A step-by-step guide for getting your AI assistant up and running — no technical knowledge required.
OpenClaw is your AI-powered business assistant. Once set up, it can communicate with your customers on WhatsApp, Telegram, email, your website, and more — automatically, 24/7. This guide walks you through the Configuration Portal, where you connect everything together in a few simple steps.
Step 1 — Accessing the Configuration Portal
When your server is ready, you will receive an email from Cloud Acropolis with your Configuration Portal URL and your Password. It looks like this:
Password: your-password-here
To log in, follow these steps:
|
1. Open the Portal URL in your browser
↓
2. A one-time code is sent to your email
↓
3. Enter the one-time code
↓
4. Enter your Portal Password
↓
5. You are inside the portal ✓
|
The Portal — A Quick Overview
Once inside, you will see three main parts:
- Top bar — always visible. Shows your server address, pending changes, the Apply Configuration button, and Sign Out.
- Left sidebar — navigation menu. Click any item to go to that section.
- Main area — where you configure each section. Add form at the top, existing items listed below.
Step 2 — Connect Your AI Brain
This is the most important step. Your AI Brain is the intelligence behind your assistant. Without it, nothing else works. You need to connect at least one AI provider and give it your API key.
What is an API key?
An API key is like a password that gives OpenClaw permission to use the AI service on your behalf. You get it from the AI provider's website. It usually costs a small amount based on how much you use it.
Which AI provider should I choose?
Claude (Anthropic) Best for natural, human-like conversations |
OpenAI (ChatGPT) Most well-known, great all-rounder |
Groq Extremely fast responses |
Ollama Your own server — no API costs |
Don't see your provider listed?
Choose Custom / Other from the provider grid. This lets you connect any OpenAI-compatible, Anthropic-compatible, or other supported endpoint — your own self-hosted server, a provider we don't list yet, or a private gateway. You'll give it a name, a web address, the type of API it speaks, and (if needed) an API key. If you're not sure of the exact model name, click Fetch Models to pull the list directly from your server.
How to connect an AI provider:
- In the sidebar, click AI Brain
- Click on your chosen provider from the grid
- Paste your API key — click the help link next to it if you do not have one yet
- Choose a model (the default is a good starting point)
- Click Save Provider
- Click Apply Configuration at the top
Step 3 — Connect Your Communication Channels
This is where you tell OpenClaw which platforms to listen on. Your AI assistant will automatically respond to messages received on the channels you connect.
Telegram |
Slack |
Discord |
Signal |
MS Teams |
????WebChat |
You can connect as many channels as you like. Each channel can have multiple accounts — for example, a “sales” WhatsApp account and a “support” WhatsApp account.
WebChat — a chat widget for your own website
WebChat is different from the other channels: instead of connecting to an outside platform, it gives you a ready-made chat page tied directly to one of your agents — for example https://your-server.cabiz.lt/chat/support. Share that link (and its password) with anyone — on your website, in an email signature, anywhere — and they can chat with that agent directly, with full support for text, images, and file uploads.
How to connect a channel:
- In the sidebar, click Channels
- Click on the channel type you want to connect (e.g. WhatsApp)
- Give the account a name (e.g. “default”, “sales”, “support”) — for WebChat, choose the agent and set an access password instead
- Fill in the required details — each channel has a help link explaining exactly where to find them
- Click Connect Channel
- Click Apply Configuration at the top
Step 4 — Connect Your Email
Connecting email allows your AI assistant to read incoming emails and reply on your behalf. You can connect one email account or several — one for each department if you like.
How to connect an email account:
- In the sidebar, click Email
- Give the account a name (e.g. “default”, “sales”, “support”)
- Fill in your IMAP and SMTP server details
- Enter your email address and password
- Click Save Email Account
- Click Apply Configuration at the top
Step 5 — Connect Your Calendar
Connecting a calendar lets your AI assistant check your availability, schedule meetings, and manage appointments automatically.
Supported calendar types:
- Google Calendar — connect via OAuth (one click)
- Outlook / Microsoft 365 — connect via OAuth (one click)
- Calendly — paste your API key
- CalDAV — for Nextcloud, Fastmail, and other self-hosted options
How to connect a calendar:
- In the sidebar, click Calendar
- Give the account a name (e.g. “work”, “personal”)
- Select your calendar type
- Follow the instructions for your chosen type
- Click Save Calendar
- Click Apply Configuration at the top
Step 6 — Connect Social Media (Postiz)
Your server comes with Postiz pre-installed — a social media scheduling platform that lets you publish content to LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter/X, Facebook, and more. Once connected, your AI assistant can create and schedule posts directly from your conversations.
How to activate Postiz:
- Open your Postiz URL (in your welcome email — looks like
https://oc-pc-xxx.cloudacropolis.lt) - Register your account using your email and a password of your choice
- Go to Settings → Developers → Public API and copy your API key
- In the sidebar, click Social
- Paste the API key into the field
- Click Save & Connect
- Click Apply Configuration at the top
Step 7 — Set Up Your Agents
An Agent is a personalised AI persona. Think of it as a member of your team — each one has its own name, personality, communication channels, email account, and calendar.
You might set up one agent for customer support, another for sales, and a third just for handling emails. Or you can start with a single agent that does everything.
How to create an agent:
- In the sidebar, click Agents
- Enter an Agent ID (e.g. “support”, “sales”) and a Display Name (e.g. “Support Agent”)
- Click Add Agent
How to configure an agent:
Once created, click Edit to open the agent editor. Here you can:
- Choose an AI model (only available after connecting an AI provider)
- Set a token budget (controls how much the agent can process per conversation)
- Bind the agent to one or more communication channels
- Assign a dedicated email account to the agent
- Assign a calendar to the agent
- Turn on Custom and Built-in Skills for this agent (see Step 8 below)
- Upload agent files — such as SOUL.md (the agent’s personality) and IDENTITY.md (who the agent presents itself as)
???? Step 8 — Teach Your Agents New Skills
A Skill is a set of instructions that teaches an agent how to handle a specific task — for example, checking the weather, verifying an invoice, or looking up the time in another city. The Skills page (under Agents in the sidebar) has two parts.
Built-in Skills
OpenClaw ships with over 50 ready-made skills — things like weather lookups, diagram creation, meme generation, and more. Skills marked Ready are already available to every agent automatically. Some need an API key first (you'll see a short setup form right there on the page); others require extra software that isn't available on this server and can't be enabled from the portal.
Custom Skills
Write your own — a name, a short description of when the agent should use it, and step-by-step instructions. Choose which agent(s) should have it right away. You can add more agents later from each agent's own editor.
How to create a custom skill:
- In the sidebar, click Skills
- Fill in a Skill ID, Display Name, Description, and Instructions
- Choose which agent(s) to create it on
- Click Save Skill
To add an existing skill to another agent, or turn a built-in skill on or off for one specific agent, open that agent's editor and use the checkboxes under Custom Skills and Built-in Skills.
Recommended Setup Order
| → | → | → | → | → | → | ???? Skills |
You do not need to complete every section. For example, if you only need WhatsApp and email, just set those up and create your agent. Skills are entirely optional — your agent works fine without any.
Need Help?
Our support agent Sina is available via WhatsApp and typically responds within 4 business hours.
You can also:
- Visit our Knowledge Base for more guides
- Open a Support Ticket
- Email us at support@cloudacropolis.lt
Cloud Acropolis — OpenClaw Business Agency · Security · Reliability · Performance
