Setup Guide|8 min read

How We Set Up Clawdbot for Marketers in 10 Min

OpenClaw + Telegram + Claude in ~10 minutes. The exact base layer we use before plugging agents into distribution, SEO, replies, and outbound.

Angrez Aley

Senior paid ads manager

20258 min read

We use Clawdbot to run marketing workflows we don't want humans doing manually.

This isn't theory. This is the exact setup we use before plugging agents into distribution, SEO, replies, and outbound.

If you can copy/paste and follow instructions, you can set this up in ~20 minutes.

What You're Actually Building

You're setting up:

A local OpenClaw instance
Connected to a Telegram bot
Powered by Claude
Controlled from Cursor

After that, you can start building agents on top. No Docker gymnastics. No server setup. Just local.

Step 1 — Create a Clean Folder

Create a folder on your laptop:

~/clawdbot

Don't mix this with random projects. Keep it isolated.

ClawdBot clawdbot folder on Mac desktop — step 1 of OpenClaw Telegram Claude local setup guide

Step 2 — Install Cursor

Download Cursor from the official website: cursor.com/downloads.

Install it and open it. You don't need to know how to code — you just need it to run a terminal and edit files.

Step 3 — Open the Folder in Cursor

Inside Cursor:

1

Click "Open Folder"

2

Select clawdbot

Now everything runs inside that directory.

Opening clawdbot folder in Cursor IDE using Open Folder dialog — Clawdbot OpenClaw setup step 3

Step 4 — Install OpenClaw

Go to the OpenClaw GitHub repository:

1

Click the green "Code" button

2

Select "Download ZIP"

3

Unzip the downloaded file

4

Copy the unzipped folder into your clawdbot folder

How to download OpenClaw ZIP from GitHub — click Code then Download ZIP

Once the folder is inside your clawdbot directory, ask Cursor to set it up for you:

Ask Cursor to set up Clawdbot for you

Ask Cursor to start localhost for you. When it's running, open your browser at:

http://localhost:3000

You should see the OpenClaw dashboard.

OpenClaw dashboard running locally in browser — Clawdbot agent control panel after installing from GitHub

If you see a dashboard, you're good.

Step 5 — Create a Telegram Bot

Open Telegram. Search: @BotFather

1

Type /newbot

2

Pick a name.

3

Pick a username (must end in bot).

It will give you a token that looks like:

1234567890:AA...

Copy it.

Don't post it publicly. Whoever has it controls your bot.

Telegram BotFather bot creation — setting up Clawdbot Telegram bot with newbot command and API token

Step 6 — Connect Telegram to OpenClaw

In OpenClaw, go to: Channels → Telegram

Pasting Telegram bot token into OpenClaw Channels settings to connect Clawdbot to Telegram
FieldValue
Telegram Bot TokenPaste your token
Modepolling
Webhook fieldsLeave empty
EnabledON

Click: Save → Reload → Probe

Success state

Running: Yes

If not, your token is wrong. Regenerate it in BotFather and try again.

Screenshot: Telegram settings with Running: Yes

Step 7 — Approve Pairing

When you message your bot the first time, it'll send a pairing code. In your terminal, run:

$ openclaw pairing approve telegram YOUR_CODE

Replace YOUR_CODE with the code from Telegram.

Now message the bot again. If it replies, setup is complete.

Step 8 — Connect Claude

Inside your clawdbot folder, create a file:

.env

Add:

ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your_key_here

Save it. Restart OpenClaw. Now your Telegram bot is backed by Claude.

Safety Notes

Running this on your main laptop is fine for testing, internal bots, and early experiments. But understand:

It runs with your user permissions

Your API keys are stored locally

It stays active while running

If this becomes revenue-generating, public-facing, or running 24/7 — move it to a separate machine.

What We Recommend

Dedicated old laptop

Or a used Mac Mini

Or at minimum, separate OS user

Clean isolation. No risk to personal files. Can run 24/7. Doesn't slow your main work.

Your thinking machine and your automation machine shouldn't be the same box.

What This Unlocks

Once this is running, you can build:

Buying intent monitoring agents
SEO content distributors
Autonomous reply agents
Directory submission bots
Community monitoring bots

But all of that sits on top of this base layer.

This is the foundation. Get this right once. Then iterate.

Need Help Setting Up?

Email hello@get-ryze.ai and we'll walk you through it.

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