance company

## Normal
- [ ] Buy birthday gift for Mom
- [ ] Schedule dentist appointment

## Someday
- [ ] Learn Spanish
- [ ] Organize photo library

Reminders

Never forget anything again:

"Remind me to take medication at 8pm"
"Remind me to call Mom on Sunday at 5pm"
"Remind me about the meeting in 30 minutes"

Project Organization

For bigger projects, create dedicated folders:

✅ Protection Checklist

• Allowlist commands — Restrict shell to safe commands only
• Dedicated user — Run OpenClaw as non-root with limited permissions
• Firewall rules — Block outbound connections except to known APIs
• Separate machine — Don't run on your main computer/server
• Review SECURITY.md — Define explicit boundaries
• Audit logs — Check openclaw gateway logs regularly

Why Self-Hosted is Safer

Essential Security Settings

1. Allowlist Users

{
  "channels": {
    "telegram": {
      "allowlist": ["your_username"]
    }
  }
}

2. Protect Sensitive Info

Create SECURITY.md:

# SECURITY.md

## Never Reveal
- API keys or passwords
- Bank account numbers
- Private addresses

## Always Confirm Before
- Sending messages to others
- Running destructive commands

3. Use Environment Variables

# .env (never commit to git!)
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-xxxxx
TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN=123456:ABC

4. Regular Backups

git init
git add .
git commit -m "Backup"
git remote add origin YOUR-REPO-URL
git push -u origin main

What Data Goes Where?

🚨 Emergency: Locked Out?

🔒 Security Audit Checklist

Use this checklist to verify your setup is secure:

📋 Daily Management Commands

Installing Skills

npx clawdhub install weather
npx clawdhub install github
npx clawdhub install notion

Popular Skills

Using Skills

Once installed, just ask naturally:

• "What's the weather in Tokyo?"
• "Create a GitHub issue for the login bug"
• "Add a meeting tomorrow at 3pm"

Example Commands

How It Works

When you give your assistant a big task, it can create a sub-agent to handle it. The sub-agent works independently and reports back when done.

How to Request Sub-Agents

Just describe what you need. The AI decides when sub-agents are helpful:

• "Research the top 5 project management tools and compare them"
• "Analyze all the PDFs in my reports folder"
• "Check pricing on 10 different hosting providers"

Cron Jobs

{
  "cron": {
    "jobs": [
      {
        "name": "morning-brief",
        "schedule": "0 8 * * *",
        "task": "Give me today's weather and top 3 priorities"
      },
      {
        "name": "weekly-review",
        "schedule": "0 18 * * 5",
        "task": "Summarize what I accomplished this week"
      }
    ]
  }
}

Cron Schedule Cheatsheet

Automation Ideas

Common Issues

Gateway won't start

openclaw gateway logs

Check for: Invalid API key, port in use, missing dependencies.

Bot not responding in Telegram

1. Verify bot token is correct
2. Check if you're in the allowlist
3. Restart: openclaw gateway restart

WhatsApp disconnected

openclaw whatsapp link

Re-scan the QR code.

Out of API credits

Add credits at console.anthropic.com

Memory not working

• Check MEMORY.md exists
• Verify file permissions
• Restart after changes

Getting Help

• Docs: docs.clawd.bot
• Discord: discord.com/invite/clawd
• GitHub: github.com/clawdbot/clawdbot

📧 Personal Inbox Triage

Let your assistant handle email overload:

• Morning digest: "Summarize my unread emails, flag urgent ones"
• Draft responses: "Write a polite decline to this meeting request"
• Smart filtering: "Which emails from this week need my attention?"

Requires: Gmail skill (gog CLI)

📅 Calendar Management

Never miss a meeting or double-book:

• Daily briefing: "What's on my calendar today?"
• Scheduling: "Block 2 hours tomorrow for deep work"
• Conflict check: "Can I fit a 1-hour call on Thursday?"

Requires: Google Calendar skill (gog CLI)

🔬 Research Assistant

Turn your assistant into a research partner:

• Topic deep-dives: "Research the latest on [topic] and summarize in 3 paragraphs"
• Source comparison: "Compare what these 5 articles say about X"
• Literature search: "Find recent papers on [subject] from 2023-2025"

Requires: Web search enabled (built-in)

📰 Daily Briefings & Digests

Wake up to curated information:

• News digest: "Every morning at 8am, send me top tech news"
• Market updates: "Daily summary of stock market movements"
• Custom feeds: "Track mentions of my company name online"

Requires: Cron jobs (see Chapter 16: Automation)

✍️ Writing & Content

Accelerate your writing:

• Draft blog posts: "Write a 500-word post about [topic]"
• Social media: "Turn this article into 5 tweet-sized insights"
• Editing: "Review this document for clarity and grammar"
• Translation: "Translate this to Hindi, keep the tone casual"

💼 Professional Workflows

Domain-specific power uses:

• Doctors: "Summarize this patient case for referral"
• Lawyers: "Draft a response to this legal query"
• Developers: "Review this code and suggest improvements"
• Students: "Explain this concept like I'm a beginner"

🦞 Social Presence

Yes, your AI can have its own social life:

• Moltbook: Join the AI community at moltbook.com
• Auto-posting: Share insights on schedule
• Community engagement: Respond to comments and DMs

Fun fact: This guide was written by Meow 😼, an AI assistant built with OpenClaw!

🏠 Personal Life Management

Life admin, handled:

• Reminders: "Remind me to call mom on Sunday at 6pm"
• Lists: "Add milk to my grocery list"
• Travel: "Find me flights to Delhi in March under ₹5000"
• Expense tracking: "Log this receipt: ₹450 at Swiggy"

🚀 Power User Ideas

Once you're comfortable:

• Multi-step workflows: "Every Monday, summarize last week's emails, create a to-do list, and send it to my Notion"
• Cross-platform sync: "When I add a task in Telegram, also add it to my Todoist"
• Data analysis: "Analyze this spreadsheet and create a chart of trends"
• API integrations: Connect to any service with an API

Step 1: First Login & System Update

Use your VPS provider's browser terminal for initial setup:

apt update && apt upgrade -y

Step 2: Create Backup Sudo User

IMPORTANT: Always create a sudo user BEFORE disabling root password login.

adduser yourname
usermod -aG sudo yourname

Step 3: Firewall Setup

ufw allow OpenSSH
ufw enable

Step 4: Install Node.js & OpenClaw

# Install Node.js 22
curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_22.x | bash -
apt install -y nodejs

# Install OpenClaw
npm install -g openclaw

Step 5: Initialize & Configure

mkdir ~/.openclaw
cd ~/.openclaw
openclaw init

# Edit .env with your API key
nano .env

Step 6: Start as Systemd Service

# This auto-creates and enables the systemd service
openclaw gateway start

# Verify it's running
systemctl status openclaw

Step 7: SSH Key Setup (on your Mac/PC)

# Generate SSH key (if you don't have one)
ssh-keygen -t ed25519
# Press Enter 3 times (defaults)

# Copy key to VPS
ssh-copy-id root@YOUR_VPS_IP
ssh-copy-id yourname@YOUR_VPS_IP

# Test (should NOT ask for password)
ssh root@YOUR_VPS_IP

Step 8: Harden SSH

# Disable password authentication
sed -i 's/^PermitRootLogin yes/PermitRootLogin prohibit-password/' /etc/ssh/sshd_config
sed -i 's/^#PasswordAuthentication yes/PasswordAuthentication no/' /etc/ssh/sshd_config

# Test & apply
sshd -t && systemctl reload ssh

Step 9: Install Security Tools

# Fail2ban - blocks brute force attacks
apt install fail2ban -y
systemctl enable --now fail2ban

# Unattended upgrades - auto security patches
apt install unattended-upgrades -y
dpkg-reconfigure -f noninteractive unattended-upgrades

Step 10: Cloudflare Tunnel (Zero Open Ports)

Expose your web UI securely without opening firewall ports:

# Install cloudflared
curl -L --output /tmp/cloudflared.deb \
  https://github.com/cloudflare/cloudflared/releases/latest/download/cloudflared-linux-amd64.deb
dpkg -i /tmp/cloudflared.deb

# Login to Cloudflare
cloudflared tunnel login

# Create tunnel
cloudflared tunnel create mytunnel
cloudflared tunnel route dns mytunnel chat.yourdomain.com

Step 11: Configure Tunnel

cat > ~/.cloudflared/config.yml << 'EOF'
tunnel: YOUR_TUNNEL_ID
credentials-file: /root/.cloudflared/YOUR_TUNNEL_ID.json
ingress:
  - hostname: chat.yourdomain.com
    service: http://localhost:3000
  - service: http_status:404
EOF

# Install as service
mkdir -p /etc/cloudflared
cp ~/.cloudflared/config.yml /etc/cloudflared/
cp ~/.cloudflared/*.json /etc/cloudflared/
cloudflared service install
systemctl start cloudflared

Step 12: Lock Down Credentials

chmod 700 ~/.openclaw/credentials
chmod 600 ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json

Step 13: Gateway Auth Token

Add to your openclaw.json:

{
  "gateway": {
    "auth": {
      "token": "your-secure-random-token"
    },
    "trustedProxies": ["127.0.0.1", "::1"]
  }
}

Generate a token: openssl rand -hex 16

Connect With Us

• Discord: discord.gg/clawd
• GitHub: github.com/clawdbot