OpenClaw
Run your own always-on AI assistant on hardware you control and talk to it from WhatsApp, Telegram or Slack.
OpenClaw is a free, open-source personal assistant that lives on your own machine, remembers you, and does real work through the messaging apps you already use. This course takes a technical user from install to a safely hardened, skill-extended assistant.
What you will be able to do
- Explain how OpenClaw is built: Gateway, channels, agents, skills and canvas, and what each part is responsible for
- Install and onboard OpenClaw on a machine you control, pick a model provider and connect a messaging channel
- Find, install and write skills so the assistant handles your own recurring chores
- Decide sensibly between full system access and sandboxing, and configure least privilege
- Operate it safely: control who can message it, resist prompt injection, and keep it updated, backed up and observable
Course outline
What OpenClaw is
3 lessons · quizA self-hosted assistant, how it is built, and whether it suits you.
- A self-hosted personal AI assistant 10 min
- Architecture: Gateway, channels, agents, skills and canvas 12 min
- Is it for you? Privacy, cost and responsibility 10 min
- Module quiz 5 questions
Installing and onboarding
4 lessons · quizGet OpenClaw running on a machine you control, connect a model, and say hello from your phone.
- Requirements and install 12 min
- Choosing a model provider 10 min
- Connecting your first channel 12 min
- Exercise: install, onboard and say hello from your phone exercise · 40 min
- Module quiz 5 questions
Skills and ClawHub
4 lessons · quizWhat skills are, how to install them from ClawHub, and how to write your own for a recurring chore.
- What a skill is 10 min
- Installing skills 10 min
- Writing your own skill 14 min
- Exercise: write a skill for one weekly chore exercise · 35 min
- Module quiz 5 questions
Running it safely
4 lessons · quizLeast privilege, prompt injection through messages, and the maintenance routine that keeps a self-hosted assistant trustworthy.
- Full system access vs sandboxed: least privilege 14 min
- Prompt injection through messages: who may talk to your bot 14 min
- Updates, backups, logs and telemetry 12 min
- Exercise: your OpenClaw hardening checklist exercise · 30 min
- Module quiz 5 questions