OpenClaw

OpenClaw is a personal AI assistant that is designed to run on your local device. It connects directly to the messaging apps like Discord and Slack, and allows you to interact with it right in the app.

It acts as an "always-on" operator that can execute real tasks, such as searching and sending documents, managing calendars, or browsing webpages.

Learning objectives

By the end of this tutorial, you are be able to:

Install and initialize the OpenClaw environment.
Pair and connect the OpenClaw CLI and the Control UI.
Configure OpenClaw to use the local AI model Ollama.
Integrate OpenClaw with Discord.
Manage skills and plug-ins.
Enable the web search capability using Brave Search.

Prerequisites

Local model: Ensure Ollama is installed and running. You must have a tool-capable model installed, such as glm-4.7-flash, qwen3, and llama3.1. This tutorial uses llama3.1:8b.
Discord account: Required to create the bot application.
Discord server: A server where you have permissions to add bots.
(Optional) Brave search API key: Required for the agent to search the web for real-time information.
Tip
You can obtain a free API key from the Brave Search API. The free tier of the "Data for Search"" plan is usually sufficient for personal use.

Install OpenClaw

From the Olares Market, search for "OpenClaw".
Click Get, and then click Install. When the installation finishes, two shortcuts appear in the Launchpad:
- OpenClaw CLI: The command line interface
- Control UI: The graphical dashboard

Initialize OpenClaw

Run a quick setup for the agent in the OpenClaw CLI.

Open the OpenClaw CLI app from the Launchpad.
Enter the following command to start the onboarding wizard.
bash
```
openclaw onboard
```

The wizard guides you through a series of steps. Use the arrow keys to navigate and press Enter to confirm.

Note on configurations

To get you started quickly, this tutorial skips several advanced settings in the wizard. You can configure or modify them later.
Do not configure skills here, because the Olares security environment prevents the wizard from automatically installing skills. You need to install them manually. For more information, see Manage skills and plugins.

Settings	Option
I understand this is powerful and inherently risky. Continue?	Yes
Onboarding mode	QuickStart
Config handling	Use existing values
Model/auth provider	Skip for now
Filter models by provider	All providers
Default model	Keep current
Select channel	Skip for now
Configure skills now	No (Manual installation required)
How do you want to hatch your bot	Do this later

After you complete the wizard, close OpenClaw CLI and open it again.
Enter the following command to obtain the gateway token:
bash
```
openclaw config get gateway.auth.token
```
Copy the token and keep the OpenClaw CLI window open for the next step.

Pair device

Connect the Control UI to the OpenClaw CLI to use the graphical dashboard.

Open the Control UI app from the Launchpad.
On the Overview page, in the Gateway Access panel, specify the following settings:
- Gateway Token: Enter the token you copied in the previous step.
- Default Session Key: Enter agent:main:main.
Click Connect.
The connection error disconnected[1008]:pairing required occurs. This is expected and means the device connection is waiting for approval.
Return to the OpenClaw CLI window and enter the following command:
bash
```
openclaw devices list
```
In the Pending table, find the Request ID associated with your current device.
INFO
The Request ID has a time limit. If the authorization fails, re-run openclaw devices list to obtain a new valid ID.
Authorize the device by entering the following command:
bash
```
openclaw devices approve {RequestID}
```
When the terminal displays Approved {DeviceID}, return to the Control UI. Now the STATUS in the Snapshot panel should be Connected.

Configure local AI model

In the Control UI, select Config from the left sidebar.
Switch to the Raw tab to edit the configuration JSON file directly.

Find the agents section and update the defaults block to specify your primary model. Ensure that the model name matches the one installed in Ollama.

json

"agents": {
    "defaults": {
    "model": {
        "primary": "ollama/llama3.1:8b"
    },
    "workspace": "/home/node/.openclaw/workspace",
    "maxConcurrent": 4,
    "subagents": {
        "maxConcurrent": 8
    }
    }
},

Click Save in the upper-right corner. The system validates the config and restarts automatically to apply the changes.

Integrate with Discord

To chat with your agent remotely, connect it to a Discord bot.

Step 1: Create a Discord bot

Log in to the Discord Developer Portal with your Discord account.
Click New Application.
Enter a name for the new app, agree to terms, and then click Create.
From the left sidebar, select Bot.
Scroll down to the Privileged Gateway Intents section and enable the following settings:
- Presence Intent
- Server Members Intent
- Message Content Intent
Click Save Changes.
Scroll up to the Token section, click Reset Token, and then copy the generated token for your Discord bot. You need the token for channel configuration later in Control UI.

Step 2: Invite the bot to server

From the left sidebar, select OAuth2, and then find the OAuth2 URL Generator section:
a. In Scopes, select Bot and applications.commands.
b. In Bot Permissions, set as the following image. You can modify the settings later.
Copy the Generated URL at the bottom.
Paste the URL into a new browser tab, select your Discord server, and then click Authorize. The bot is added to your server.

Step 3: Configure channel

Configure the Discord channel in Control UI.

Return to the Control UI > Config > Raw tab.

Find the channels section:

a. Update with your Discord bot token.

b. Enable Discord DM (Direct Messages) and set the Discord DM Policy to Pairing.

json

"channels": {
    "discord": {
    "enabled": true,
    "token": "{YOUR_BOT_TOKEN}",
    "allowBots": true,
    "dm": {
        "enabled": true,
        "policy": "pairing"
    }
    }
},

Discord channel added

Click Save.
From the left sidebar, select Channels. On the Discord card, Probe ok indicates successful connection.

Step 4: Authorize your account

For security, the bot does not talk to unauthorized users. You must pair your Discord account with the bot.

Open Discord and send a Direct Message to your new bot. The bot will reply with an error message containing a Pairing Code.
Open the OpenClaw CLI and enter the following command:
bash
```
openclaw pairing approve discord {Your-Pairing-Code}
```
Once approved, you can start chatting with your agent in Discord.

Optional: Enable web search

By default, OpenClaw answers questions only based on its training data, which means it doesn't know about current events or real-time news. To give your agent access to the live internet, you can enable the web search tool.

OpenClaw officially recommends Brave Search. It uses an independent web index optimized for AI retrieval, ensuring your agent finds accurate information.

Open the OpenClaw CLI.
Run the following command to start the web configuration wizard:
bash
```
openclaw configure --section web
```
Configure the basic settings as follows:
Settings Option
Where will the Gateway run Local (this machine)
Enable web_search (Brave Search) Yes
Brave Search API key Your BraveSearchAPIkey
Enable web_fetch (keyless HTTP
fetch) Yes

Settings	Option
Where will the Gateway run	Local (this machine)
Enable web_search (Brave Search)	Yes
Brave Search API key	Your `BraveSearchAPIkey`
Enable web_fetch (keyless HTTP fetch)	Yes

Finalize the configuration in Control UI.

The CLI wizard sets up the API key, but you can customize specific tool parameters such as timeouts and limits in the Control UI.

a. Return to the Control UI > Config > Raw tab.

b. Find the tools section and update as follows:

json

"tools": {
    "web": {
    "search": {
        "enabled": true,
        "provider": "brave",
        "apiKey": "{Your-Brave-Search-API-Key}",
        "maxResults": 10,
        "timeoutSeconds": 30
    },
    "fetch": {
        "enabled": true,
        "timeoutSeconds": 30
    }
    }
},

Now you can ask the agent in Discord to answer questions that require real-time internet data.

Manage skills and plugins

OpenClaw can be extended using skills and plugins：

Skills add new capabilities to the AI. For example, managing Model Context Protocol servers.
Plugins extend the system to support additional channels or community features. For example, adding iMessage via BlueBubbles.

Why manual installation required

To protect your device, OpenClaw runs in a restricted, non-root environment without administrative privileges. This prevents the agent from modifying your system or self-installing software.

Step 1: Install ClawHub

To manage skills and plugins, install ClawHub. It is the package manager for OpenClaw.

Open the OpenClaw CLI.
Enter the following command:
bash
```
npx clawhub
```
When prompted to proceed, press Y.

Step 2: Install and enable skills

Check the list of available skills by entering the following command:
bash
```
openclaw skills
```
Find the target skill name in the Skill column, and then install by entering the following command:
bash
```
npx clawhub install {SkillName}
```
For example, to install mcporter, enter the following command:
bash
```
npx clawhub install mcporter
```
If prompted to Install anyway, select Yes.
When the installation is completed, verify by entering the following command:
bash
```
openclaw skills
```
The status of mcporter is ready, indicating the installation is successful.
Open the Control UI, go to the Skills page and find mcporter:
- If it is enabled, click Disable, and then click Enable again to force the system to save the configuration.
- If it is disabled, click Enable.
Click Save in the upper-right corner. The system validates the config and restarts automatically to apply the changes.

Step 3: Install plug-ins

In the OpenClaw CLI, check the list of compatible plug-ins by entering the following command:
bash
```
openclaw plugins list
```
Find the target plug-in name in the Name column, and then install by entering the following command:
bash
```
openclaw plugins install {Name}
```
For example, to install BlueBubbles, enter the following command:
bash
```
openclaw plugins install @openclaw/bluebubbles
```
When the installation is completed, close OpenClaw CLI and open it again to load the new plug-in.
Verify by checking the plugin status:
bash
```
openclaw plugins list
```
Now the status of the plug-in is loaded.
Open the Control UI, go to Config > Plugins, and then find @openclaw/bluebubbles on the All tab:
- If it is enabled, turn off the toggle switch, and then turn on again to force the system to explicitly save the configuration.
- If it is disabled, turn on the toggle switch.
Click Save in the upper-right corner. The system validates the config and restarts automatically to apply the changes.

Resources

How do I create a server in Discord

OpenClaw ​

Learning objectives ​

Prerequisites ​

Install OpenClaw ​

Initialize OpenClaw ​

Pair device ​

Configure local AI model ​

Integrate with Discord ​

Step 1: Create a Discord bot ​

Step 2: Invite the bot to server ​

Step 3: Configure channel ​

Step 4: Authorize your account ​

Optional: Enable web search ​

Manage skills and plugins ​

Step 1: Install ClawHub ​

Step 2: Install and enable skills ​

Step 3: Install plug-ins ​

Resources ​

OpenClaw

Learning objectives

Prerequisites

Install OpenClaw

Initialize OpenClaw

Pair device

Configure local AI model

Integrate with Discord

Step 1: Create a Discord bot

Step 2: Invite the bot to server

Step 3: Configure channel

Step 4: Authorize your account

Optional: Enable web search

Manage skills and plugins

Step 1: Install ClawHub

Step 2: Install and enable skills

Step 3: Install plug-ins

Resources