Build Your First AI Agent in 10 Steps

01

Install OpenClaw

Open your terminal and run the install script for your OS. One command. Done.

Mac → curl -fsSL https://openclaw.ai/install.sh | bash

Win → iwr -useb https://openclaw.ai/install.ps1 | iex

02

Add Your LLM via OAuth

Connect your AI brain. Use the Anthropic or OpenAI OAuth token method to link your LLM to OpenClaw. This is what gives your agent intelligence.

💡 Both Claude and GPT-4 work. I use Claude — it's better at reasoning through complex configs and writing skills.

03

Find Your OpenClaw Workspace

OpenClaw creates a workspace inside your home folder automatically. This is your agent's brain — where skills, memory, and config live.

~/.openclaw/workspace/

Example: Users/ashishpunj/.openclaw/workspace/

04

Install Claude Code or OpenAI Shell

Open a second terminal and install your coding agent. This is separate from OpenClaw — it's the power tool you'll use to configure your agent.

Claude → curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash

OpenAI → pip install shell-gpt --user

🔥 Claude Code is my pick. It reads files, writes code, SSHs into servers, and deploys — all in one session.

05

Hit a Roadblock? Use AI to Debug

If your machine is acting up during setup — don't stop. Screenshot the error and drop it into Gemini, ChatGPT, or Claude. They'll unstick you fast.

🛠️ Every error is Googleable or AI-solvable. Share the screenshot, describe what you ran, and keep moving. The setup is worth it.

06

cd Into Your OpenClaw Workspace

Once Claude Code or OpenAI Shell launches, navigate inside your OpenClaw workspace. This is the key move — your coding agent is now operating inside your agent's brain.

cd ~/.openclaw/workspace

Now you're in the right place. Everything you build from here lives in the agent.

07

Use Claude Code to Build Your Agent's Brain

This is where the magic happens. Use Claude Code or OpenAI's agentic superpowers to create your OpenClaw skills, personas, cron jobs, and config — all from natural language.

⚡ Tell Claude Code what you want: "Set up a morning briefing cron at 7am", "Create a WhatsApp persona for my parents", "Deploy this site to Cloudflare." It just does it.

08

Keep This as Your Command Center

The Claude Code + OpenClaw workspace session is your deep fix and complex reasoning hub. When something breaks, when you need a major upgrade, when you want to build something new — come back here.

🧠 Think of it as engineering mode. Your agent runs autonomously day-to-day, but this is where you go when you need full control.

09

Connect WhatsApp or Telegram for Daily Use

For everyday interaction, configure OpenClaw with WhatsApp or Telegram. Now your agent lives in your phone — you talk to it like a person, it responds, takes action, and keeps running in the background.

📱 This is the step that changes everything. Suddenly your AI isn't a tool you open — it's a teammate that's always on.

10

You're Now in the Top 1%

With this setup you have the best AI config on your local machine that most people don't even know is possible. A persistent agent with memory, skills, real-world integrations, and the full power of Claude Code or OpenAI behind it.

🏆 You're not using AI. You're running AI. There's a difference — and you just crossed that line.

Build Your First
World-Class AI Agent
in 10 Steps

10 Steps to Your First Agent

Of AI Configs on the Planet

Ready to Build?

Build Your First World-Class AI Agent in 10 Steps

10 Steps to Your First Agent

Of AI Configs on the Planet

Ready to Build?

Build Your First
World-Class AI Agent
in 10 Steps