Deploy Your Own Open-Source AI Assistant with OpenClaw on Any Device

Introduction

OpenClaw is an open‑source, self‑hostable personal AI assistant platform that can run large language models locally and integrate with many chat services.

Hardware & Software Requirements

Personal computer (Windows/Mac/Linux)

Cloud server (Alibaba Cloud, Tencent Cloud, etc.)

NAS (e.g., Synology)

Raspberry Pi or other single‑board computer

System requirements

Linux (Ubuntu 20.04+, CentOS 8+, OpenCloudOS 9+)

≥4 GB RAM (8 GB+ recommended)

≥20 GB free disk space

Software dependencies

Node.js 18.x or newer

npm

Git

Docker (optional, recommended)

Environment Setup

Update system and install Git

# Update package index
sudo apt update

# Install Git
sudo apt install git -y

Install Node.js via NVM

# Install NVM
curl -o- https://gitee.com/RubyMetric/nvm-cn/raw/main/install.sh | bash

# Reload profile
source ~/.bashrc

# Install Node.js 22
nvm install 22

# Verify installation
node -v   # should start with v22

⚠️ Ensure Node.js version is 18 or higher to avoid compatibility issues.

One‑Click Installation of OpenClaw

Run the official install script:

# Official install script
curl -fsSL https://clawd.bot/install.sh | bash

After the script finishes, follow the interactive onboarding wizard to accept the risk notice, choose Quick Start, select a large‑model provider, enter the API key, and pick communication channels.

Integrating a Messaging Platform (Feishu example)

Create an app on Feishu Open Platform

Log in and click “Create Enterprise Self‑Built App”.

Enter name, description, icon.

Add “Robot” capability.

Configure robot parameters

Publish the app version.

Record App ID and App Secret.

Enter these values into OpenClaw’s configuration.

After configuring the callback URL and permissions on Feishu, the integration works.

💡 OpenClaw also supports WeChat, DingTalk, Telegram, Slack, etc.

Advanced Configuration: Skills and Hooks

Skills are predefined modules such as web search, file operations, scheduled tasks, and database actions. Hooks can automatically trigger actions based on keywords, timed pushes, or specific message formats. New users may skip these at first and add them later.

Maintenance and Upgrades

View logs

# Show logs
openclaw logs

# Follow logs in real time
openclaw logs -f

Update OpenClaw

# Update to latest version
openclaw update

Backup configuration

Regularly back up ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json and related data. Also check API‑key validity to avoid service interruption.

⚠️ Important: Periodically verify that API keys are still valid.

Conclusion

Following this guide you have a 24/7 self‑hosted AI assistant that runs locally, keeps data under your control, integrates with multiple chat platforms, and can be extended with custom skills and hooks.