Think setting up your own AI assistant requires a PhD in computer science? Think again.

OpenClaw lets you run a fully-featured AI assistant on your own machine in under 10 minutes. No cloud subscriptions. No complex server configurations. Just your computer, a terminal, and a few commands.

Here’s exactly how to do it.

What You’ll Get

By the end of this guide, you’ll have:

  • A personal AI assistant connected to your preferred messaging app
  • The ability to automate emails, calendar management, and research
  • Full control over your data (nothing leaves your machine unless you want it to)
  • A foundation you can expand with 100+ skills

Prerequisites

You’ll need:

  • A Mac, Linux machine, or Windows with WSL
  • Node.js 18+ installed
  • An API key from OpenAI, Anthropic, or access to a local model like Ollama

That’s it. Seriously.

Step 1: Install OpenClaw (2 minutes)

Open your terminal and run:

npm install -g openclaw

Verify the installation:

openclaw --version

You should see something like openclaw v0.x.x. If you do, you’re ready to go.

Step 2: Initialize Your Workspace (1 minute)

Create a workspace for your assistant:

openclaw init

This creates a .openclaw directory in your home folder with everything your assistant needs to get started.

Step 3: Configure Your AI Provider (2 minutes)

OpenClaw needs to know which AI model to use. Open the config:

openclaw config

Add your API key. For OpenAI:

ai:
  provider: openai
  model: gpt-4
  apiKey: sk-your-api-key-here

Prefer Claude? Use:

ai:
  provider: anthropic
  model: claude-3-opus
  apiKey: sk-ant-your-key-here

Want to run completely locally with Ollama? Even simpler:

ai:
  provider: ollama
  model: llama2

Step 4: Connect a Messaging Channel (3 minutes)

This is where OpenClaw shines. You can talk to your assistant through:

  • Telegram
  • WhatsApp
  • Discord
  • Signal
  • iMessage
  • Slack

Let’s use Telegram since it’s the quickest to set up.

  1. Open Telegram and search for @BotFather
  2. Send /newbot and follow the prompts
  3. Copy your bot token
  4. Add it to your config:
channels:
  telegram:
    botToken: your-telegram-bot-token
  1. Start OpenClaw:
openclaw start
  1. Open Telegram, find your new bot, and say hello!

Step 5: Test It Out (2 minutes)

Try these commands with your new assistant:

  • “What time is it in Tokyo?”
  • “Summarize the top Hacker News stories”
  • “Set a reminder to call mom in 2 hours”
  • “What’s on my calendar tomorrow?” (after connecting your calendar)

Your assistant responds instantly, runs locally, and keeps your data private.

What’s Next?

You’ve just set up a foundation. Here’s how to make it even more powerful:

Add Skills

Skills are pre-built capabilities you can add with one command:

openclaw skills install gmail
openclaw skills install calendar
openclaw skills install github

Now your assistant can send emails, manage your schedule, and review pull requests. See our top 10 skills for beginners for more recommendations.

Create Automations

Want your assistant to check your email every morning and summarize important messages? Create a cron job:

cron:
  - schedule: "0 8 * * *"
    task: "Check my inbox and summarize urgent emails"

Connect More Channels

Add WhatsApp for mobile, Discord for your team, or Slack for work. Your assistant lives wherever you do.

Why This Matters

Most AI assistants lock you into their ecosystem. Your data lives on their servers. Your conversations train their models. Your workflows depend on their uptime.

OpenClaw flips that model. You own everything. Run it on your laptop, a Raspberry Pi, or a cloud VM you control. Switch AI providers whenever you want. Keep your data on your terms.

That’s not just privacy—it’s freedom.

Common Questions

Does it cost money to run?

Only what you pay for AI model calls. Using Ollama? Completely free. Using GPT-4? About $0.01-0.03 per interaction.

Can it run 24/7?

Yes! Deploy to a Raspberry Pi or cheap VPS and it runs forever. Many users run OpenClaw on a $5/month server. The Mac Mini is the most popular always-on setup.

Is it actually secure?

Your data stays on your machine unless you explicitly share it. The code is open source—you can verify everything yourself. Read our complete security guide for details.

What if I get stuck?

The Discord community is incredibly helpful, and the official docs cover every edge case.

That’s 10 minutes to a personal AI assistant. No PhD required.

Ready to go deeper? Check out our Learning Journey for step-by-step tutorials, or browse the Skills Directory to see what your assistant can do.