🦞 OpenClaw Setup — From Zero to AI Assistant

Complete decision tree for first-time setup. Every layer, every choice.

Decision Point

Action / Install Step

Choice / Option

Configuration

Use Case / End State

Layer 1: Hardware — What Are You Running On?

%%{init: {'theme': 'dark', 'themeVariables': {'fontSize': '14px'}}}%%
flowchart TD
    START([🦞 I want to set up OpenClaw]) --> HW{What hardware do you have?}
    
    HW -->|Desktop/Laptop| HW_DESK{Operating System?}
    HW -->|Server/VPS| HW_SERVER[Linux VPS
DigitalOcean, Hetzner,
AWS, etc.]
    HW -->|Single Board| HW_SBC{Which SBC?}
    HW -->|Nothing yet| HW_BUY{Budget?}
    
    HW_DESK -->|macOS| MAC[Mac — Apple Silicon
or Intel]
    HW_DESK -->|Linux| LINUX[Linux Desktop
Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora]
    HW_DESK -->|Windows| WIN[Windows 11
via WSL2]
    
    HW_SBC -->|Raspberry Pi 4/5| PI[Raspberry Pi
ARM64, 4GB+ RAM]
    HW_SBC -->|Other ARM| ARM[Other ARM SBC
Orange Pi, etc.]
    
    HW_BUY -->|Under $100| BUY_PI[Get a Raspberry Pi 5
4GB = $60, 8GB = $80]
    HW_BUY -->|$100-500| BUY_MINI[Used Mac Mini M1/M2
or Linux mini PC]
    HW_BUY -->|$500+| BUY_NEW[Mac Mini M4 $499
or MacBook Air $1099]
    
    MAC --> NODE_REQ[✅ Requirements Met:
Node.js 22+]
    LINUX --> NODE_REQ
    WIN --> WSL[Install WSL2 first
wsl --install] --> NODE_REQ
    PI --> NODE_REQ
    ARM --> NODE_REQ
    HW_SERVER --> NODE_REQ
    BUY_PI --> PI
    BUY_MINI --> MAC
    BUY_NEW --> MAC

    NODE_REQ --> INSTALL[npm i -g openclaw
openclaw onboard]

    style START fill:#f0883e,stroke:#f0883e,color:#000
    style HW fill:#f0883e,stroke:#f0883e,color:#000
    style HW_DESK fill:#f0883e,stroke:#f0883e,color:#000
    style HW_BUY fill:#f0883e,stroke:#f0883e,color:#000
    style HW_SBC fill:#f0883e,stroke:#f0883e,color:#000
    style INSTALL fill:#3fb950,stroke:#3fb950,color:#000
    style NODE_REQ fill:#3fb950,stroke:#3fb950,color:#000
    style WSL fill:#3fb950,stroke:#3fb950,color:#000
    style MAC fill:#58a6ff,stroke:#58a6ff,color:#000
    style LINUX fill:#58a6ff,stroke:#58a6ff,color:#000
    style WIN fill:#58a6ff,stroke:#58a6ff,color:#000
    style PI fill:#58a6ff,stroke:#58a6ff,color:#000
    style ARM fill:#58a6ff,stroke:#58a6ff,color:#000
    style HW_SERVER fill:#58a6ff,stroke:#58a6ff,color:#000
    style BUY_PI fill:#58a6ff,stroke:#58a6ff,color:#000
    style BUY_MINI fill:#58a6ff,stroke:#58a6ff,color:#000
    style BUY_NEW fill:#58a6ff,stroke:#58a6ff,color:#000

Layer 2: LLM Provider — Where Does the Brain Come From?

%%{init: {'theme': 'dark', 'themeVariables': {'fontSize': '14px'}}}%%
flowchart TD
    INSTALL([openclaw onboard]) --> LLM{LLM Provider?}
    
    LLM -->|Cloud API — Best Quality| CLOUD{Which provider?}
    LLM -->|Local LLM — Free & Private| LOCAL{Local setup}
    LLM -->|Free Tier — $0 Cost| FREE{Free options}
    LLM -->|Proxy/Gateway| PROXY{Proxy services}
    
    CLOUD -->|Recommended| ANTH[Anthropic
Claude Opus / Sonnet
Best for agents]
    CLOUD --> OAI[OpenAI
GPT-5.2 / Codex
Great for coding]
    CLOUD --> GOOG[Google
Gemini 2.5 Flash
Fast & cheap]
    CLOUD --> XAI[xAI / Grok
Good for search]
    
    LOCAL --> OLLAMA[Ollama
Qwen3, Llama 3.3,
DeepSeek R1]
    LOCAL --> VLLM[vLLM
Higher performance
needs GPU]
    
    FREE --> OR_FREE[OpenRouter Free
Llama 3.3 70B, DeepSeek R1
50 req/day]
    FREE --> GAIS[Google AI Studio
Gemini Flash free
20 req/day]
    FREE --> GROQ[Groq / Cerebras
Ultra-fast inference
Free tiers]
    
    PROXY --> OR[OpenRouter
100+ models, one API key]
    PROXY --> VERCEL[Vercel AI Gateway]
    PROXY --> CF[Cloudflare AI Gateway]
    PROXY --> VEN[Venice AI
Privacy-first]
    
    ANTH --> CONFIG_MODEL[Set in config:
agents.defaults.model.primary]
    OAI --> CONFIG_MODEL
    GOOG --> CONFIG_MODEL
    XAI --> CONFIG_MODEL
    OLLAMA --> CONFIG_MODEL
    VLLM --> CONFIG_MODEL
    OR_FREE --> CONFIG_MODEL
    GAIS --> CONFIG_MODEL
    GROQ --> CONFIG_MODEL
    OR --> CONFIG_MODEL
    VERCEL --> CONFIG_MODEL
    CF --> CONFIG_MODEL
    VEN --> CONFIG_MODEL
    
    CONFIG_MODEL --> COST{Monthly budget?}
    COST -->|$0| COST_FREE[Local LLM or free tiers
Limited quality/speed]
    COST -->|$5-20| COST_LOW[Sonnet for daily use
Haiku for cron jobs]
    COST -->|$20-50| COST_MID[Opus for chat
Sonnet for automation]
    COST -->|$50+| COST_HIGH[Opus everywhere
Multiple agents
Heavy cron]

    style INSTALL fill:#3fb950,stroke:#3fb950,color:#000
    style LLM fill:#f0883e,stroke:#f0883e,color:#000
    style CLOUD fill:#f0883e,stroke:#f0883e,color:#000
    style LOCAL fill:#f0883e,stroke:#f0883e,color:#000
    style FREE fill:#f0883e,stroke:#f0883e,color:#000
    style PROXY fill:#f0883e,stroke:#f0883e,color:#000
    style COST fill:#f0883e,stroke:#f0883e,color:#000
    style ANTH fill:#58a6ff,stroke:#58a6ff,color:#000
    style OAI fill:#58a6ff,stroke:#58a6ff,color:#000
    style GOOG fill:#58a6ff,stroke:#58a6ff,color:#000
    style XAI fill:#58a6ff,stroke:#58a6ff,color:#000
    style OLLAMA fill:#58a6ff,stroke:#58a6ff,color:#000
    style VLLM fill:#58a6ff,stroke:#58a6ff,color:#000
    style OR_FREE fill:#58a6ff,stroke:#58a6ff,color:#000
    style GAIS fill:#58a6ff,stroke:#58a6ff,color:#000
    style GROQ fill:#58a6ff,stroke:#58a6ff,color:#000
    style OR fill:#58a6ff,stroke:#58a6ff,color:#000
    style VERCEL fill:#58a6ff,stroke:#58a6ff,color:#000
    style CF fill:#58a6ff,stroke:#58a6ff,color:#000
    style VEN fill:#58a6ff,stroke:#58a6ff,color:#000
    style CONFIG_MODEL fill:#bc8cff,stroke:#bc8cff,color:#000
    style COST_FREE fill:#bc8cff,stroke:#bc8cff,color:#000
    style COST_LOW fill:#bc8cff,stroke:#bc8cff,color:#000
    style COST_MID fill:#bc8cff,stroke:#bc8cff,color:#000
    style COST_HIGH fill:#bc8cff,stroke:#bc8cff,color:#000

Layer 3: Channel — How Do You Talk to It?

%%{init: {'theme': 'dark', 'themeVariables': {'fontSize': '14px'}}}%%
flowchart TD
    READY([Model configured]) --> CHAN{How do you want
to talk to it?}
    
    CHAN -->|Mobile first| MOBILE{Phone messaging}
    CHAN -->|Desktop first| DESKTOP{Desktop apps}
    CHAN -->|Team/Group| TEAM{Collaboration}
    CHAN -->|Just CLI| CLI[Terminal only
No channel needed
Use Control UI]
    
    MOBILE -->|Easiest setup| TELE[Telegram ⭐
Create bot via BotFather
Paste token, done]
    MOBILE -->|Most popular| WA[WhatsApp
QR code pairing
Uses your phone number]
    MOBILE -->|Privacy focused| SIG[Signal
signal-cli setup
More complex]
    MOBILE -->|Apple ecosystem| IMSG[iMessage
Requires Mac host
BlueBubbles server]
    
    DESKTOP --> DISC[Discord
Create bot in Dev Portal
Servers + DMs]
    DESKTOP --> SLACK[Slack
Bolt SDK app
Workspace install]
    DESKTOP --> IRC_C[IRC
Any IRC server
Lightweight]
    
    TEAM --> DISC
    TEAM --> SLACK
    TEAM --> GCHAT[Google Chat
Workspace app
HTTP webhook]
    TEAM --> MSTEAMS[Microsoft Teams
Bot Framework
Enterprise]
    TEAM --> MM[Mattermost
Self-hosted Slack alt]
    
    TELE --> SECURITY{DM Security?}
    WA --> SECURITY
    SIG --> SECURITY
    IMSG --> SECURITY
    DISC --> SECURITY
    SLACK --> SECURITY
    CLI --> SECURITY
    IRC_C --> SECURITY
    GCHAT --> SECURITY
    MSTEAMS --> SECURITY
    MM --> SECURITY
    
    SECURITY -->|Just me| SEC_ALLOW[allowFrom: your ID only
Locked to you]
    SECURITY -->|Me + trusted| SEC_PAIR[Pairing mode
Approve new users]
    SECURITY -->|Anyone| SEC_OPEN[Open mode
⚠️ Use with caution]
    
    SEC_ALLOW --> MULTI_CHAN{Add more channels?}
    SEC_PAIR --> MULTI_CHAN
    SEC_OPEN --> MULTI_CHAN
    
    MULTI_CHAN -->|Yes| CHAN
    MULTI_CHAN -->|No| USE_CASES([→ Configure Use Cases])

    style READY fill:#3fb950,stroke:#3fb950,color:#000
    style CHAN fill:#f0883e,stroke:#f0883e,color:#000
    style MOBILE fill:#f0883e,stroke:#f0883e,color:#000
    style DESKTOP fill:#f0883e,stroke:#f0883e,color:#000
    style TEAM fill:#f0883e,stroke:#f0883e,color:#000
    style SECURITY fill:#f0883e,stroke:#f0883e,color:#000
    style MULTI_CHAN fill:#f0883e,stroke:#f0883e,color:#000
    style TELE fill:#58a6ff,stroke:#58a6ff,color:#000
    style WA fill:#58a6ff,stroke:#58a6ff,color:#000
    style SIG fill:#58a6ff,stroke:#58a6ff,color:#000
    style IMSG fill:#58a6ff,stroke:#58a6ff,color:#000
    style DISC fill:#58a6ff,stroke:#58a6ff,color:#000
    style SLACK fill:#58a6ff,stroke:#58a6ff,color:#000
    style CLI fill:#58a6ff,stroke:#58a6ff,color:#000
    style IRC_C fill:#58a6ff,stroke:#58a6ff,color:#000
    style GCHAT fill:#58a6ff,stroke:#58a6ff,color:#000
    style MSTEAMS fill:#58a6ff,stroke:#58a6ff,color:#000
    style MM fill:#58a6ff,stroke:#58a6ff,color:#000
    style SEC_ALLOW fill:#bc8cff,stroke:#bc8cff,color:#000
    style SEC_PAIR fill:#bc8cff,stroke:#bc8cff,color:#000
    style SEC_OPEN fill:#bc8cff,stroke:#bc8cff,color:#000
    style USE_CASES fill:#f778ba,stroke:#f778ba,color:#000

Layer 4: Use Cases — What Do You Want It to Do?

%%{init: {'theme': 'dark', 'themeVariables': {'fontSize': '14px'}}}%%
flowchart TD
    UC([Channel connected!
Now what?]) --> GOAL{Primary use case?}
    
    GOAL -->|Personal Assistant| PA[Daily briefings
Calendar mgmt
Reminders
Web search]
    GOAL -->|Coding Agent| CODE[Code generation
Debugging
Git automation
PR reviews]
    GOAL -->|Business/Research| BIZ[Market research
Data analysis
Report generation
Competitive intel]
    GOAL -->|Trading/Finance| TRADE[Market scanners
Delta screeners
Earnings tracking
Options flow]
    GOAL -->|Content/Social| CONTENT[Newsletter digests
Social monitoring
LinkedIn automation
Content pipeline]
    GOAL -->|Home/Infra| HOME[Server monitoring
Self-healing
Smart home
IoT control]
    
    PA --> ENHANCE{Enhance with...}
    CODE --> ENHANCE
    BIZ --> ENHANCE
    TRADE --> ENHANCE
    CONTENT --> ENHANCE
    HOME --> ENHANCE
    
    ENHANCE --> E_CRON[⏰ Cron Jobs
Scheduled tasks
Automated reports]
    ENHANCE --> E_MULTI[👥 Multi-Agent
Specialized agents
Different models per role]
    ENHANCE --> E_BROWSER[🌐 Browser Automation
Scraping, logins
JS-heavy sites]
    ENHANCE --> E_MEMORY[🧠 Memory & RAG
Long-term recall
Knowledge base]
    ENHANCE --> E_SKILLS[🔧 Skills
ClawHub marketplace
Custom skills]
    ENHANCE --> E_NODES[📱 Node Pairing
Phone camera/location
Remote devices]
    ENHANCE --> E_HOOKS[🪝 Webhooks
Gmail hooks
GitHub events
External triggers]
    
    E_CRON --> DONE([🦞 You're Running OpenClaw!])
    E_MULTI --> DONE
    E_BROWSER --> DONE
    E_MEMORY --> DONE
    E_SKILLS --> DONE
    E_NODES --> DONE
    E_HOOKS --> DONE

    style UC fill:#3fb950,stroke:#3fb950,color:#000
    style GOAL fill:#f0883e,stroke:#f0883e,color:#000
    style ENHANCE fill:#f0883e,stroke:#f0883e,color:#000
    style PA fill:#f778ba,stroke:#f778ba,color:#000
    style CODE fill:#f778ba,stroke:#f778ba,color:#000
    style BIZ fill:#f778ba,stroke:#f778ba,color:#000
    style TRADE fill:#f778ba,stroke:#f778ba,color:#000
    style CONTENT fill:#f778ba,stroke:#f778ba,color:#000
    style HOME fill:#f778ba,stroke:#f778ba,color:#000
    style E_CRON fill:#bc8cff,stroke:#bc8cff,color:#000
    style E_MULTI fill:#bc8cff,stroke:#bc8cff,color:#000
    style E_BROWSER fill:#bc8cff,stroke:#bc8cff,color:#000
    style E_MEMORY fill:#bc8cff,stroke:#bc8cff,color:#000
    style E_SKILLS fill:#bc8cff,stroke:#bc8cff,color:#000
    style E_NODES fill:#bc8cff,stroke:#bc8cff,color:#000
    style E_HOOKS fill:#bc8cff,stroke:#bc8cff,color:#000
    style DONE fill:#3fb950,stroke:#3fb950,color:#000

Complete Path — Quick Reference

%%{init: {'theme': 'dark', 'themeVariables': {'fontSize': '14px'}}}%%
flowchart LR
    A[1. Pick Hardware
Mac/Linux/Pi/VPS] --> B[2. Install Node 22+
npm i -g openclaw]
    B --> C[3. Pick LLM
Cloud/Local/Free]
    C --> D[4. openclaw onboard
Enter API key]
    D --> E[5. Pick Channel
Telegram recommended]
    E --> F[6. Configure Security
allowFrom / pairing]
    F --> G[7. openclaw start
Send first message!]
    G --> H[8. Add Use Cases
Cron, skills, agents]
    
    style A fill:#58a6ff,stroke:#58a6ff,color:#000
    style B fill:#3fb950,stroke:#3fb950,color:#000
    style C fill:#58a6ff,stroke:#58a6ff,color:#000
    style D fill:#3fb950,stroke:#3fb950,color:#000
    style E fill:#58a6ff,stroke:#58a6ff,color:#000
    style F fill:#bc8cff,stroke:#bc8cff,color:#000
    style G fill:#3fb950,stroke:#3fb950,color:#000
    style H fill:#f778ba,stroke:#f778ba,color:#000