How to Set Up OpenClaw in 7 Minutes (Step-by-Step Guide)

Grab the free one-page OpenClaw setup guide with every step and command listed out: https://corey-ganim.kit.com/c93f43577e

I walk through the complete OpenClaw setup process from zero to a working AI agent connected to Telegram — all in under seven minutes. You'll see every step: running the installer, configuring your Anthropic API key, creating a Telegram bot through BotFather, pairing it to your OpenClaw instance, and enabling web search with DuckDuckGo. One prerequisite, one terminal command, and you're live.

Key Takeaways:

• OpenClaw installs with a single terminal command — the only prerequisite is having Node.js installed, which is also a one-command setup
• The guided onboarding handles every configuration decision (model, API key, channel, search) through simple yes/no prompts — no manual config files
• Creating a Telegram bot through BotFather takes about 60 seconds: message BotFather, run /newbot, choose a name ending in "bot," and copy the token
• DuckDuckGo is the fastest search provider to start with because it requires zero additional API keys or setup
• Skills and hooks can be added after the initial install — you don't need to configure everything before getting your agent running
• The OpenClaw control panel gives you a browser-based chat window plus access to channels, sessions, usage stats, cron jobs, files, skills, and nodes

Timestamps:

00:00 - Introduction 

00:02 - Running the OpenClaw installer from the terminal 00:30 - Node.js prerequisite (quick install)

00:45 - Guided onboarding: Quick Start setup 

01:05 - Choosing Anthropic as your model provider 

01:20 - Entering your Anthropic API key 

01:35 - Selecting Claude Sonnet 4.6 

01:52 - Creating a Telegram bot with BotFather 

02:45 - Naming your bot and choosing a username 

03:15 - Connecting the bot token to OpenClaw 

03:30 - Enabling DuckDuckGo web search 

03:45 - Skipping skills and hooks (configurable later) 

04:06 - OpenClaw control panel overview 

04:30 - First chat with your bot in the browser 

05:15 - Pairing the bot with your Telegram account 

06:10 - First Telegram message confirmed 

06:30 - Setup complete — next steps for personalization

Links Mentioned:

• OpenClaw: https://openclaw.ai
• Anthropic API Console: https://console.anthropic.com
• BotFather (Telegram): https://t.me/BotFather
• DuckDuckGo: https://duckduckgo.com
• Node.js: https://nodejs.org

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