Originally published on Remote OpenClaw.
OpenClaw's installer is deceptively simple. One command, a handful of prompts, and you have a working AI assistant connected to Telegram. But getting there cleanly — especially if you haven't done it before — involves a few steps that trip people up.
This guide walks through the full process: installation, model configuration, Telegram connection, web search, and file access. Based on the official setup flow as of February 2026.
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What You'll Need Before Starting
- A Telegram account (to chat with your bot)
- Node.js installed on your system (v22+)
- Terminal access
- An API key for your preferred AI provider (Anthropic, OpenAI, or Gemini)
You don't need to clone a repository, configure YAML files manually, or understand Docker. The installer handles the complexity.
Step 1: Install OpenClaw
Open your terminal and run:
curl -fsSL https://openclaw.ai/install.sh | bash
The installer detects your operating system, verifies requirements, and handles everything automatically. When it finishes, you'll see a confirmation screen with your version details — and OpenClaw will launch an interactive terminal UI (TUI) for the setup process.
Step 2: Choose QuickStart Onboarding
The TUI will ask for your onboarding mode. Select QuickStart using the spacebar, then press Enter. This applies safe defaults so you can focus on getting the bot working rather than configuring every option.
Step 3: Which AI Model Should You Select for OpenClaw?
OpenClaw supports Anthropic Claude (recommended), OpenAI GPT-4o, and Google Gemini, with Claude Sonnet as the default model for most users.
- Anthropic (Claude) — Recommended for most users. Requires an API key from console.anthropic.com. Claude Sonnet is the default model.
- OpenAI (GPT-4o) — Good fallback option.
- Google Gemini — Available via OAuth login (no API key needed, but check Gemini's current ToS for third-party tool usage before selecting this).
For Claude: select Anthropic, paste your API key when prompted, and choose your model. The installer will show available models based on your API tier.
Step 4: How Do You Connect OpenClaw to Telegram?
After model setup, the installer will prompt you to configure a chat interface. Select Telegram.
Then:
- Open Telegram on your phone
- Search for @botfather and start a chat
- Send
/newbotand follow the prompts to name your bot - Copy the bot token BotFather gives you
- Paste the token into the OpenClaw terminal prompt
Your OpenClaw instance is now connected to a Telegram bot you own.
Step 5: Configure Skills (Skip for Now)
The installer will ask about Skills — a folder of tools your bot can use for specific tasks. For a first setup, press spacebar on "Skip for now" and press Enter. You can add skills later once the base setup is working.
Step 6: Skip API Keys and Hooks
The next prompts ask about additional API keys (for things like web search) and hooks. Skip both for now — select No for API keys and skip hooks. We'll add web search separately in a moment.
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Step 7: Choose Your Interface
OpenClaw offers two ways to interact:
TUI (Terminal User Interface) — Stays in your command line. Best for first-time setup because you get immediate feedback as your bot configures itself.
Control UI (Browser-Based) — A web dashboard that opens in your browser. Available at the URL shown in your terminal.
For first setup, choose Hatch in TUI. The bot will ask you a few personality questions: what it should call itself, what it should call you. Answer these and your bot confirms its setup with a personalized response.
Step 8: Connect via Telegram
Your bot is now running. To access it from your phone:
- Open the Telegram bot you created in Step 4
- Send
/start - Copy the configuration details the bot provides
- Paste them back into the conversation as instructed
Once confirmed, you can chat with your bot from Telegram — which means accessing it from anywhere, not just your terminal.
Test it with a simple message. Your bot should respond.
How Do You Add Web Search to OpenClaw?
OpenClaw web search requires a free Brave Search API key from api.search.brave.com, which enables your agent to search the web in real-time for current information.
- Go to api.search.brave.com and get a free API key
- Ask your bot through Telegram: "How can I set up web search?"
- Follow the steps it provides — it will walk you through connecting the Brave Search API
Once configured, your bot can search the web in real-time. Test it by asking for recent news on any topic.
File Access
OpenClaw file access enables your agent to read from and write to your filesystem, allowing it to research topics, compile findings into markdown files with sources, and summarise documents.
To test it, send a message like: "Research [topic] and save your findings to a markdown file." The bot will browse the web, compile what it finds, and write a .md file to your working directory — complete with sources.
This is also where the security considerations start to matter. See the next section.
What Are the Basic OpenClaw Security Precautions?
OpenClaw security for personal use starts with running on a dedicated $6/month VPS instead of your primary computer, using burner accounts for connected services, and scoping the working directory to specific folders.
A few basics for safe personal use:
Run on a dedicated machine or VPS, not your primary computer. If your bot has access to your main machine, it has access to everything on it. A separate $6/month VPS limits the blast radius if something goes wrong.
Don't connect real accounts initially. Use dedicated burner accounts for anything you connect (Gmail, GitHub, etc.) — accounts you could lose without significant impact. Your primary email, banking services, and work accounts should stay disconnected.
Keep the working directory scoped. Tell OpenClaw explicitly which directories it can use. Don't let it roam your entire filesystem.
Use a Telegram bot, not your personal Telegram. The bot token approach already does this — your personal account isn't exposed.
For a more thorough security setup, see our OpenClaw Security Hardening Guide.
What's Running Where
OpenClaw after setup runs as a local process connecting to Telegram via your bot token and making API calls to your chosen AI provider on whatever machine you installed it on.
- Runs as a local process (or service if you configured a daemon)
- Connects to Telegram via your bot token
- Makes API calls to your chosen AI provider
- Operates on whatever machine you installed it on
For 24/7 availability — so your bot keeps running when you close your laptop — you need either a VPS with the process running as a systemd service, or a managed deployment. That's where Remote OpenClaw comes in.
Links:
- OpenClaw official docs: docs.openclaw.ai
- Telegram bot creation: Start a chat with @botfather on Telegram
- Brave Search API (free tier): api.search.brave.com
Want to skip the server setup? A marketplace persona comes pre-configured with skills, memory, and daily schedules — deploy on any VPS in about 15 minutes. Or follow the Hostinger VPS guide for a full walkthrough.
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