**What I learned:**

Clawdbot (now officially renamed **OpenClaw**) is a self-hosted, open-source personal AI assistant that connects to messaging apps (Telegram, WhatsApp, Discord, Slack, Signal, iMessage) and uses LLMs to act as an autonomous agent on your behalf. It's roughly one week old as a public project and the community is moving fast — the name has already changed twice (Clawdbot → Moltbot → OpenClaw).

**KEY PATTERNS from the research:**

1. **Security is the #1 concern** — Multiple Reddit threads and guides warn that many setups are wide open to the internet with zero auth. Run it on dedicated/isolated hardware (VM, Mac Mini, NAS), never your main machine. Block dangerous commands via allowlist. Never add it to group chats.

2. **Use the onboarding wizard, not Docker** — Docker was reported as unreliable (shims, bridges). The single-line install script (`curl -fsSL https://clawd.bot/install.sh | bash`) followed by `openclaw onboard` is the smoothest path. Docker is a "no-go" per multiple users.

3. **Model choice matters a lot** — Claude Opus 4.5 is recommended for best results (trained to resist prompt injection, ~99% resistance). For budget setups, Claude Haiku works at $0. Local models (Ollama/LM Studio) work but cause hallucination and token issues — GLM 4.7 Flash (30B) was recommended as the best local option.

4. **Telegram is the easiest channel to start with** — Most guides and users start with a Telegram bot token. WhatsApp QR code pairing fails frequently. Get Telegram working first, then expand.

5. **Sandbox and isolate** — Set `agents.defaults.sandbox.mode` to `"non-main"` for Docker sandboxing. Use a Linux VM or UTM on Mac to segregate traffic. Tailscale for secure remote access.

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✅ All agents reported back!
├─ 🟠 Reddit: 19 threads │ 415+ upvotes │ 290+ comments
├─ 🔵 X: 29 posts │ 815+ likes │ 65+ reposts
├─ 🌐 Web: 10+ pages │ Medium, DataCamp, DEV, GitHub, QNAP, docs.openclaw.ai
└─ Top voices: r/clawdbot, r/LocalLLM, r/AskVibecoders │ @aashatwt (452 likes), @recap_david (329 likes) │ Lukas Niessen on Medium

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**Here's the consensus best setup path based on what the community actually recommends:**

### Quick-Start (30 min)
1. **Get dedicated hardware** — Mac Mini, old laptop, NAS (QNAP has an official guide), or a VPS (DigitalOcean gist available). Don't use your daily driver.
2. **Install via script**: `curl -fsSL https://clawd.bot/install.sh | bash`
3. **Run the wizard**: `openclaw onboard` — it walks through gateway, workspace, channels, and skills
4. **Connect Telegram first** — create a bot via @BotFather, paste the token
5. **Set your API key** — Anthropic API key for Claude, or connect Ollama for local models
6. **Customize SOUL.md** — this controls your bot's personality and behavior

### Security Hardening (do this immediately)
- Bind gateway to localhost only, use Tailscale for remote access
- Set sandbox mode to `"non-main"`
- Create an explicit command allowlist (block `rm -rf`, `sudo`, `chmod`)
- Rotate API keys every 90 days
- Never add the bot to group chats

### Budget Option ($0)
Per @shynxbt: Use a free AWS VPS + Claude Haiku model + Telegram bot = fully functional for $0.

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Want me to help you with a specific part of the setup, or do you have a particular use case in mind (home automation, CRM, coding assistant, etc.)?
