Set Up OpenClaw in 5 Minutes

Telegram: BotFather

Telegram bots are created through BotFather, an official Telegram bot that acts as a bot registry. The entire process takes about 60 seconds:

1. 1

   Open Telegram and search for @BotFather (the blue verified checkmark is important).

2. 2

   Start the conversation by clicking Start or typing /start.

3. 3

   Send /newbot to create a new bot.

4. 4

   BotFather asks for a display name (e.g. “My AI Assistant”) and a username ending in bot (e.g. myai_assistant_bot).

5. 5

   BotFather sends back a token that looks like:

   7284019563:AAGt2kZ9_fJwEO4nPZF8QgLxYrMvHcI3bDs

   Copy this token — you'll paste it into the ClawMates dashboard. Treat it like a password; anyone with this token can control your bot.

WhatsApp: Meta Business Setup

WhatsApp integration with OpenClaw works differently from Telegram. Rather than a bot token, WhatsApp uses QR code-based account linking — similar to WhatsApp Web. This means your existing personal WhatsApp number becomes the bot's number. No Meta Business account is required for the personal (QR pairing) method.

If you want a dedicated business WhatsApp number (separate from your personal phone), you can use the Meta Business API method:

1. 1

   Go to developers.facebook.com and create or log in with a Meta account.

2. 2

   Create a new app, select Business type, and add the WhatsApp product.

3. 3

   Under WhatsApp > API Setup, copy your Phone Number ID and generate a Permanent Access Token via System Users.

4. 4

   Paste both values into the ClawMates WhatsApp configuration fields.

For most users, the QR pairing method (Step 3 below) is simpler and requires no Meta developer account. The Meta Business API is only needed if you want a dedicated business phone number.

Writing an Effective System Prompt

A system prompt is a set of instructions given to the AI before any user message. Think of it as a job description for your assistant. Here are a few example prompts to get you started:

You are a helpful personal assistant named Alex.
You help with scheduling, research, writing, and daily tasks.
Keep responses concise — 3 sentences or fewer unless asked for detail.
When you don't know something, say so rather than guessing.

You are a senior software engineer specializing in TypeScript,
Python, and React. Provide working code with brief explanations.
Always include error handling. Prefer simple solutions over clever ones.
If a question is ambiguous, ask for clarification before answering.

You are a research assistant with expertise in science,
history, and technology. Provide accurate, well-sourced information.
Cite specific facts and note when information may be outdated.
Never speculate or present opinions as facts.

Temperature Setting

Temperature controls how creative vs. deterministic your assistant's responses are. It ranges from 0.0 to 1.0 (some models support up to 2.0):

Bot Name and Avatar

For Telegram bots, you can set a display name and profile picture through BotFather (covered in Step 2). For WhatsApp, the bot appears under your phone number's contact name — you can change this in your contacts app on recipients' phones. Consider setting the bot's name in the system prompt as well, so it introduces itself consistently.

Deploy with ClawMates (Recommended)

1. 1

   In the ClawMates dashboard, review your configuration summary — model, channels, and system prompt.

2. 2

   Click Deploy Bot. ClawMates provisions a Fly.io machine, injects your configuration, and starts the OpenClaw gateway.

3. 3

   The status indicator changes from Deploying to Live within 60–90 seconds. OpenClaw's gateway takes about 5 minutes to fully initialize on first boot (WASM compilation) — your bot will start responding after that.

4. 4

   Test by sending your Telegram bot a message (find it via its username) or messaging the linked WhatsApp number.

Deploy Manually with Docker

If you prefer to self-host, here's the minimal Docker command to run OpenClaw with a Telegram bot token and Claude:

docker run -d \
  --name openclaw \
  --memory 2048m \
  -e TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN=your_token_here \
  -e ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your_api_key_here \
  -e NODE_OPTIONS=--max-old-space-size=1536 \
  -p 18789:18789 \
  alpine/openclaw:latest \
  node /app/openclaw.mjs gateway

Note: 2048 MB RAM is required. The gateway takes ~5 minutes to start (WASM compilation). Check docker logs openclaw to monitor startup. For a complete guide including config file setup, see the OpenClaw installation guide.

Verifying Your Deployment

After deployment, verify everything is working:

# For self-hosted: check logs for successful gateway init
docker logs openclaw --tail 50

# You should see lines like:
# [gateway] OpenClaw gateway starting...
# [gateway] WASM sandbox compiled (took 4m 32s)
# [gateway] Telegram polling started
# [gateway] Ready on port 18789