# Your First 24 Hours with OpenClaw

Canonical: https://clawdocx.com/docs/first-24-hours
Author: Sam Okafor
Difficulty: BEGINNER
Published: 2026-02-24
Updated: 2026-09-19

> 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.

## You've Installed OpenClaw — Now What?

Congratulations! You have OpenClaw running. But a fresh install is like a new phone with no apps, functional but not very useful yet. This guide walks you through the essential first steps to turn your agent from a blank slate into a genuinely helpful assistant.

> **Note**
>
> This guide assumes you've already completed installation. If not, check our setup guides for [Mac Mini](/docs/getting-started-mac-mini), [Linux](/docs/getting-started-linux), [VPS](/docs/getting-started-vps), or [Windows WSL2](/docs/getting-started-windows-wsl).

### The Plan

| Hour | Task | Why It Matters |
|------|------|----------------|
| **0-1** | Craft your SOUL.md | Gives your agent a personality and working style |
| **1-2** | Connect a messaging channel | So you can actually talk to your agent |
| **2-3** | Install your first skill | Teaches your agent a new capability |
| **3-4** | Set up your first cron job | Makes your agent proactive |
| **4+** | Explore and iterate | Make it yours |

---

## Hour 1: Craft Your SOUL.md

SOUL.md is your agent's personality file, it defines who your agent *is*. Without it, you get generic ChatGPT-style responses. With a good SOUL.md, you get an assistant that feels personal.

### Where Is It?

```bash
# Your workspace directory
ls ~/.openclaw/workspace/SOUL.md
```

### Write Your First SOUL.md

Open it in your favorite editor:

```bash
nano ~/.openclaw/workspace/SOUL.md
```

Here's a great starter template:

```markdown
# SOUL.md — Who You Are

## Core Identity
- You are my personal AI assistant
- Be direct and concise — skip the fluff
- Have opinions when asked
- If you can figure something out yourself, do it before asking me

## Communication Style
- Casual but competent
- Use emoji sparingly, not excessively
- Be honest when you don't know something
- Keep responses short unless I ask for detail

## About Me
- Name: [Your name]
- Timezone: [Your timezone]
- Work: [What you do]
- Interests: [Key interests]

## Boundaries
- Don't send emails or public messages without asking first
- Don't share my personal info in group chats
- Ask before taking any action that can't be undone
```

> **Note**
>
> You can always update SOUL.md later, in fact, you should! The best SOUL.md files evolve over time as you figure out what works. Start simple and iterate.

### Test It

After saving SOUL.md, restart your gateway:

```bash
openclaw gateway restart
```

Then send your agent a message and see if the personality shines through.

---

## Hour 2: Connect a Messaging Channel

You need a way to talk to your agent outside of the terminal. Telegram is the easiest to set up.

### Option A: Telegram (Recommended)

1. **Create a bot**: Message [@BotFather](https://t.me/BotFather) on Telegram
2. Send `/newbot` and follow the prompts
3. Copy the bot token (looks like `123456:ABC-DEF1234ghIkl-zyx57W2v1u123ew11`)
4. Add it to your OpenClaw config:

There is no `openclaw setup telegram`. The documented command writes the token for you:

```bash
openclaw channels add --channel telegram --token <bot-token>
```

5. Start a chat with your bot on Telegram and send "Hello!"

### Option B: Discord

There is no `openclaw setup discord` either, and Discord is not an interactive sign-in channel: it authenticates with a bot token, the same shape as Telegram above. Create the bot in the Discord Developer Portal, then hand OpenClaw the token:

```bash
openclaw channels add --channel discord --token "<token>"
```

The Discord setup page keeps the token out of the config file instead, exporting `DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN` and applying a patch that stores an env SecretRef with `openclaw config patch --file ./discord.patch.json5`.

### Option C: Other Channels

OpenClaw supports WhatsApp, Slack, iMessage, and more. See our [Messaging Channels guide](/docs/messaging-channels) for full setup instructions.

### Verify It Works

Send a message to your agent. You should get a response within a few seconds. Try asking:
- "What time is it?"
- "Tell me about yourself" (tests SOUL.md)
- "What can you help me with?"

---

## Hour 3: Install Your First Skill

Skills teach your agent new capabilities. Let's install one.

### Browse Available Skills

```bash
# See what's popular on ClawHub
openclaw skills search weather

# Or browse categories
openclaw skills search --category productivity
```

### Install the Weather Skill

A great first skill, simple, useful, and satisfying to see work:

```bash
openclaw skills install weather
```

Now test it by messaging your agent:
> "What's the weather like in New York?"

Your agent should fetch real weather data and respond.

### Install a Few More Essentials

```bash
# Google Workspace (Gmail + Calendar)
openclaw skills install gog

# GitHub integration
openclaw skills install github

# Web search
openclaw skills install web-search
```

> **Note**
>
> Don't go overboard installing skills on day one. Each skill adds context to your agent's system prompt, which increases API costs. Start with 3-5 essential skills and add more as needed.

---

## Hour 4: Set Up Your First Cron Job

Cron jobs make your agent proactive, doing things on a schedule without you asking.

### The Morning Briefing

The most popular first cron job: a daily morning briefing delivered to your messaging channel.

```bash
openclaw cron create \
  --schedule "0 8 * * *" \
  --task "Check my calendar for today's events, check for important unread emails, and get the weather forecast. Send me a brief morning summary." \
  --channel telegram
```

This will run every day at 8:00 AM and send you a summary.

### A Few More Useful Cron Jobs

```bash
# Reminder to take a break (every 2 hours during work)
openclaw cron create \
  --schedule "0 10,12,14,16 * * 1-5" \
  --task "Send a brief, friendly reminder to take a 5-minute break. Be creative with it." \
  --channel telegram

# Weekly project check-in
openclaw cron create \
  --schedule "0 9 * * 1" \
  --task "Review any GitHub notifications and give me a Monday morning project status update." \
  --channel telegram
```

### Verify Cron Jobs

```bash
# List all cron jobs
openclaw cron list

# Check recent runs
openclaw cron runs --limit 5
```

---

## Exploring Further

You've got the basics! Here's what to explore next:

### Quick Wins
- **MEMORY.md**: Create `~/.openclaw/workspace/MEMORY.md` for things you want your agent to always remember
- **Heartbeat checks**: not a workspace file. OpenClaw "no longer creates `HEARTBEAT.md` in new workspaces or reads it at runtime", and those instructions now live in monitor scratch: find the job id with `openclaw automations list --all`, then edit it with `openclaw automations scratch <jobId>`
- **Custom commands**: Teach your agent project-specific knowledge

### Recommended Next Guides
- [SOUL.md Mastery](/docs/soul-md-guide), Advanced personality crafting
- [Understanding Skills](/docs/skills-explained), Deep dive into the skill system
- [Heartbeat & Cron Configuration](/docs/heartbeat-config), Optimize scheduling
- [Cost Optimization](/docs/cost-optimization), Keep API bills manageable
- [Top 20 Must-Have Skills](/docs/top-20-skills), Curated skill recommendations

### Common Day-1 Mistakes to Avoid

1. **Installing too many skills**: start with 3-5 and add as needed
2. **Writing a novel for SOUL.md**: keep it concise; your agent reads it every message
3. **Setting heartbeat too frequent**: every 30 minutes is fine; every 5 minutes burns tokens
4. **Not setting up a messaging channel**: terminal-only usage misses the point

> **Note**
>
> The best OpenClaw setups evolve over weeks, not hours. Don't try to get everything perfect on day one. Use it, notice what's missing, and add gradually. That's how power users do it.

## Sources

- [OpenClaw: Retired HEARTBEAT.md workspace file](https://docs.openclaw.ai/reference/templates/HEARTBEAT)
- [OpenClaw: Where things live on disk](https://docs.openclaw.ai/help/faq/where-things-live-on-disk)
- [OpenClaw: Channels](https://docs.openclaw.ai/cli/channels)
- [OpenClaw: Telegram setup](https://docs.openclaw.ai/channels/telegram/setup)
- [OpenClaw: Discord setup](https://docs.openclaw.ai/channels/discord/setup)
- [OpenClaw: Docker](https://docs.openclaw.ai/docker)