---
title: "How to install OpenClaw: setup guide with Telegram · AgentDots"
description: "Put OpenClaw on a computer or small server you control, finish onboarding, add a Telegram bot, approve pairing, run the security audit and write standing rules."
url: https://agentdots.org/setup/openclaw/
lang: en
---

Set-up · about 30 minutes

# How to install OpenClaw: setup guide with Telegram

Allow about half an hour to go from a bare machine to a self-hosted agent that answers in Telegram and follows rules you wrote yourself.

## Step by step

1. Choose where it will run A laptop is fine for trying OpenClaw, but an agent you want reachable at all hours is better off on always-on hardware such as a home server or rented VPS, since it can only answer while its machine is running. Whichever you pick, the gateway port must never face the open internet.
2. Install OpenClaw Use the official installer that matches your system. It detects the operating system, fills in Node where it is absent, sets up OpenClaw and then hands over to onboarding. <code># macOS / Linux / WSL2 curl -fsSL https://openclaw.ai/install.sh | bash # Windows (PowerShell) iwr -useb https://openclaw.ai/install.ps1 | iex</code>
3. Onboard and run the gateway as a service Onboarding offers Quick start, which reuses any AI access it finds, or Custom setup with every option exposed. Once it is done, end the foreground gateway and register it as a service in the background, which brings it back automatically after a restart. <code>openclaw onboard # stop the foreground gateway with Ctrl+C, then run it as a service: openclaw gateway install</code>
4. Connect Telegram In Telegram, open a chat with @BotFather, double-checking the handle, send /newbot and keep the token you are given. Register Telegram as a channel using that token, and run a status probe to check the connection. <code>openclaw channels add --channel telegram --token <bot-token> openclaw channels status --probe</code>
5. Approve pairing Send your bot a message. Rather than replying, it gives unfamiliar senders a pairing code, so look through the waiting requests and approve yours before the hour is up. <code>openclaw pairing list telegram openclaw pairing approve telegram <CODE></code>
6. Run the security audit and stay updated Let OpenClaw's own security audit check the setup and resolve whatever it raises, then pull updates from the stable channel. Anything released before 2026.4.22 is exposed to known critical vulnerabilities, so make both commands a routine. <code>openclaw security audit openclaw update --channel stable</code>
7. Write its standing rules Set out your rules in plain language in AGENTS.md in the agent's workspace, and put matching hard limits in ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json, checking key names against the docs for your version. Keep dmPolicy on pairing, and have exec approvals ask every time until you are confident in the setup.

## The first week

Treat the first week as a trial run. The gateway should stay on loopback, with access through Tailscale or SSH rather than an exposed port. Leave shell commands on approval, add third-party skills sparingly and only from publishers you know, and watch your model usage daily, because an agent caught in a loop keeps spending tokens. Rerun the security audit after every change to the configuration.

## Mistakes to avoid

- Exposing the gateway to the internet rather than leaving gateway.bind set to loopback.
- Installing a pile of third-party skills, which deserve the same suspicion as browser extensions.
- Running an outdated release; every version older than 2026.4.22 carries known critical vulnerabilities.

**OpenClaw**

OpenClaw Foundation

## Before you start

- A computer or small server with Windows, macOS, Linux or WSL2
- Node 24.16 or newer, or Node 26; if neither is present, the installer can add it
- Access to a model: an API key, a subscription you already pay for, or a local model
- A Telegram account for the chat channel

### Next, give it rules

Every agent behaves better with written limits. Build a rule sheet in two minutes.

[Rules →](https://agentdots.org/rules/?for=openclaw)

## Set-up

- [Dots](https://agentdots.org/setup/dots/)
- [Muse](https://agentdots.org/setup/muse/)
- [Gemini Spark](https://agentdots.org/setup/gemini-spark/)
- [Claude](https://agentdots.org/setup/claude/)