Getting Started

Your first AI agent in 60 seconds

From signup to a working bot on Telegram or WhatsApp. No server, no Docker, no config files.

01

Create your account

30 seconds

Sign up with your email or GitHub account. No credit card required — you get a free trial to test everything.

  • Go to clawport.io and click "Get Started"
  • Sign up with email or GitHub OAuth
  • Verify your email address
02

Name your agent

5 seconds

Give your AI agent a name and pick an emoji. This is what you'll see in your dashboard — your users will see the name you set in Telegram/WhatsApp.

  • Enter a name (e.g., "Support Bot", "Luna", "PropertyFinder")
  • Pick an emoji (🤖, 🏠, 💼, or anything you like)
  • This takes 5 seconds

Tip: Pick a name that reflects your bot's purpose. "Support Bot" for customer service, a human name like "Luna" for a personal assistant.

03

Connect a channel

15 seconds (Telegram) / 2 minutes (WhatsApp)

Choose where your bot will live. Telegram is the fastest to set up — paste a token and you're done. WhatsApp requires a Business API setup.

  • Choose Telegram or WhatsApp
  • For Telegram: create a bot with @BotFather, copy the token, paste it
  • For WhatsApp: enter your Business API access token and phone number ID
  • ClawPort handles the webhook, SSL, and networking automatically

Tip: Start with Telegram — it's instant. You can add WhatsApp later from your dashboard.

04

Write your bot's personality

2-10 minutes

This is the most important step. Tell your bot who it is, what it knows, and what it should (and shouldn't) do. The better this is, the better your bot performs.

  • Write a personality in the SOUL.md editor
  • Include: name, tone, what it helps with, what it doesn't do
  • Add specific knowledge: business hours, pricing, policies
  • Set escalation rules: when to hand off to a human
  • Or start with a template and customize later

Tip: Don't overthink it on day one. Start with a basic personality and refine it after real conversations. You can edit anytime from your dashboard.

05

Choose your AI model

15 seconds

Pick the brain behind your bot. Bring your own API key from Anthropic (Claude), OpenAI (GPT-4), or any supported provider.

  • Choose a provider: Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, or OpenRouter
  • Paste your API key (stored securely, server-side only)
  • Select a model (Claude Sonnet for best quality, Haiku for budget)
  • ClawPort auto-detects the provider from your key prefix

Tip: Don't have an API key? Get one at console.anthropic.com (Claude) or platform.openai.com (GPT-4). Both have free credits for new accounts.

06

Deploy

10 seconds

Click deploy. ClawPort provisions an isolated Docker container, configures networking, sets up SSL, applies security hardening, and connects your channel. Your bot is live.

  • Click "Deploy" — provisioning takes 5-10 seconds
  • Your bot gets its own isolated container
  • SSL certificate, reverse proxy, and WAF are configured automatically
  • Webhook is registered with Telegram/WhatsApp
  • Send your bot a message — it responds instantly

Total time from signup to working bot

~60 seconds

(plus however long you spend writing the personality)

After you deploy

Edit your bot's personality

Open the workspace editor from your dashboard. Changes deploy instantly.

Personality guide →

Add another channel

Running on Telegram? Add WhatsApp. Or add a second Telegram bot for a different use case.

Add skills

Web search, calendar, CRM integration — extend your bot with skills from ClawHub.

Skills guide →

Access the native dashboard

Click "Manage" on any agent to open the full OpenClaw dashboard for advanced settings.

Add more agents

Pick a plan based on how many agents you need. Upgrade or downgrade anytime from your dashboard.

Want to self-host instead?

We wrote detailed guides for that too. Just know that the self-hosted path is 14 steps and 2-3 hours instead of 6 steps and 60 seconds.

Ready?

60 seconds. No credit card. No Docker.

Deploy Your First Agent