Your First Day With OpenClaw: 10 Things to Try

You've successfully installed OpenClaw and logged into the dashboard. Now comes the fun part—actually using it. This guide walks you through 10 practical things you can try in your first hour to get comfortable with the platform and see its real-world power. These aren't theoretical examples; they're actual tasks that take 2-5 minutes each.

Thing 1: Test a Natural Language Command

OpenClaw understands plain English. Let's start simple:

1. Go to the Dashboard and look for the chat input box at the bottom
2. Type: "What time is it right now?"
3. Press Enter

You'll get a response with the current time. This seems basic, but it proves the AI brain is working. Try other questions:

• "What's 45 times 32?"
• "Tell me about AI assistants"
• "Write a funny tweet about cats"

OpenClaw will respond naturally to all of these. It's treating you like you're chatting with a real AI, because you are.

Thing 2: Ask OpenClaw to Summarize Something

OpenClaw can read and summarize web pages:

1. Type: "Summarize this page for me: https://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_intelligence"
2. OpenClaw will fetch the page and give you a brief summary

This works with any publicly accessible URL. Try it with news articles, blog posts, or product pages. This is incredibly useful for staying informed without reading everything in full.

Thing 3: Install Your First Skill from the Marketplace

Skills are the real power of OpenClaw. Let's install one:

1. Go to Skills > Marketplace in the left sidebar
2. Search for "Email Summary"
3. Click on the Email Summary skill
4. Click Install
5. Wait for installation (usually 10-20 seconds)
6. Click Configure

You now have a skill that can summarize your emails. Pretty cool, right?

Thing 4: Connect a Messaging Platform (Quick Version)

You want to access OpenClaw from your phone via WhatsApp or Telegram:

1. Go to Settings > Integrations
2. Click Telegram (simpler than WhatsApp for quick testing)
3. Click Connect
4. You'll see a bot token appear
5. Search for "@BotFather" on Telegram
6. Send "/start" and create a new bot
7. Copy your bot token to the OpenClaw settings
8. Click Save and Test
9. Send a message in Telegram to your bot
10. Watch it respond in OpenClaw

You can now control OpenClaw from your phone via Telegram. Send commands like "summarize my emails" or "what's the weather?"

Thing 5: Create Your First Scheduled Automation

Let's set something to run on a schedule. We'll create a morning briefing:

1. Go to Automations > New Automation
2. Give it a name: "Morning Briefing"
3. Set frequency: Daily at 8:00 AM
4. Add actions:

- Summarize emails from the past 24 hours

- Get weather forecast for your location

- Check calendar for today's meetings

- Send results to: Telegram

1. Click Create

Every morning at 8 AM, OpenClaw will gather this information and send it to your phone. You wake up with a complete briefing ready to go.

Thing 6: Set Up a File Watch Automation

Watch a folder and automatically process files:

1. Go to Automations > New Automation
2. Name it: "Auto-Process Downloads"
3. Set trigger: When new file appears in ~/Downloads
4. Add action: If PDF, extract text and save to notes
5. Add action: Send notification when done
6. Click Create

Now whenever you download a PDF, OpenClaw automatically extracts and summarizes it. Great for receipts, invoices, or research papers.

Thing 7: Build a Simple Chat Memory

OpenClaw can remember context across conversations:

1. In the dashboard chat, type: "My favorite food is pizza, and I live in Portland."
2. Wait for confirmation that it's been stored
3. Later, type: "What's my favorite food?"
4. OpenClaw will respond: "Your favorite food is pizza."

This simple feature is the foundation for more complex automations. OpenClaw builds a knowledge base about you over time.

Thing 8: Test Web Search and Summarization

Tell OpenClaw to research something for you:

1. Type: "Search for the latest AI safety research and summarize the top 3 papers"
2. OpenClaw will search the web, find papers, and summarize them in 2-3 sentences each
3. You get a curated research briefing without spending an hour online

This is incredibly useful for staying on top of your industry, competitors, or passions without information overload.

Thing 9: Create a Template Response

Set up a template for responses you give frequently:

1. Go to Settings > Templates
2. Click New Template
3. Name: "Support Response - Account Issue"
4. Template text:

Hi [customer_name],

   Thank you for reaching out about your account issue.

   Here's what I recommend:
   [detailed_steps]

   If this doesn't resolve it, reply with [specific_details]

   Best regards

1. Save

Now when you get support emails, OpenClaw can fill in templates automatically with context from the email.

Thing 10: Test the API with a Simple Webhook

OpenClaw exposes an API. Let's test it:

1. Go to Settings > Developers > API Keys
2. Click Generate New Key
3. Copy the key
4. Open your terminal and run:

curl -X POST http://localhost:8000/api/chat \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"message": "Hello OpenClaw!"}'

You'll get a JSON response. This means you can send commands to OpenClaw from external tools (scripts, IFTTT, Zapier, etc.). The possibilities are endless.

Bonus Tips for Day 1

Explore the Dashboard Tour

Go to Settings > Help to launch an interactive tutorial. It's a 5-minute walkthrough of the main features.

Check System Health

Go to Settings > System to see:

• Database status
• Disk usage
• Memory consumption
• Connected services

Everything should show "healthy" and green.

Test Voice Commands

If you're on the web dashboard, click the microphone icon in the chat input. Speak naturally and OpenClaw will transcribe and respond. Great for hands-free operation.

Adjust AI Model Settings

Go to Settings > AI Models. Try switching between:

• Claude 3 Haiku (fast, cheaper)
• Claude 3 Sonnet (balanced)
• Claude 3 Opus (smartest but slower)

Notice how responses change based on model. This helps you find the right balance of speed and intelligence for your use cases.

Create a Test Folder

Make a folder on your computer specifically for testing OpenClaw automations. This prevents accidentally modifying real files while learning.

What You've Accomplished

In your first day with OpenClaw, you've:

• ✅ Tested the AI's natural language understanding
• ✅ Installed a skill from the marketplace
• ✅ Connected a messaging platform for remote access
• ✅ Created a scheduled daily briefing
• ✅ Set up file automation
• ✅ Experienced OpenClaw's memory and context
• ✅ Tested web research capabilities
• ✅ Created response templates
• ✅ Accessed the API programmatically

You're no longer a beginner—you understand how OpenClaw works. The next step is specializing in specific use cases.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Why didn't the natural language command work?

A: Ensure your API key is configured in Settings > AI Models and marked as active. If no key is set, OpenClaw can't access the AI brain.

Q: Can I test without connecting messaging platforms?

A: Yes. The web dashboard chat works perfectly for testing. Messaging platforms just let you access OpenClaw from your phone.

Q: How much storage does OpenClaw use?

A: The base installation is about 2GB. Conversation history and stored files add more. Your 20GB disk should easily handle months of data.

Q: Can I delete tests I created today?

A: Yes. Go to each section (Automations, Templates, etc.) and click the delete icon next to items you created.

Q: How do I know if a skill installed correctly?

A: Go to Skills > Installed and look for it in the list with a green checkmark. You can also test it by invoking it in chat.

Next Steps

You've mastered the basics. Now pick a use case that matters to you:

• Finding and Installing Skills — Explore 50+ skills to expand capabilities
• Email Automation — Set up smart email management and responses
• Smart Home Integration — Control your entire home with voice and automation
• Social Media Automation — Draft and schedule content automatically
• Build Your First Custom Skill — Create something uniquely yours