Why OpenClaw
As a developer, I've always wanted to automate repetitive tasks. Using AI like ChatGPT or Claude in a browser is great, but what if an AI could directly connect to my local environment — reading files, running terminal commands, and even controlling a browser?
That's exactly what OpenClaw does. You run a Gateway on your local machine, and an AI agent can work directly in your environment. Connect it to a messenger like Telegram or Discord, and you can request tasks from anywhere.
Installation and Initial Setup
Installation was straightforward. Install via npm, run openclaw gateway start, and you're done. The first launch goes through a BOOTSTRAP process where you chat with the AI to set its name and personality — it was actually quite fun.
Connecting a Telegram bot wasn't difficult either. Create a bot with BotFather, set the token, and you can immediately chat with the AI on Telegram.
How I Actually Use It
Voice Commands
When I send a voice message on Telegram, the AI converts it to text using faster-whisper and processes my request. No need to pull out the keyboard — especially convenient on the go.
GitHub Integration
With the gh CLI connected, the AI can clone repos, check PRs, or manage issues. Say "pull this project from GitHub" and it just does it.
Browser Automation
This one was surprising. The AI can open a browser to check if websites are logged in properly or read content from specific pages. It can even help manage social media accounts.
File Management and Code Work
It can access my Obsidian vault to read or edit notes, analyze project code, and even draft blog posts like this one. It understands the project structure and matches the format of existing posts.
What I Liked
- Local environment integration: Unlike cloud AI, it can directly access my files, terminal, and browser
- Messenger integration: Request tasks and receive results right from Telegram
- Memory: Saves conversation history and work logs to files, maintaining context across sessions
- Extensibility: The skill system allows continuously adding new capabilities
What Could Be Better
- Initial setup takes some time. You need to install and connect various tools (whisper, gh, etc.) one by one
- Voice recognition accuracy isn't perfect. Technical terms especially tend to get misrecognized
- Since the AI can do so much, it's important to set boundaries on what to delegate
Conclusion
What I've learned from using OpenClaw is that an AI assistant's value depends less on "how smart it is" and more on "how well it connects to my environment." Chatting in a browser tab versus having an AI work directly in your terminal are completely different experiences.
It's still early days, but the process of tweaking settings and discovering new use cases every day is enjoyable in itself. If you're a developer, I think it's worth giving it a try.