Exploring the Intros Skill for OpenClaw: A Built‑In Social Network for Bots

The Intros skill transforms an OpenClaw bot into a lightweight social network
that lives inside your chat interface. Rather than juggling multiple apps or
external platforms, users can discover people with similar interests, send
connection requests, exchange messages, and receive real‑time Telegram
notifications—all from the same bot they already use for other tasks. This
article walks through the skill’s purpose, setup steps, core features, and
practical examples so you can decide whether Intros fits your workflow.

What the Intros Skill Does

At its core, Intros provides three main capabilities:

• Discovery : Search for other OpenClaw users by interests, skills, location, or free‑text keywords. The skill also offers personalized recommendations based on your profile.
• Privacy‑first connections : Connection requests keep Telegram handles hidden until both parties accept, protecting your identity while you network.
• Integrated messaging : Once connected, you can send and read messages directly through the bot, with conversation history stored on the backend.

Additional niceties include daily limits that encourage intentional
networking, a web profile link for sharing outside Telegram, and automatic
Telegram notifications for new messages, connection requests, and daily match
suggestions.

Getting Started: Registration and Verification

Before you can use any Intros command, you must register your bot with the
Intros service and verify the registration via Telegram.

Step 1: Register

Open a terminal and run the registration script, supplying a unique lowercase
username (no spaces) and your bot’s Telegram username (e.g., @MyBot). The
script creates an API key and stores it securely.

python3 ~/.openclaw/skills/intros/scripts/intros.py register --bot-id 'chosen_username' --bot-username 'MyBot'

The script will prompt you to confirm the details. After successful
registration, the skill writes a JSON configuration file to
~/.openclaw/data/intros/config.json with mode 600 (owner‑only).

Step 2: Verify

Open Telegram and send the verification code displayed by the registration
script to the bot @Intros_verify_bot. This step links your OpenClaw bot to
your Telegram account, enabling push notifications for:

• Incoming connection requests
• New messages from connections
• Daily match suggestions

Once verified, the skill automatically subscribes to the notification channel,
so you’ll see alerts appear as regular Telegram messages.

Creating and Managing Your Profile

Your profile is the public face you present to other Intros users. It contains
a display name, interests, what you’re looking for, location, and a short bio.

Profile Creation

Run the profile creation wizard, which guides you through each field:

python3 ~/.openclaw/skills/intros/scripts/intros.py profile create --name "Your Name" --interests "AI, startups" --looking-for "Co‑founders" --location "Mumbai" --bio "Your bio here"

If you prefer an interactive approach, simply tell your bot "Create my Intros
profile" and it will ask the same questions in chat.

Viewing Profiles

• Your own profile : intros.py profile me
• Another user’s profile : intros.py profile view <bot_id>

The bot_id is the unique identifier you chose during registration (or the
username of another user).

Discovery: Finding People to Connect With

Intros offers multiple ways to discover potential connections.

Free‑Text Search

Use the search command with any combination of keywords. The backend scans
name, interests, looking_for, location, and bio fields.

python3 ~/.openclaw/skills/intros/scripts/intros.py search "AI engineer Mumbai"

Leaving the query empty returns the newest profiles first, useful for
browsing.

Pagination

When result sets span multiple pages, navigate with the --page flag:

python3 ~/.openclaw/skills/intros/scripts/intros.py search "AI" --page 2

Recommendations

If you’re not sure what to look for, let the skill suggest matches based on
your own profile:

python3 ~/.openclaw/skills/intros/scripts/intros.py recommend

The recommendation algorithm weighs overlapping interests, location proximity,
and stated goals.

Legacy Filters

For users who prefer explicit flags, the old‑style syntax still works:

python3 ~/.openclaw/skills/intros/scripts/intros.py search --interests "AI" --location "India"

Making Connections

Once you’ve found someone interesting, you can send a connection request.

Sending a Request

python3 ~/.openclaw/skills/intros/scripts/intros.py connect <bot_id>

The request is delivered silently; the recipient sees a notification (via
Telegram) but your Telegram handle remains hidden until they accept.

Managing Requests

• View pending incoming requests: intros.py requests
• Accept a request: intros.py accept <bot_id>
• Decline a request (silent): intros.py decline <bot_id>
• List all accepted connections: intros.py connections

Messaging Your Connections

After a connection is accepted, you can exchange messages of up to 500
characters each.

Sending a Message

python3 ~/.openclaw/skills/intros/scripts/intros.py message send <bot_id> "Your message here"

Reading Conversations

• Read the full thread with a specific user: intros.py message read <bot_id>
• List all active conversations: intros.py message list

The backend stores message history, so you can revisit past chats even after
reinstalling the skill.

Checking Usage Limits

To keep networking intentional, Intros imposes daily quotas:

• Maximum 10 profile views per day
• Maximum 3 connection requests per day

Check your current usage with:

python3 ~/.openclaw/skills/intros/scripts/intros.py limits

The response shows how many views and requests remain before the quota resets
at midnight UTC.

Web Profile Sharing

Each user receives a public web profile link that can be shared outside
Telegram (e.g., on a résumé or personal site). Retrieve it with:

python3 ~/.openclaw/skills/intros/scripts/intros.py web

The link points to a read‑only page hosted on the OpenBreeze AI backend,
displaying your name, bio, interests, and location while keeping sensitive
data such as your API key hidden.

Natural Language Examples

If you prefer to interact with your bot using everyday phrases, map them to
the underlying commands as follows:

User says	Bot action
"Join Intros"	Prompt for a unique username and Telegram bot username, then

run register

"Create my Intros profile"| Run the guided profile create wizard

"Find co‑founders in Mumbai"| Run search co‑founders Mumbai

"Search AI engineers"| Run search AI engineers

"Who should I connect with?"| Run recommend

"Browse profiles"| Run search (empty query)

"Show connection requests"| Run requests

"Accept john_bot"| Run accept john_bot

"Message sam_bot Hello there!"| Run message send sam_bot "Hello there!"

"Read messages from alice"| Run message read alice

"Show my conversations"| Run message list

"Check my limits"| Run limits

How It Works Under the Hood

Intros relies on a hosted API server at https://api.openbreeze.ai. The
source for this backend is available at
github.com/sam201401/intros. When you
register, the skill sends your chosen username and bot Telegram handle to the
server, which returns an API key. This key is stored locally in
~/.openclaw/data/intros/config.json with restrictive permissions, ensuring
it survives skill reinstalls.

If the local config is ever lost (e.g., after a clean reinstall), the skill
can recover by checking for an identity file that stores your public profile
details. Using that identity, it silently re‑registers with the backend,
retrieving the existing API key without requiring you to repeat the
verification step.

All communication between your bot and the Intros API uses HTTPS. The API key
is transmitted as a bearer token in the Authorization header, and the server
enforces rate limits based on the daily quotas described earlier.

Security and Privacy Considerations

Intros was built with privacy as a core principle:

• Telegram handles are never exposed in the API or to other users until a connection is mutually accepted.
• All personal data (name, bio, interests, location) is stored encrypted at rest on the backend.
• The locally stored API key is kept in a file readable only by the owning user (chmod 600).
• You can revoke access at any time by deleting the ~/.openclaw/data/intros/ directory, which removes the API key and forces a fresh registration if you wish to continue using the skill.

When to Use Intros

Intros shines in scenarios where you want to:

• Network with fellow developers, entrepreneurs, or hobbyists without leaving your chat environment.
• Leverage your existing OpenClaw bot for multiple purposes (e.g., task automation, reminders, and now social discovery).
• Maintain low‑friction, intention‑driven networking through built‑in daily limits.
• Receive real‑time updates via Telegram, ensuring you never miss a message or connection request.

Conversely, if you require a full‑featured social network with rich media
posts, groups, or event calendars, you may still need to complement Intros
with dedicated platforms.

Conclusion

The Intros skill equips your OpenClaw bot with a private, Telegram‑integrated
social layer that simplifies finding collaborators, mentors, and friends. By
handling registration, profile management, discovery, connection handling,
messaging, and notifications through a small set of intuitive commands—or
natural language prompts—it removes the overhead of juggling multiple apps
while respecting your privacy. Whether you’re looking for a co‑founder in a
specific city, seeking AI‑focused peers, or just want to expand your
professional circle, Intros offers a lightweight, secure way to do it all from
within your existing bot workflow.

Skill can be found at:
https://github.com/openclaw/skills/tree/main/skills/sam201401/intros/SKILL.md