OpenPaw

Your Own AI Assistant

A step-by-step guide to setting up OpenClaw — even if you've never opened Terminal
Time: about 30-60 minutes | Cost: ~$100-200/month | Difficulty: You can do this
Don't panic — you literally can't break your computer with these commands. Every step is explained in plain English.

What You're Building

By the end of this guide, you'll have a personal AI assistant that's more powerful than any subscription service — because it's yours.
🧠

An AI that knows your business inside and out

Train it on your processes, customers, and workflows. It remembers everything and gets smarter with every conversation.

📱

Text it from your phone (WhatsApp, Telegram)

Chat with your AI from anywhere — your car, a client meeting, or 11pm when you remember something important.

👁️

It can browse the web and research for you

Your AI has eyes on the internet. It can check websites, fill forms, and gather information automatically.

📊

A professional operations dashboard

Monitor your business, track metrics, and control everything from one clean interface you can access anywhere.

🔧

Automated tasks that run while you sleep

Set it once, let it work. Your AI handles routine tasks, sends reports, and keeps everything running 24/7.

💡

It gets smarter every day

Machine learning that adapts to your business. The more you use it, the better it understands what you need.

What You Need

Item Cost Notes
Mac Mini (M1 or newer) $499-799 one-time Whisper quiet, runs 24/7, ~$3/month electricity
Claude Max subscription $100-200/month The AI brain — this is the main cost
Internet connection (you have this) Needs to stay on
Domain name (optional) ~$12/year For remote access
Cloud server (optional) $12-48/month For hosting dashboards online
Total minimum: Mac Mini + Claude subscription. Everything else is optional.

What is Terminal?

Don't Panic — Terminal is Just Texting Your Computer

Terminal is a text box where you type commands to your computer. That's it.

Think of it as texting your computer instead of clicking buttons. Instead of clicking "New Folder," you type mkdir new-folder. Same result, different method.

How to Open Terminal:

Mac: Press Cmd+Space, type "Terminal", press Enter
Windows: Search for "PowerShell", click it
Linux: You probably already know this 😄

Try These Right Now (They're Completely Safe):

pwd
"Where am I?" (shows your current folder)
ls
"What's in here?" (lists files)
clear
"Clean up this screen"

See? Nothing exploded. You're a Terminal user now.

Install Everything

Each command gets its own explanation. Copy, paste, and follow along — we'll walk through exactly what to expect.

Step 4a: Install Homebrew (Mac only)

Homebrew is like an app store for Terminal. It helps install other tools. 
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"
What to expect: This takes 2-5 minutes. Follow any instructions it gives you at the end.
Password prompt: It might ask for your Mac password — that's normal. You won't see the characters as you type — also normal.

After it finishes, run the two commands it tells you (they look like):

echo 'eval "$(/opt/homebrew/bin/brew shellenv)"' >> ~/.zprofile
eval "$(/opt/homebrew/bin/brew shellenv)"

Step 4b: Install OpenClaw

This one command installs everything OpenClaw needs: 
curl -fsSL https://openclaw.ai/install.sh | bash
iwr -useb https://openclaw.ai/install.ps1 | iex
What to expect: Takes 1-2 minutes. It installs Node.js (the engine OpenClaw runs on) and OpenClaw itself.

Verify it worked:

openclaw --version

You should see a version number. If you do, you're golden.

Step 4c: Run the Setup Wizard

openclaw onboard --install-daemon
This walks you through everything:
  • Choosing your AI provider (Anthropic recommended — that's who makes Claude)
  • Setting up your API key or subscription
  • Creating your workspace (where your AI stores its brain)
  • Optionally connecting WhatsApp, Telegram, or Discord
  • Installing auto-start (so it survives reboots)
Just follow the prompts — it explains each step.

Step 4d: If You're Using Claude Max (Recommended)

Claude Max ($100-200/month) gives you the best AI brain with no per-message costs.

You need to connect your Claude subscription to OpenClaw:

openclaw configure --section model

Select 'Anthropic' as your provider and follow the auth prompts.

If it asks you to run claude setup-token:

claude setup-token
What happens: Your browser will open — sign in with your Claude account. It'll generate a token.

Then apply it:

openclaw models auth setup-token --provider anthropic

Step 4e: Start Your AI

openclaw gateway start

Check that it's running:

openclaw gateway status
You should see 'running' — that means your AI is alive.

Step 4f: Open Your Dashboard

openclaw dashboard

Or just go to: http://localhost:18789 in your browser

🎉 You're talking to your AI. Say hello.
Next step: Scroll down to download your operations dashboard — it walks you through setting up everything else (browser control, WhatsApp, knowledge base, and more).

Keep It Running 24/7

Your Mac Mini needs to stay on and awake for your AI to work.

Prevent Sleep

System Settings → Energy → "Prevent automatic sleeping" → ON

Or run:

sudo pmset -a sleep 0 displaysleep 5 disksleep 0 autopoweroff 0 standby 0
Password required: That's the sudo part.

Auto-Recover from Power Outages

System Settings → Energy → "Start up automatically after power failure" → ON

sudo pmset -a autorestart 1

Automatic Login

System Settings → Users & Groups → Automatic Login → Select your user

So it fully boots without waiting for a password

Verify Auto-Start

ls ~/Library/LaunchAgents/ai.openclaw.gateway.plist

If that file exists, OpenClaw starts automatically on boot.

If it's missing: openclaw gateway install

The Recovery Chain:
Power goes out → comes back → Mac turns on → logs in → OpenClaw starts → AI reconnects → no human needed

Optional: UPS Battery Backup (~$50-80)

Keeps everything running through brief power flickers

APC BE425M or CyberPower CP425SLG are good budget options

What's Next

Your AI is running. Now open your dashboard and work through the tabs:
🧠
System
You're here ✅
💬
Chat
Talk to your AI
👁️
Browser
Give your AI eyes
👤
Personality
Teach it who you are
📱
Channels
Chat from your phone
🔑
Key Vault
Secure your keys
📚
Knowledge
Seed your AI's brain
💾
Config
Fine-tune behavior
📊
VPS
Go cloud (advanced)
🌐
Domain
Get a URL (advanced)
🚀
Deploy
Go live (advanced)

Troubleshooting

Problem Fix
Terminal says "command not found" Close Terminal, open a new one, try again
Homebrew install fails Run xcode-select --install first, then try again
openclaw not found after install Close Terminal, open new one. If still not found: npm install -g openclaw
Gateway won't start openclaw doctor to diagnose
Can't see the webchat Make sure gateway is running: openclaw gateway status
Auth token expired openclaw configure --section model and re-authenticate
Mac Mini went to sleep Follow Section 5 to prevent sleep
Everything is broken Don't panic. openclaw gateway stop then openclaw gateway start

Starter Templates

Real full-stack apps built for a real business, genericized so you can make them yours. Each template includes the complete source code — React, Node.js, SQLite, and all the UI. Download, customize, and deploy.
🚨

Triage Command Center

A React + Node.js Kanban board for managing appointments and tasks across multiple days. Color-coded priority flags, task checklists, team assignment, shift management, SLA tracking, and optional AI-powered triage.

Stack: React 18, Vite, Tailwind CSS, Express, SQLite

👀 Preview ⬇️ Download (.zip)
📖

Team Handbook

A searchable, AI-powered team handbook. Rich text editor, hierarchical sections, file uploads, version history, and role-based access. Your team gets instant answers with AI search instead of digging through binders.

Stack: Node.js, Express, SQLite, Quill Editor, OpenRouter AI

👀 Preview ⬇️ Download (.zip)
🏢

Team Portal

A complete employee portal with auth, 2FA, and role-based access. Includes schedule management, kanban notes, daily checklists, quick links, secure vault, pet photos, kudos, polls, and customizable themes.

Stack: Node.js, Express, SQLite, bcrypt, TOTP 2FA, PWA

👀 Preview ⬇️ Download (.zip)
Tip: Tell your AI: "Download the triage template from getopenpaw.com/triage-command-template.zip and customize it for my business"

Get Your Dashboard

Your operations dashboard — the same design used by a real veterinary practice. It walks you through setting up everything else.

👀 Preview It ⬇️ Download File
After downloading:
  1. Double-click the file to open it in your browser
  2. Work through each tab to set up your AI
  3. Or tell your AI: "Help me customize my dashboard for my business"
Or skip the download entirely — tell your AI:
"Download the dashboard from getopenpaw.com/dashboard-template.html and set it up for me."