openclaw-docs

name

openclaw-docs

description

Complete OpenClaw documentation (347 pages). Use whenever the user mentions OpenClaw, openclaw, Clawd, or any topic related to OpenClaw: installation, gateway configuration, channel setup (WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord, Slack, Signal, iMessage, IRC, Matrix), CLI commands, providers, plugins, automation (hooks, cron, webhooks, standing orders), sandboxing, multi-agent routing, voice/audio nodes, compaction, or the control dashboard. Also trigger for self-hosted AI gateways, WhatsApp/Telegram/Discord bots in an OpenClaw context, or references to docs.openclaw.ai. Never guess or web-search when this skill is available — the docs are the source of truth. Covers 20 topic areas.

OpenClaw Documentation Reference

You have the complete docs.openclaw.ai documentation (347 pages) available locally. Use these files to answer questions accurately — never guess or web-search when the answer is in these docs. The docs are the source of truth; always prefer them over your training data for OpenClaw-specific details.

What is OpenClaw?

OpenClaw is an open-source, self-hosted AI gateway that bridges messaging platforms (WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord, iMessage, Slack, Signal, IRC, Matrix, etc.) with AI coding agents. It provides multi-channel messaging, agent orchestration, plugin extensibility, automation (hooks, cron, webhooks), and a browser-based control dashboard.

How to Find Answers

All docs live under ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/docs/ organized by section. Follow this lookup strategy — start specific, broaden if needed:

1. If you know the topic area, go straight to the right section directory (see table below)
2. If you need to find something by keyword, use Grep on ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/docs/
3. If you need to browse what's available, read ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/INDEX.md (full manifest of all 347 docs)

Section Directory

Intent	Path	What's Inside
Install OpenClaw	docs/install/	npm, Docker, Nix, source, cloud deployments (GCP, Azure, Hetzner, Fly, Railway, etc.)
Configure the gateway	docs/gateway/	Configuration guide, reference, examples, sandboxing, secrets, security, Tailscale
Set up messaging channels	docs/channels/	WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord, iMessage, Slack, Signal, IRC, Matrix, LINE, Teams, etc.
Use CLI commands	docs/cli/	Full CLI reference (47 commands)
Add AI providers	docs/providers/	OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Ollama, Bedrock, Groq, OpenRouter, xAI, etc. (37 providers)
Use tools & skills	docs/tools/	Browser, exec, slash commands, MCP, skills, sub-agents, web search, PDF, TTS
Understand concepts	docs/concepts/	Agents, workspaces, multi-agent routing, compaction, memory, sessions, streaming
Build plugins	docs/plugins/	Plugin architecture, bundles, building custom plugins, community plugins
Deploy to platforms	docs/platforms/	macOS, iOS, Android, Linux, Windows, Raspberry Pi
Set up automation	docs/automation/	Hooks, cron jobs, polls, webhooks, standing orders, Gmail PubSub
Security	docs/security/	Threat model (MITRE ATLAS), formal verification, contributing
Get help	docs/help/	FAQ, debugging, environment variables, troubleshooting
Reference	docs/reference/	Memory config, test framework, API costs, templates (AGENTS.md, SOUL.md, etc.)
Getting started	docs/start/	Getting started, onboarding, bootstrapping, showcase
Web dashboard	docs/web/	Control UI, dashboard setup, WebChat, TUI
Node types	docs/nodes/	Audio, camera, voice wake, talk mode, media understanding
Diagnostics	docs/diagnostics/	Feature flags and diagnostic tools
Codelabs	docs/_codelabs/	Tutorials (ADK streaming, multi-agent A2A)
Other	docs/_root/	Logging, networking, auth semantics, CI, date-time, OpenProse

Frequently Needed Docs

Task	Direct Path
Getting started	${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/docs/start/getting-started.md
Install via Docker	${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/docs/install/docker.md
Install via npm	${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/docs/install/npm.md
Configuration reference	${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/docs/gateway/configuration-reference.md
Configuration examples	${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/docs/gateway/configuration-examples.md
WhatsApp setup	${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/docs/channels/whatsapp.md
Discord setup	${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/docs/channels/discord.md
Telegram setup	${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/docs/channels/telegram.md
Slack setup	${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/docs/channels/slack.md
CLI reference	${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/docs/cli/index.md
Multi-agent routing	${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/docs/concepts/multi-agent.md
Plugin architecture	${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/docs/plugins/architecture.md
Sandboxing	${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/docs/gateway/sandboxing.md
System prompt	${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/docs/concepts/system-prompt.md
FAQ	${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/docs/help/faq.md
Onboarding (CLI)	${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/docs/start/wizard.md

Search Patterns

# Keyword search across all docs
Grep pattern="whatsapp" path="${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/docs/" -i

# Search within a specific section
Grep pattern="memory" path="${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/docs/gateway/"

# List all docs in a section
Glob pattern="*.md" path="${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/docs/providers/"

Common Cross-References

Many questions touch topics that span multiple docs. When a user asks about one of these topics, also read the related doc — the combination gives a much better answer than either alone.

When the user asks about...	Also read...
Cron jobs / scheduled tasks	docs/automation/cron-vs-heartbeat.md (heartbeat is often confused with cron)
Sandboxing / code isolation	docs/gateway/sandbox-vs-tool-policy-vs-elevated.md (the three controls)
Multi-agent setup	docs/cli/agents.md (CLI for managing agents) + docs/gateway/configuration-examples.md
Channel setup (any)	docs/gateway/configuration-examples.md (copy-paste config patterns)
Hooks / webhooks	docs/automation/standing-orders.md (standing orders complement hooks)
Model providers / failover	docs/concepts/model-failover.md + docs/concepts/model-providers.md
Session management	docs/concepts/compaction.md + docs/concepts/session-pruning.md
WhatsApp groups	docs/channels/group-messages.md + docs/channels/groups.md
Troubleshooting (any channel)	docs/channels/troubleshooting.md + docs/gateway/troubleshooting.md
Discord bot not responding	docs/channels/discord.md (check Message Content Intent)
Memory / context	docs/concepts/memory.md + docs/concepts/context.md + docs/reference/memory-config.md
Remote access / SSH	docs/gateway/remote.md + docs/gateway/remote-gateway-readme.md

Answering Guidelines

• Always cite the doc filename: for every major topic you reference, include the doc path at least once (e.g., "According to docs/gateway/sandboxing.md..."). This is how the user verifies your answer and finds more detail. Don't just use the information — name where it came from.
• Include source URLs: each doc file has a source_url in its YAML frontmatter. Include these URLs so the user can read the full page on docs.openclaw.ai.
• Be precise with CLI commands: OpenClaw has 47 CLI commands. When the user asks about a command, read the specific CLI doc (e.g., docs/cli/gateway.md for openclaw gateway) rather than paraphrasing from memory.
• Cross-reference using the table above: many topics span multiple docs. Check the cross-reference table and read all relevant docs before answering — the user benefits from a complete picture.
• Don't fabricate config fields or flags: if you're unsure about a config key or CLI flag, look it up in the configuration reference or the specific CLI doc. The docs are exhaustive — if a field isn't documented, it probably doesn't exist.

Source

All documentation was scraped from https://docs.openclaw.ai/ on 2026-03-21. Each file includes YAML frontmatter with title, source_url, and section for traceability.