Run OpenClaw in 2 Minutes
This guide walks you through linking Telegram, approving the pairing, and submitting your first agent task in under two minutes. No prior configuration experience is needed.
OpenClaw account and workspace
Your ClawMesh workspace is the control plane for all agent operations. After signing up, you land in the dashboard where you can manage agents, monitor task history, and configure integrations. The first time you log in, you are prompted to create a default agent configuration. Accept the defaults for now — you can customize it later once the baseline is working.
The workspace API token is stored in your profile under Settings > API Keys. Tokens are scoped to your workspace and control what agents can do on your behalf. Never share your token publicly or commit it to version control.
- Sign up at clawmesh.com and create a workspace
- Navigate to Settings > API Keys and generate a new token
- Keep the token secure — it grants access to your workspace
Install the OpenClaw runtime
The one-click installer packages the runtime, relay service, and CLI tool. On macOS it places files in /Applications/ClawMesh and registers a launch agent for automatic startup. On Windows it installs to C:\Program Files\ClawMesh and registers a Windows service. After installation, the clawmesh command is available in any new terminal window.
Run clawmesh doctor immediately after installation. This command validates that all dependencies are present, the relay can reach the ClawMesh cloud backend, and your workspace credentials are correctly configured. Address any failures before proceeding to the next step.
- Download the installer for your platform from the dashboard Downloads page
- Run the installer and follow the one-click prompts
- Open a terminal and run: clawmesh doctor to verify the installation
Link Telegram (optional but recommended)
Telegram linking lets you interact with your agent from any device where Telegram is installed, without needing the dashboard open. The bot acts as a relay: messages you send to the bot are forwarded to your agent, and agent responses are sent back to you as Telegram messages.
After starting the bot conversation, you are given a unique link code. Return to the ClawMesh dashboard, go to Settings > Telegram, enter the link code, and approve the pairing. The connection is established within seconds. Test it by sending /status to the Telegram bot — it should respond with your workspace and agent status.
- Open Telegram and search for the ClawMesh Bot
- Send /start to the bot and follow the link-back authorization flow
- Approve the pairing in your ClawMesh dashboard under Settings > Telegram
Submit your first task
Your first task does not need to be complex. The goal is to verify the full pipeline: Telegram message received by the bot, forwarded to the agent runtime, executed, response sent back. A simple status check confirms everything is connected.
If the agent does not respond within 30 seconds, check the relay status in the dashboard. The most common first-run issue is a misconfigured workspace token. Run clawmesh status to see the current authentication state and re-run clawmesh login if needed.
- Type any command in the Telegram chat or the dashboard input bar
- Start with something simple like: list my active agents
- Review the response and check the task log in the dashboard
What to do next
After your first successful task, you have a working OpenClaw deployment. The Skills Hub is the fastest way to add specialized capabilities: code analysis, data processing, document generation, and API integrations are all available as one-click installs.
If you hit any issues during setup, the Troubleshooting section of this blog covers the most common first-run problems and their fixes. For persistent issues, the hosted deployment path eliminates local setup entirely and gets you to a production-ready agent in minutes.
- Explore the Skills Hub to add capabilities to your agent
- Read the Setup Guide to configure your model provider
- Check the Browser Relay guide to enable web automation
- Subscribe to a hosted plan for production workloads
Get Started
Need a faster path to production?
Use hosted deployment to skip local setup entirely and run agents in the cloud.
Related pages
FAQ
Is Telegram linking required?
No. You can use the web dashboard exclusively for all agent interactions. Telegram is optional but convenient for mobile access.
What if clawmesh doctor reports a failure?
Check the specific failure message and cross-reference it with the Troubleshooting section. Most failures are caused by incorrect workspace tokens or relay connectivity issues.
Can I run OpenClaw without an internet connection?
Agents require internet connectivity to synchronize with the ClawMesh cloud backend. Self-hosted offline deployments are available on Enterprise plans.
How do I add skills after setup?
Visit the Skills Hub in your dashboard, browse available skill sets, and click Install. Skills activate immediately without a runtime restart.