Beginner

Getting Started

OpenClaw installs in one command. The setup has three steps: install the runtime, connect an LLM, connect a messaging channel. Once those are done, you send a message from your phone and your computer responds.

Install OpenClaw

One-line installer on Mac, Windows, or Linux

Connect a model

Add your Claude, OpenAI, or Ollama endpoint

Connect a channel

Link WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord, or another app

Send your first task

Message it from your phone — it acts on your computer

Step 1 — Install

The fastest way on macOS, Linux, or Windows (with WSL) is the one-liner:

curl -fsSL https://openclaw.ai/install.sh | bash

Alternative install methods:

npm: npm install -g openclaw
From source: clone github.com/openclaw/openclaw, then npm install && npm start
macOS companion app: a native menu-bar app (beta) available at openclaw.ai

After install, OpenClaw runs as a background process. Check it's running with openclaw status.

Step 2 — Connect a Model

Edit ~/.openclaw/config.json (created on first run) and add your model:

Claude (Anthropic)

"model": "claude-sonnet-4-6",

"anthropic_api_key": "sk-ant-..."

OpenAI

"model": "gpt-4o",

"openai_api_key": "sk-..."

Local model via Ollama (no API key needed)

"model": "ollama/llama3.3",

"ollama_base_url": "http://localhost:11434"

Step 3 — Connect a Messaging Channel

Run openclaw connect and choose your channel. OpenClaw will walk you through the channel-specific auth flow:

Channel	How to connect
Telegram	Create a bot via @BotFather, paste the token — fastest setup
Discord	Create a Discord application, add bot to your server
WhatsApp	Scan a QR code with WhatsApp on your phone (uses WhatsApp Web protocol)
Slack	Create a Slack App, install to workspace, add bot token
iMessage	macOS only — grant Accessibility permissions to OpenClaw

Start with Telegram — it has the simplest setup and no phone number scanning required.

Step 4 — Your First Task

Once connected, send a message from your channel. Start with something simple to verify the setup is working:

what time is it — verifies the agent is running and responding
list files in my Desktop folder — verifies file system access
run echo hello world in shell — verifies shell access
open google.com in browser — verifies browser (Playwright) access

If a skill is restricted, OpenClaw will tell you what permission to grant in the config. The first run is the hardest — once the four layers are confirmed working, everything else builds on that.

Checklist: Do You Understand This?

Install via one-liner curl script, npm, or from source — all platforms supported
Config lives in ~/.openclaw/config.json — add your API key or local Ollama endpoint
Telegram is the fastest channel to connect; WhatsApp uses QR scan; iMessage is macOS-only
Test incrementally: time → file → shell → browser to confirm each layer works