Skip to main content
This guide walks through creating a managed OpenClaw agent on OpenComputer, connecting it to Telegram, and chatting with it. By the end you’ll have a personal AI agent running Claude via OpenRouter, reachable from your phone. OpenClaw is a multi-channel AI gateway with a rich plugin SDK, native MCP support, and hot-reload configuration. It supports Telegram, Discord, Slack, Signal, WhatsApp, and more out of the box.

​
Prerequisites

​
Install the CLI

Install the oc binary from the CLI installation guide. 
oc config set api-key YOUR_API_KEY

​
Step 1: Create the agent

oc agent create my-claw --core openclaw
This creates the agent, provisions an OpenClaw sandbox with Node 22 and the OpenRouter LLM provider pre-configured, and starts the OpenClaw gateway. Check that the agent is running: 
oc agent get my-claw

ID:        my-claw
Name:      my-claw
Core:      openclaw
Channels:  -
Packages:  -
Instance:  inst_... (running)
Wait for the status to show running before proceeding. Provisioning typically takes 20-30 seconds.

​
Step 2: Create a Telegram bot

Open this link to BotFather in Telegram (or search for @BotFather in the app). Then:
  1. Tap Start if it’s your first time
  2. Send /newbot
  3. Enter a display name when prompted (e.g. “My OpenClaw Agent”)
  4. Enter a username — must end in bot (e.g. my_claw_test_bot)
  5. BotFather replies with a token like 110201543:AAHdqTcvCH1vGWJxfSeofSAs0K5PALDsaw — copy it

​
Step 3: Connect Telegram

oc agent connect my-claw telegram
The CLI will prompt you to paste the bot token. Alternatively, use the API directly: 
curl -X POST https://api.opencomputer.dev/v1/agents/my-claw/channels/telegram \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -d '{"bot_token": "YOUR_BOT_TOKEN"}'
This registers a webhook with Telegram and configures OpenClaw’s built-in Telegram channel. OpenClaw hot-reloads the config automatically — no gateway restart needed. Verify it worked: 
oc agent get my-claw

Channels:  telegram

​
Step 4: Chat with your agent

Open Telegram, find your bot by its username, and send a message. The agent responds using Claude (via OpenRouter).

​
Shell access

You can shell into the agent’s sandbox at any time: 
oc shell my-claw
This opens an interactive terminal inside the agent’s environment. Some useful commands: 
# Check the gateway health
curl -s http://localhost:18789/health

# View the config
cat ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json

# List MCP servers (packages wired as tool providers)
openclaw mcp list

# Check channel status
openclaw channels status

# View gateway logs
cat /tmp/openclaw/openclaw-*.log
See the OpenClaw docs for the full feature set: plugins, canvas, voice, browser tools, and more.

​
Cleanup

Disconnect the channel and delete the agent: 
oc agent disconnect my-claw telegram
oc agent delete my-claw
Disconnecting removes the Telegram channel config. Deleting the agent tears down the sandbox.

​
OpenClaw vs Hermes

Both cores support the same user journey (create / connect / install). The differences are under the hood:
HermesOpenClaw
Config formatYAMLJSON5
Config reloadGateway restartHot-reload (file watcher)
Channel supportOne at a time, adapter-configured6 built-in + 20 plugin channels
Plugin modelSkills (files) + MCPRich plugin SDK with manifests
MCP supportmcp_servers in YAMLmcp.servers in JSON5
Choose Hermes for its self-improving skill loop and built-in memory. Choose OpenClaw for its breadth of channels and native plugin ecosystem.

​
What’s next

  • Install gbrain for persistent memory: oc agent install my-claw gbrain
  • Create a Hermes Agent — try the other managed core
  • Custom cores — bring your own agent runtime with oc shell and the raw sandbox API