Clawdbot: The Full Setup in 30 Minutes
Clawdbot is an open-source AI assistant that runs 24/7 on a server. You talk to it through WhatsApp or Telegram. It can perform tasks like clearing your inbox, scheduling meetings, researching companies, following up with leads, writing content, and managing your calendar.
One setup example: it’s connected to GitHub, Google Drive, and Gmail. You can tell it "analyze my site, write a blog post, update my metadata, then draft a LinkedIn post," and it runs the steps. You can also use voice commands.
Another setup example: it can check you into flights, monitor stock prices, and send alerts when something needs attention.
Most AI tools answer questions. Clawdbot is built to run tasks.
Why this is easier than it looks
People assume it requires terminal knowledge, servers, and API keys. The setup is mostly copy-paste plus a wizard. If you get stuck, you can screenshot the step and ask an LLM what to click.
The 30-Minute Setup
Step 1: Get a free server (5 min)
Clawdbot needs to run somewhere 24/7. The AWS free tier works perfectly for this.
- Go to aws.amazon.com and create an account.
- Search for EC2 and click Launch Instance.
- Name it anything you like.
- Select Ubuntu.
- Search "free" for the instance type and pick the 8GB option (usually t2.micro or t3.micro eligible for free tier).
- Click Launch.
- Click your instance ID, then click Connect twice.
You are now in a terminal.
Step 2: Install Clawdbot (2 min)
Paste this one line into your terminal:
curl -fsSL https://clawd.bot/install.sh | bash
Wait 2 minutes. That is the only command you need to run. The rest is handled by the wizard.
Step 3: Run the wizard (10 min)
The wizard starts automatically.
- Select Quick Start.
- Choose Anthropic.
- Select Token Paste Setup.
- It will ask you to run a command on your local computer to get a token. Open a new terminal on your machine, paste the command, and copy the token back.
- Select Opus 4.5 as your model.
- Select Telegram Bot as your channel.
Step 4: Create your Telegram bot (5 min)
- Open Telegram.
- Search for @BotFather.
- Send
/newbot. - Name your bot.
- Copy the token and paste it into the wizard.
- Search for @userinfobot.
- Copy your User ID and paste it into the wizard.
This ensures only you can talk to your bot.
Step 5: Give it an identity (5 min)
Clawdbot will ask you questions in Telegram:
- What should I call you?
- What should you call me?
- What's my purpose?
- What timezone are you in?
Answer these, and your assistant is ready.
Quick Tests (5 minutes)
Inbox Test Tell it: "Check my last 10 emails and tell me which ones actually need a response."
Research Test Tell it: "Research [company you're curious about] and give me a 3-bullet summary of what they do."
Reminder Test Tell it: "Remind me to [something you've been putting off] tomorrow at 9am."
Cost
- $20/month Anthropic subscription.
- Free AWS server (Free Tier).
A human VA costs $500-2000/month and sleeps 8 hours. Clawdbot runs 24/7 for roughly $20.
What to do next
Add Brave Search so it can search the web:
- Go to brave.com/search/api.
- Get a free API key.
- Tell your bot: "Set up Brave Search with this API key."
Connect your tools over time: GitHub, Google Drive, Gmail, Calendar.
Examples of tasks to give it:
- "Research [company] and give me a one-pager."
- "Remind me to follow up with [name] in 3 days."
- "Draft a LinkedIn post about [topic]."
- "Check my calendar and find time for a call Tuesday."
- "Summarize this article and draft a thank you email to the author."
If something breaks, tell your bot "fix this" and paste the error. It often fixes itself.
Voice Use
You do not have to type. Use voice notes on Telegram or WhatsApp. Talk to Clawdbot while you walk or drive.
Some people run multiple agents in Slack. Set off one task, start another. They run in parallel.
Documentation
Check clawd.bot for full documentation.