Browse guides
OpenClaw documentation & guides
OpenClaw documentation and Claude Code guides: install on Mac mini, Docker, Linux, Windows or VPS, harden security, build skills, manage memory, control cost.
Getting Started
OpenClaw on Mac Mini: Complete Setup Guide
A guide to setting up OpenClaw on a Mac Mini M4: hardware recommendations, macOS preparation, installation, daemon configuration, and headless operation.
OpenClaw on Linux (Ubuntu/Debian): Setup Guide
A guide to installing and configuring OpenClaw on Linux: VPS and dedicated hardware, prerequisites, installation, systemd setup, and firewall configuration.
OpenClaw on Windows (WSL2): Setup Guide
A step-by-step guide to running OpenClaw on Windows using WSL2: installation, Ubuntu setup, configuration, and workarounds for Windows-specific issues.
OpenClaw on a VPS: Complete Setup Guide
Deploy OpenClaw on any VPS provider, including DigitalOcean, Hetzner, Linode, Vultr, and AWS Lightsail, with a complete setup walkthrough.
OpenClaw on Oracle Cloud Free Tier
Run OpenClaw for free forever on Oracle Cloud's always-free ARM Ampere A1 instance. Full walkthrough from account creation to a running agent.
Your First 24 Hours with OpenClaw
What to do after you install OpenClaw: craft your SOUL.md personality, connect a messaging channel, install your first skill, and set up a cron job.
OpenClaw on Raspberry Pi
Turn a Raspberry Pi 4 or Pi 5 into a dedicated OpenClaw home server: OS setup, Node.js ARM installation, performance tuning, heat management, and running 24/7.
Migrating Your OpenClaw to a New Machine
Move your entire OpenClaw setup to a new server or machine without losing data, covering backups, transfer steps, and verification.
OpenClaw + Docker: Containerized Setup
Run OpenClaw in Docker with a production-ready setup: Dockerfile, docker-compose.yml with persistent volumes, environment variables, and health checks.
How do you migrate from Gemini CLI to Antigravity CLI?
Gemini CLI stopped serving free, Pro and Ultra users on June 18, 2026. Install agy, import your extensions, move your skills and rewrite your MCP config.
Security & Hardening
Security Hardening Guide: Lock Down Your Agent
A security hardening guide for OpenClaw: real-world threats, dedicated user accounts, network isolation, exec_approval, FileVault encryption, and auditing.
How to audit a SKILL.md: OpenClaw skill security checks before and after install
SKILL.md security checks end to end: what to read in a skill's SKILL.md, how to read ClawHub's scan state and audit status, and what to verify after install.
SKILL.md security best practices: what an OpenClaw skill can do and how to contain it
SKILL.md security best practices for OpenClaw: what a skill can reach, how to vet one, where its credentials belong, and why SOUL.md is not a control.
Configuration
How do you set up OpenClaw API keys and choose a model?
Where an OpenClaw API key goes, the provider/model refs that use it, and how fallbacks and per-agent models work, with current prices and commands.
Messaging Channels: Complete Setup
Complete guide to connecting OpenClaw to Telegram, WhatsApp, Discord, Slack, iMessage, and other messaging platforms.
Heartbeat & Cron Job Configuration
Understand OpenClaw's heartbeat system: optimize it for cost and performance, configure active hours, set up cron jobs, and monitor autonomous behavior.
Cost Optimization: Keep API Bills Under Control
Practical strategies for reducing OpenClaw API costs: what costs money, model routing, active hours, usage monitoring, and spending limits.
15 Cron Job Recipes You Can Set Up in 5 Minutes
Copy-paste cron job recipes for the most useful automations: morning briefings, email checks, backups, social posting, and more.
The OpenClaw Memory System: Never Lose Context Again
Master OpenClaw's memory system: daily logs, long-term storage, semantic search, and memory maintenance best practices.
Keeping OpenClaw Running 24/7: Process Management Guide
The definitive guide to keeping your OpenClaw agent alive and healthy, comparing systemd, pm2, and tmux for always-on process management.
Skills & Customization
Understanding Skills: The Complete Guide
What you need to know about OpenClaw skills: what they are, how the agent loads and prioritizes them, browsing ClawHub, and installing skills via CLI.
How do you build a custom OpenClaw skill with SKILL.md?
Build an OpenClaw skill from a folder and a SKILL.md: the documented frontmatter fields, where the file loads from, local testing and ClawHub publishing.
SOUL.md Mastery: Crafting Your Agent's Personality
Master the SOUL.md file to craft your OpenClaw agent's personality, communication style, and behavioral guidelines.
Awesome OpenClaw Skills: 20 ClawHub Skills Worth Installing (2026)
The OpenClaw skills worth installing: 20 ClawHub picks grouped by use case, each with its owner-qualified install command and the checks to run first.
Where do agent skills go? .agents/skills, .claude/skills and .github/skills by agent
The Agent Skills spec defines the file, not the folder. Where Claude Code, Codex, Copilot, Cursor, Gemini CLI, Antigravity, OpenClaw and Hermes look.
How to build a ChatGPT plugin: plugin.json, skills and an MCP server
Build a ChatGPT plugin from a portable plugin.json: the required fields, bundling skills and an MCP server, local testing and what submission asks for.
Advanced Topics
Multi-Agent Workflows
An advanced guide to running multiple OpenClaw agents: per-agent workspaces, agent-to-agent communication, and integrating multi-agent setups with Claude Code.
Troubleshooting Common Issues
Solutions for common OpenClaw problems: unresponsive agents, permission errors, skill installation failures, gateway crashes, and messaging connection drops.
The ClawDocx OpenClaw Command Reference
Complete reference for every openclaw CLI command with examples, detailed options, and the openclaw.json configuration file reference.
Build a Content Operations Pipeline with OpenClaw
Build a content operations pipeline with OpenClaw: automated research, AI-assisted drafting, multi-pass editing, CMS publishing, and social cross-posting.
OpenClaw for Developers: The Ultimate Productivity Setup
A developer productivity guide for OpenClaw: set up automated PR reviews, CI/CD monitoring, standup generation, sprint tracking, and deployment workflows.
Browser Automation with Playwright and OpenClaw
Learn how to use Playwright MCP skills with OpenClaw to automate browser tasks: web scraping, form filling, screenshot capture, and price monitoring.
Email Automation: Let Your Agent Handle Your Inbox
Learn how to automate email management with OpenClaw using AgentMail, Gmail integration, smart triage, auto-reply rules, and email-to-task workflows.
Sub-Agents Mastery: Parallel Workflows That Actually Work
Learn when and how to use sub-agents for complex tasks. Fan-out patterns, monitoring, error handling, and real-world examples.