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10 Things to Do After Installing OpenClaw

Just installed OpenClaw? Here are 10 essential setup steps to get the most out of your AI agent — from personality to automation.

February 9, 2026Luca Berton

1. Define Your Agent's Personality

Edit SOUL.md to set the tone. Are you looking for a professional assistant or a casual companion?

markdown
## Vibe Direct and technical. Skip the fluff. Use code examples freely. Be opinionated about best practices.

2. Fill In USER.md

Help your agent help you:

markdown
- Name: Luca - Timezone: CET (UTC+1) - Prefers: Concise responses, code-first - Projects: CopyPasteLearn, Ansible Pilot

3. Connect a Messaging Channel

Pick your favorite platform:

bash
# Discord openclaw config set discord.token YOUR_TOKEN # Telegram openclaw config set telegram.token YOUR_TOKEN

4. Install Essential Skills

Browse ClawhHub for skills:

  • Weather — instant forecasts
  • Health Check — system security auditing
  • Discord — advanced Discord management

5. Set Up Heartbeats

Configure HEARTBEAT.md for proactive monitoring:

markdown
## Checks - Email inbox for urgent messages - Calendar for upcoming events - Website uptime for my domains

6. Create Your First Cron Job

Schedule a daily briefing:

bash
openclaw cron add \ --schedule "0 8 * * *" \ --task "Morning briefing: weather, calendar, emails"

7. Pair Your Phone

Install the companion app and pair your device for: - Camera access - Push notifications - Location services

8. Set Up Memory

Create your first memory entry:

bash
mkdir -p ~/agent/memory echo "# $(date +%Y-%m-%d)" > ~/agent/memory/$(date +%Y-%m-%d).md

Your agent will take it from there.

9. Configure Safety Boundaries

Review AGENTS.md and customize: - What the agent can do freely - What requires permission - External action rules

10. Run as a Service

Don't leave it in a terminal — make it a system service:

bash
sudo systemctl enable --now openclaw

Now your agent survives reboots and runs 24/7.

Bonus: Make It Yours

The best OpenClaw agents are personalized. Over the next few weeks: - Let your agent learn your preferences - Review and refine SOUL.md - Check MEMORY.md for accuracy - Add project-specific context

Your agent gets better the more you use it.

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