Build Your Personal AI Infrastructure

Before We Begin: Understanding What You're Building

Most AI installation guides treat software as a black box: download, install, forget. clawbot is different because you're not installing an app—you're establishing infrastructure. Think of this as setting up your own private email server, except instead of managing messages, you're orchestrating an AI that can genuinely control your digital environment.

This guide explains what each step does and why it matters. Understanding the architecture makes troubleshooting intuitive and customization straightforward.

Prerequisites: What You Actually Need

Before downloading anything, verify your system meets these requirements. Each one serves a specific purpose:

Hardware Requirements

• Operating System: macOS 11+, Linux (Ubuntu 20.04+, Debian 11+), or Windows 10+ with WSL2
• RAM: Minimum 2GB available (4GB recommended for smoother operation)
• Disk Space: 500MB for core installation plus space for AI model caching
• Network: Stable internet connection for AI API calls (unless using local Ollama)

Software Dependencies

clawbot requires Node.js 22 or higher. Why this specific version? Newer Node.js versions include critical performance improvements and security patches that clawbot's real-time communication relies on. The installer typically handles this, but manual installations require it pre-installed.

AI Model Access (Choose One)

Step 1: Download the Right Package for Your Platform

clawbot distributes platform-specific installers that bundle everything needed. Why multiple formats? Different operating systems handle background services differently—the installer configures these correctly.

Step 2: Install and Launch the Gateway

The Gateway is clawbot's core—a persistent service that manages all communication between messaging platforms, AI models, and your system. Think of it as the central nervous system: channels send messages to the Gateway, which routes them to the appropriate AI model, receives responses, and delivers them back.

Step 3: Connect Your AI Brain

With the Gateway running, it needs an AI model to generate responses. This step configures which model(s) you'll use and authenticates API access.

{
  "aiProviders": {
    "anthropic": {
      "apiKey": "sk-ant-your-api-key-here",
      "model": "claude-3-5-sonnet-20250219",
      "enabled": true
    }
  },
  "defaultProvider": "anthropic"
}

{
  "aiProviders": {
    "ollama": {
      "baseURL": "http://localhost:11434",
      "model": "llama3.1:8b",
      "enabled": true
    }
  },
  "defaultProvider": "ollama"
}

Step 4: Link Your Communication Channels

Channels are how you interact with your AI—WhatsApp for mobile, Telegram for desktop, Discord for team collaboration. Each channel connects independently to the Gateway, and clawbot maintains a unified conversation history across all of them.

Alternative Channels

Each channel has unique setup requirements. Popular options:

Step 5: Execute Your First Autonomous Task

With everything configured, let's verify clawbot can genuinely control your system—not just respond with text.

What to Build Next

Your AI infrastructure is operational. Here's how to expand its capabilities:

1. Install Skills from ClawdHub

Skills are pre-built automation modules. Browse the marketplace:

Popular starter skills:

• google-calendar: Natural language calendar management
• home-assistant: Smart home control integration
• github-assistant: Repository management and PR reviews
• daily-briefing: Morning summary of calendar, weather, news

2. Create Custom Automation

Skills are just folders with a SKILL.md file. Create your own:

Full guide: docs.clawd.bot/skills/creating

3. Configure Proactive Behaviors

Unlike traditional AI, clawbot can initiate contact. Enable heartbeat monitoring:

Now clawbot will proactively send you a morning briefing without being asked.

4. Deploy to the Cloud (Optional)

Running clawbot on your laptop works, but cloud deployment ensures 24/7 availability. Guides available for:

• DigitalOcean Droplets ($6/month)
• AWS EC2 Free Tier (12 months free)
• Hetzner Cloud (€4/month)
• Home Raspberry Pi (one-time hardware cost)

Common Issues and Solutions

You're Now Running Your Own AI Infrastructure

What you've built isn't just a chatbot—it's a personal automation platform that combines the intelligence of frontier AI models with the capability of local system control. Unlike cloud services that constrain what AI can do, your clawbot installation has the same access to your digital environment that you do.

This power comes with responsibility: clawbot can execute any command you approve. The sandboxing and permission system protects against accidental damage, but ultimately you're granting an AI meaningful control. Start with simple automations, understand how decisions are made, and gradually expand capabilities as you build trust.