OpenClaw Guide

OpenClaw is a messaging gateway that connects AI agents to 24+ communication platforms. This skill is the reference for everything after the bot is installed — channels, use cases, memory, cron, MCP, OAuth, troubleshooting.

Current production version assumed: 2026.5.x (latest 2026.4.x is also fully covered). Official docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai/ · Source: https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw

Setup (install OpenClaw first)

This skill is consultation-only. If the user doesn't have an OpenClaw bot yet, install both skills together and run the companion wizard:

bash

npx skills add CodeAlive-AI/ceo-ai-os@install-openclaw-to-yc -g
npx skills add CodeAlive-AI/ceo-ai-os@openclaw-guide -g

Then tell the agent: "install OpenClaw on Yandex Cloud Kazakhstan". The

install-openclaw-to-yc

skill takes over and uses this one for any post-install consultation.

For other hosts (local Mac, GCP, AWS, bare metal) the OpenClaw upstream documentation at https://docs.openclaw.ai/start/getting-started is the canonical guide — no CEO AI OS wizard exists for them yet.

How to read this skill

The full content is split across nine reference files. Read only the one that matches the user's current question — bringing all of them into context wastes the budget.

If the user asks about…	Read
Agent runtime, bootstrap files, sessions, message flow, chat commands, skills	`references/01-architecture.md`
MEMORY.md, daily notes, dreaming, memory backends, embedding providers, sync safety	`references/02-memory.md`
Cron jobs (add / list / rm), heartbeat, scheduled tasks, timezones, delivery flags	`references/03-cron-heartbeat.md`
MCP servers (Exa, PostHog, Grafana, …), `openclaw mcp set` , transports, tool naming	`references/04-mcp.md`
`openclaw.json` schema, key CLI commands, paths, auth modes, exec approvals, systemd units	`references/05-config-and-cli.md`
OAuth re-auth ( `models auth login` bugs, orphan profiles), server-side debugging, channel caveats	`references/06-troubleshooting.md`
Use cases — morning brief, research workflows, competitive radar, decision playbook, email handler, meeting prep	`references/use-cases.md`
Channels — Telegram details, adding Discord / Slack / WhatsApp / iMessage	`references/channels.md`
CodeAlive search inside the bot — `semantic_search` , `grep_search` , `chat` over indexed repos	`references/codealive-context-engine.md`

Critical pitfalls (always cross-check before infrastructure changes)

These are the recurring footguns. Read this table before any planned restart, OAuth re-auth, cron edit, or schema change.

#	Title	When it bites
1	Isolated cron sessions can't deliver to Telegram	Use `--session main` or `session:cron-<name>` , not `isolated`
2	Telegram adapter silently dies after ~12h	Watchdog timer restarts gateway on outbound errors
6	Gateway auth handshake timeout on small VMs	`gateway.auth.mode: none` is safe on loopback
7	Bootstrap file truncation drops the middle	Keep individual files compact; truncation = 70% head + 20% tail
14	`cron add` syntax — `--message` (not positional), `--name` (no `--id` ), `cron rm` (no `delete` )	All cron CLI work
18	Cron jobs without explicit `--timeout-seconds` use 600s default	Always set explicitly
19	Exec approval blocked when no Telegram approver	`tools.exec.security: full` + `ask: off` on headless server
20	`openclaw-monitor.timer` kills gateway during slow startup	Stop timer → restart → wait `/health=200` → start timer
21	`models auth login` clobbers other providers + schema gotcha	Backup config first; correct path is `agents.defaults.models` , NOT `models.configuredModels`
22	`composio` CLI fails with EACCES posix_spawn from `gcloud ssh`	Run `cd /tmp` first or invoke as root
23	OAuth re-auth leaves orphan profiles	Decode `access` JWT, compare `chatgpt_account_id` , prune duplicates

Full numbered list with workarounds lives in the CEO AI OS workspace repo at

OPENCLAW_PITFALLS.md

. When a new pitfall surfaces, add it there — single source of truth.

Upstream documentation index (quick links)

These are direct URLs into docs.openclaw.ai for occasions when this skill's references don't cover a feature. Prefer this skill's references first — they're tuned for the workshop / personal CEO bot context.

Getting started

Topic	URL
Getting Started	https://docs.openclaw.ai/start/getting-started
Onboarding Wizard	https://docs.openclaw.ai/start/wizard
Documentation Hub	https://docs.openclaw.ai/start/hubs
DM/Node Pairing	https://docs.openclaw.ai/start/pairing

Gateway & configuration

Topic	URL
Gateway Runbook	https://docs.openclaw.ai/gateway
Configuration	https://docs.openclaw.ai/gateway/configuration
Authentication	https://docs.openclaw.ai/gateway/authentication
Sandboxing	https://docs.openclaw.ai/gateway/sandboxing
Security	https://docs.openclaw.ai/gateway/security
Troubleshooting	https://docs.openclaw.ai/gateway/troubleshooting

Channels

Topic	URL
Telegram	https://docs.openclaw.ai/channels/telegram
WhatsApp	https://docs.openclaw.ai/channels/whatsapp
Discord	https://docs.openclaw.ai/channels/discord
Slack	https://docs.openclaw.ai/channels/slack
iMessage	https://docs.openclaw.ai/channels/imessage
Matrix	https://docs.openclaw.ai/channels/matrix
Mattermost	https://docs.openclaw.ai/channels/mattermost
Groups	https://docs.openclaw.ai/channels/groups

Core concepts

Topic	URL
Agent	https://docs.openclaw.ai/concepts/agent
Agent Workspace	https://docs.openclaw.ai/concepts/agent-workspace
Memory	https://docs.openclaw.ai/concepts/memory
Sessions	https://docs.openclaw.ai/concepts/session
Compaction	https://docs.openclaw.ai/concepts/compaction
Models	https://docs.openclaw.ai/concepts/models

Tools, automation, install

Topic	URL
Skills	https://docs.openclaw.ai/tools/skills
Plugin System	https://docs.openclaw.ai/tools/plugin
Cron Jobs	https://docs.openclaw.ai/automation/cron-jobs
Hooks	https://docs.openclaw.ai/automation/hooks
Webhooks	https://docs.openclaw.ai/automation/webhook
Docker install	https://docs.openclaw.ai/install/docker
CLI Reference	https://docs.openclaw.ai/cli

Companion skill (required at install time)

install-openclaw-to-yc

(sibling) — the wizard that creates the VM, installs OpenClaw, and seeds the workspace. Install it alongside this skill:

bash

npx skills add CodeAlive-AI/ceo-ai-os@install-openclaw-to-yc -g

The two skills cross-reference:

install-openclaw-to-yc

runs the bootstrap and hands off to this guide for everything after. This guide assumes the bot is already up and walks the user through configuration, channels, use cases, and operations.

openclaw-guide

NPX Install

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