Setup Checklist

Your complete guide to going from zero to fully-powered OpenClaw setup.

1 Basic Setup (Required)

Install OpenClaw

Get the CLI tool installed globally

npm install -g openclaw

💡 Or use the one-liner from the official docs

Run the Setup Wizard

Configure your workspace, AI model, and gateway

openclaw

💡 Choose 'local' gateway mode to start — easiest for beginners

Start the Gateway

Launch the OpenClaw service

openclaw gateway start

💡 Gateway runs in the background, handling all requests

2 Power-Ups (Recommended)

Brave Search

Enable web search for your AI

Free tier: 2,000 queries/month

Why: Let your AI search the web, check facts, find current information

Get key: https://brave.com/search/api/

openclaw config set tools.web.search.provider brave
openclaw config set tools.web.search.apiKey 'YOUR_BRAVE_API_KEY'
openclaw gateway restart

Test: Search for OpenClaw documentation

Cognee Knowledge Graph Memory

Upgrade from simple text memory to relationship-aware knowledge graphs

Requires: Docker Desktop

Why: Tracks entities and relationships — 'Ever works on Project X' not just text matching

# 1. Install Docker Desktop
# https://docker.com/products/docker-desktop

# 2. Download and start Cognee
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/topoteretes/cognee-integrations/main/integrations/openclaw/cognee-docker-compose.yaml
docker compose -f cognee-docker-compose.yaml up -d

# 3. Register a user
curl -X POST "http://localhost:8000/api/v1/auth/register" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"email": "you@example.com", "password": "your-password"}'

# 4. Login to get API key
curl -X POST "http://localhost:8000/api/v1/auth/login" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded" \
  -d 'username=you@example.com&password=your-password'
# Copy the access_token from response

# 5. Install and configure plugin
openclaw plugins install @cognee/cognee-openclaw

openclaw config set plugins.slots.memory memory-cognee
openclaw config set plugins.entries.memory-cognee.enabled true
openclaw config set plugins.entries.memory-cognee.config.baseUrl 'http://localhost:8000'
openclaw config set plugins.entries.memory-cognee.config.apiKey 'YOUR_COGNEE_TOKEN'
openclaw config set plugins.entries.memory-cognee.config.datasetName 'my-memory'
openclaw config set plugins.entries.memory-cognee.config.searchType 'GRAPH_COMPLETION'
openclaw config set plugins.entries.memory-cognee.config.autoRecall true
openclaw config set plugins.entries.memory-cognee.config.autoIndex true

openclaw gateway restart

Test: Ask 'What do you know about my projects?' — should pull related info from memory

3 Messaging Integrations (Optional)

Easy

Chat with your AI on your phone

Create bot with @BotFather, add token to config, allow your user ID

Medium

Connect your WhatsApp account

Use WhatsApp Web pairing or official Business API

Discord

Easy

Add your AI to Discord servers

Create bot application, add bot token, configure permissions

Browser Control

Medium

Control Chrome remotely for automation

Install browser extension or use built-in Playwright integration

Quick Reference

Useful Commands

openclaw status — Check everything's running
openclaw gateway restart — Restart after config changes
openclaw config get — View current config
openclaw logs --follow — Watch live logs

Config Locations

~/.openclaw/openclaw.json — Main config
~/.openclaw/workspace/ — AI memory files
~/.openclaw/extensions/ — Plugins

Common Issues

"access not configured" in Telegram

Get your Telegram user ID from the error message, then run:
openclaw config set channels.telegram.allowFrom '["YOUR_USER_ID"]'

Gateway won't start

Check config validity: openclaw doctor --fix
Or reset to defaults: openclaw config reset

Cognee connection errors

Make sure Docker is running: docker ps
Check Cognee is up: curl http://localhost:8000/

Ready to build?

Check out the examples to see what you can do with your new setup.