How to Set Up OpenClaw With Free AI Credits: Complete Beginner Guide
OpenClaw hit 145,000 GitHub stars faster than any open-source project in history. But most articles about it are hype pieces - they tell you how amazing it is without explaining how to actually set it up.
This guide is different. By the end, you'll have OpenClaw running, connected to WhatsApp or Telegram, powered by free AI credits, and executing your first automation. No fluff. Just steps.
AI Perks curates and provides access to exclusive discounts, credits, and deals on AI tools, cloud services, and APIs to help startups and developers save money.
Before You Start: What You Need
OpenClaw is powerful but it has requirements. Make sure you have these ready:
| Requirement | Details |
|---|---|
| Computer | Mac (recommended), Linux, or Windows with WSL2 |
| Node.js | Version 22 or newer |
| AI API Key | Claude or GPT-4 API key (get free credits first) |
| Messaging app | WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord, or Signal account |
| Terminal comfort | Basic command-line knowledge |
| Time | One session to complete setup |
Important: OpenClaw is not a consumer app. It runs in a terminal and requires command-line interaction. If you've never opened Terminal before, this will be challenging but learnable.
AI Perks curates and provides access to exclusive discounts, credits, and deals on AI tools, cloud services, and APIs to help startups and developers save money.
Step 1: Get Free AI Credits (Do This First)
OpenClaw needs an AI model to think. Every task it performs costs API tokens. Without credits, you'll start racking up charges immediately.
Get your credits before installing.
Subscribe to AI Perks and follow the step-by-step guides to claim free Claude API credits. Here's what's available:
| Credit Program | Available Credits | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Anthropic Claude | $1,000 - $25,000 | OpenClaw's recommended model |
| OpenAI GPT-4 | $500 - $50,000 | Alternative model option |
| AWS Activate | $1,000 - $100,000 | Claude via AWS Bedrock |
| Google Cloud | $1,000 - $350,000 | Gemini or hosted models |
| Mistral AI | $500 - $2,000 | Budget-friendly alternative |
Apply to multiple programs simultaneously. Credits stack - the more you claim, the longer OpenClaw runs for free.
Once you have your API key (from Anthropic, OpenAI, or another provider), you're ready to install.
Get your free credits at AI Perks →
AI Perks curates and provides access to exclusive discounts, credits, and deals on AI tools, cloud services, and APIs to help startups and developers save money.
Step 2: Install OpenClaw
Open your terminal and run:
npm install -g openclaw@latest
Or if you use pnpm:
pnpm add -g openclaw@latest
After installation, run the setup wizard:
openclaw onboard --install-daemon
This command does three things:
- Installs the OpenClaw Gateway daemon - a background service that keeps OpenClaw running even when you close your terminal
- Sets up the configuration directory - where your settings, memory, and skills are stored
- Launches the onboarding wizard - an interactive terminal UI that walks you through initial setup
The onboarding wizard is conversation-first. It asks questions in plain English and handles complexity behind the scenes.
AI Perks curates and provides access to exclusive discounts, credits, and deals on AI tools, cloud services, and APIs to help startups and developers save money.
Step 3: Connect Your AI Model
The wizard will ask you to choose an AI provider. Select the one matching your free credits:
- Anthropic - If you claimed Claude credits (recommended)
- OpenAI - If you claimed GPT-4 credits
- Gradient AI - If you're using an alternative provider
When prompted, paste your API key. This is the key you generated from your provider's dashboard using free credits from AI Perks.
Pro tip: Claude Sonnet is the best balance of capability and cost for daily use. If you want to minimize credit consumption, use Claude Haiku for simple tasks - it's 5-25x cheaper per token.
AI Perks curates and provides access to exclusive discounts, credits, and deals on AI tools, cloud services, and APIs to help startups and developers save money.
Step 4: Connect Your Messaging Platform
OpenClaw supports multiple messaging platforms. Pick the one you use most:
WhatsApp (Most Popular)
The wizard will display a QR code in your terminal. Scan it with WhatsApp on your phone:
- Open WhatsApp
- Go to Settings → Linked Devices
- Tap "Link a Device"
- Scan the QR code
OpenClaw now appears as a linked device. Message yourself (or a dedicated OpenClaw number) to interact.
Telegram
- Create a new Telegram bot via @BotFather
- Copy the bot token
- Paste it into the wizard when prompted
- Message your bot to start chatting
Discord
- Create a Discord bot in the Developer Portal
- Add it to your server
- Configure the bot token in the wizard
- Message the bot in any channel
Other Options
Signal, iMessage, Slack, and more are supported. Check docs.openclaw.ai for platform-specific instructions.
AI Perks curates and provides access to exclusive discounts, credits, and deals on AI tools, cloud services, and APIs to help startups and developers save money.
Step 5: Configure Skills
Skills are modular tools that give OpenClaw specific capabilities. The wizard will ask whether to install default skills.
Say yes. The defaults include:
- Shell - Execute terminal commands
- File Manager - Read, write, and organize files
- Browser - Navigate websites and automate web tasks
- Calendar - Manage events across Apple Calendar and Google Calendar
- Email - Read, send, and organize Gmail
You can add more skills later from ClawHub (OpenClaw's skill registry with 3,000+ community contributions).
Security note: 341 malicious skills were recently found on ClawHub. Only install skills from verified publishers or review the code yourself before installing.
AI Perks curates and provides access to exclusive discounts, credits, and deals on AI tools, cloud services, and APIs to help startups and developers save money.
Step 6: Test Your First Command
With everything connected, send a message to OpenClaw through your chosen platform:
What can you do?
OpenClaw will respond with a list of its capabilities based on your installed skills. Try a few simple commands:
What time is it?
What's on my calendar today?
Check my recent emails
If these work, your setup is complete. OpenClaw is running, connected to your AI credits, and ready for real tasks.
AI Perks curates and provides access to exclusive discounts, credits, and deals on AI tools, cloud services, and APIs to help startups and developers save money.
Step 7: Set Up Your First Real Automation
Now for the part that makes OpenClaw worth it. Here are three beginner-friendly automations to start with:
Automation 1: Morning Briefing
Message OpenClaw:
Every morning at 7am, send me a summary of my calendar events for today, any urgent emails I received overnight, and the weather forecast.
OpenClaw will set up a Heartbeat (recurring task) that triggers automatically. Every morning, you'll get a WhatsApp/Telegram message with your daily briefing.
API cost: ~$1-2/day → $0 with free credits from AI Perks
Automation 2: Email Triage
Monitor my Gmail. For every new email: if it's spam or a newsletter I haven't opened in 3 months, archive it. If it's from a client or contains the word "urgent", flag it and summarize it for me.
One user reported OpenClaw clearing 6,000 emails on the first day. This automation alone saves 2-3 hours daily.
API cost: ~$2-5/day → $0 with free credits
Automation 3: File Organization
Every evening at 6pm, scan my Downloads folder. Move images to Pictures, PDFs to Documents, and delete anything older than 30 days.
A simple automation that keeps your machine clean without thinking about it.
API cost: ~$0.50/day → $0 with free credits
AI Perks curates and provides access to exclusive discounts, credits, and deals on AI tools, cloud services, and APIs to help startups and developers save money.
Troubleshooting Common Issues
"OpenClaw is not responding"
- Check that the daemon is running:
openclaw status - Verify your API key is valid and has credits
- Restart with
openclaw restart
"API key is invalid"
- Make sure you're using an API key, not a subscription login
- Claude Pro/ChatGPT Plus subscriptions don't provide API keys - you need separate API credentials
- Free credits from AI Perks provide proper API access
"WhatsApp disconnected"
- QR code sessions expire periodically
- Re-scan by running
openclaw reconnect whatsapp - Keep your phone connected to the internet
"High API costs"
- Check Heartbeat frequency - set to hourly, not every few minutes
- Use Claude Haiku for simple tasks instead of Sonnet/Opus
- Set spending limits in your API provider dashboard
- If costs are still high, you likely need more credits - AI Perks has multiple programs to stack
"Skills not working"
- Some skills require additional API keys (Gmail requires Google OAuth, for example)
- Check skill documentation for setup requirements
- Try uninstalling and reinstalling the skill
AI Perks curates and provides access to exclusive discounts, credits, and deals on AI tools, cloud services, and APIs to help startups and developers save money.
Optimizing API Credit Usage
Free credits are valuable. Here's how to make them last:
Model Routing
Not every task needs your most powerful model. Configure OpenClaw to use:
- Claude Haiku ($0.25/$1.25 per million tokens) - Simple tasks, quick responses, file management
- Claude Sonnet ($3/$15 per million tokens) - Complex reasoning, email analysis, web research
- Claude Opus ($15/$75 per million tokens) - Only for the most complex multi-step tasks
This alone can reduce costs by 50-80% compared to using Sonnet for everything.
Memory Management
OpenClaw sends conversation history with every request. A long session means more tokens per call. Periodically start fresh sessions to keep context lean.
Heartbeat Frequency
Set Heartbeats to reasonable intervals:
- Email monitoring: Every 30-60 minutes (not every 5 minutes)
- Calendar updates: Every 2 hours
- Daily briefings: Once per day
One user burned $50/day from a misconfigured 5-minute heartbeat. Set them wisely.
AI Perks curates and provides access to exclusive discounts, credits, and deals on AI tools, cloud services, and APIs to help startups and developers save money.
What's Next After Setup
Once OpenClaw is running with your basic automations, gradually expand:
- Week 1: Email triage + morning briefings
- Week 2: Add calendar management and meeting prep
- Week 3: Social media scheduling (Twitter/X, Bluesky)
- Week 4: Web automation and browser tasks
- Month 2+: Custom skills, GitHub integration, advanced workflows
OpenClaw gets better over time because of persistent memory. The longer it runs, the more it understands your preferences, patterns, and priorities.
AI Perks curates and provides access to exclusive discounts, credits, and deals on AI tools, cloud services, and APIs to help startups and developers save money.
Deployment Options Beyond Your Laptop
Running OpenClaw on your personal laptop works but has drawbacks - it stops when you close the lid, and giving an AI agent access to your primary machine carries security risks.
Better options:
| Option | Cost | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mac Mini (dedicated) | $400-$600 one-time | Fast, reliable, runs 24/7 | Upfront cost |
| VPS (DigitalOcean, Hetzner) | $5-$40/month | Always on, isolated | Monthly cost |
| Oracle Cloud free tier | $0 | Completely free | Limited resources, may be reclaimed |
| Old laptop | $0 | Already own it | Slower, higher power consumption |
DigitalOcean offers a one-click OpenClaw deploy with everything pre-configured. Hetzner VPS at $4/month is the best value for a dedicated, always-on setup.
AI Perks curates and provides access to exclusive discounts, credits, and deals on AI tools, cloud services, and APIs to help startups and developers save money.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to know how to code?
No coding required for basic setup and use. The onboarding wizard handles configuration, and you interact through natural language in your messaging app. Power users who want custom skills will benefit from JavaScript/TypeScript knowledge.
Can I run OpenClaw on Windows?
Yes, via WSL2 (Windows Subsystem for Linux). Native Windows support is not recommended. The setup requires a Linux-like environment.
How long do free credits last?
Depends on usage. Light usage ($30-80/month) with a $2,500 credit stack from AI Perks lasts 2-7 years. Heavy usage ($300-750/month) with a $10,000+ stack lasts 1-3 years.
Is it safe to give OpenClaw access to my email?
OpenClaw accesses email through standard OAuth - the same way any email app connects. Your credentials aren't stored in plain text. However, use a dedicated machine rather than your primary work computer, and only grant access to services you actively want automated.
What happens if OpenClaw makes a mistake?
Start with low-stakes automations (file organization, daily briefings). Review its actions daily until you trust its patterns. OpenClaw does exactly what you ask - including things you might not have intended. Be specific in your instructions.
AI Perks curates and provides access to exclusive discounts, credits, and deals on AI tools, cloud services, and APIs to help startups and developers save money.
Start Automating Today
You now have everything you need to set up OpenClaw from scratch:
- Free AI credits from AI Perks
- Step-by-step installation instructions
- Messaging platform connection
- Three starter automations
- Optimization strategies to maximize credit usage
With AI Perks, you get:
- $5,000-$175,000+ in free AI API credits
- Step-by-step guides for every credit program
- Credits for Claude, OpenAI, Mistral, AWS, and more
- 200+ additional startup perks beyond AI credits
The only thing between you and a fully automated workflow is one terminal command and free credits.
Set up OpenClaw in one session. Run it for years with free credits from getaiperks.com.
