Note: These steps should be a starting point and a reference. This does NOT intend to be an exact step-by-step guide and will not be maintained (things often change).

AI is your friend. If you get stuck, ask AI.

Choose Your Path

Path 1: OpenClaw (Technical - 30 min)

Full control, maximum flexibility. Requires AWS account and basic terminal knowledge.

Total cost: ~$25-50/month (EC2 + API usage)

Path 2: Claude Cowork (Non-Technical - 5 min)

Simple and safe. Limited features but improving fast.

Total cost: ~$17/month (Available to Claude Pro Subscribers)

Path 1: OpenClaw Setup

My Personal Setup

• Set up my "personal computer" on Amazon AWS (5 min)
• Downloaded & setup OpenClaw (10 min)
• Gave it access to the internet (1 min)
• Gave it access to: Slack, Posthog, Notion, Telegram (~15 min)

Total: 31 minutes

Step 1: AWS EC2 Setup (5 min)

Launch Your Instance

1. Go to: AWS EC2 Console
2. Click: "Launch Instance"
3. Configure:
   • Name: openclaw-assistant
   • OS: Linux
   • Instance type: Choose the free instance with the most memory/storage
4. Click: "Launch Instance"
5. After it's launched, click Connect
   • Then connect using Public IP

Step 2: Download & Setup OpenClaw (10 min)

1. Run the install command from openclaw.ai in the EC2 Terminal:

curl -fsSL https://openclaw.ai/install.sh | bash

2. Go through the onboarding process
   • It may ask you for "API Keys" of different services. These are basically ways that you're able to communicate with other tools on the internet.
   • For example, for Anthropic (Claude) get your key here: console.anthropic.com

Step 3: Internet Access with Exa (1 min)

Exa gives your AI real-time web search capabilities.

Get Exa API Key

1. Sign up: exa.ai
2. Run the Claude Code command in terminal from exa.ai/docs/reference/exa-mcp#claude-code
3. Get API key from dashboard

Step 4: Connect Apps (15 min)

Telegram (5 min) - Recommended First

Why start here? Easiest setup + message your assistant from anywhere.

1. Create bot:
   • Open Telegram → Search @BotFather
   • Send /newbot
   • Name your bot → Save the API token
2. Use this token when configuring OpenClaw
3. Test: Message your bot "Hello!"

Important: At this point you can ask through Telegram how to set up tools and it will give you exact instructions.

Slack (3 min)

1. Create app: api.slack.com/apps → "Create New App"
2. Add permissions (OAuth & Permissions):
   • channels:history
   • channels:read
   • chat:write
   • users:read
3. Install to workspace → Copy Bot User OAuth Token
4. Connect to OpenClaw

Notion (3 min)

1. Create integration: notion.so/my-integrations
2. Copy token
3. Share pages: Open page → "..." → "Add connections" → Select your integration
4. Connect to OpenClaw

You're Done! Test It

Send your first message to your Telegram bot or run a command in the OpenClaw terminal to verify everything is working.

Path 2: Claude Cowork (5 min)

Quick Setup

1. Go to: claude.ai/cowork
2. Sign in or create account
3. Create agent: Click "New Agent"
4. Connect services:
   • Slack
   • Google Calendar
   • Notion
5. Test: "Summarize my Slack messages from today"

Which Should You Choose?

Need help with setup? Book a consultation and we'll walk you through it.