Aethir Claw Setup Guide
Detailed guide for setting up Aethir Claw
What's covered in this guide
Cloud server instance setup, SSH keys configuration
Register LLM platform accounts and obtain API keys
Install, configure models, channels & browser
1. Prerequisites
1.1 Purchase a Cloud Server Instance
Visit https://claw.aethir.com, log in, and purchase a cloud server instance.
Steps:
On the "Plans" page, click "+ New Instance," select your preferred region and instance specifications, then click "Get Started" to purchase.
After confirming the configuration, choose monthly or annual payment, then click "Proceed to Checkout."
On the Checkout page, enter a discount code in the "Promo Code" field if you have one, or leave it blank. Select your payment method to complete the transaction.
1.2 Generate an SSH Key & Configure the Public Key
Generate an SSH key on your local PC and configure its public key on the cloud server instance.
Step 1 — Generate the SSH Key
If you already have an SSH key on your PC, you can skip Step 1 and proceed directly to Step 2.
1. Open Command Prompt and navigate to your SSH key directory:
2. Generate the SSH key. Replace the email address and filename as needed:
3. When prompted for a passphrase, press Enter twice to keep it password-less, or enter a passphrase for added security.
4. Two files will be created in the current directory:
aethir-claw
Private key — Keep this secure; never share it or copy it to another machine.
aethir-claw.pub
Public key — Copy its contents to the SSH Keys page.
Step 2 — Add the Public Key to the Cloud Server
Locate the
aethir-claw.pubfile in the.sshdirectory and open it with Notepad (or any text editor). Copy all of its contents.
You can also retrieve the public key in the terminal directly by using these commands:
Linux/macOS:
bash
or, for the default key location, use cat ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub.
Windows (Command Prompt/PowerShell):
powershell
In the Aethir Claw web portal, navigate to: SSH Keys → Add your first key → Add Public Key. Paste the entire content in the .pub file into the Public Key input field
After purchasing a cloud instance, go to My Instances, click on your instance. In the "Configure SSH Access" pop-up, click "Deploy Keys," select the corresponding key you just set up, then click "Deploy Key" to complete SSH key configuration.
On the cloud server Dashboard under the SSH Keys tab, confirm your key is listed. You can add multiple keys or remove existing ones. SSH access is only possible after a key is configured.
You can only access the cloud server via SSH after at least one SSH key has been configured on the instance.
1.3 Register an LLM Platform Account & Obtain an API Key
OpenClaw requires an API key (or OAuth authorization) from a large language model platform. Register an account on one or more platforms below and apply for an API key before proceeding.
✔ TIP — OpenRouter is the easiest starting point. It gives you access to dozens of models (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, etc.) with a single API key.
2. Quick Setup of AethirClaw
2.1 Remote SSH Access to the Cloud Server
After configuring an SSH key on your instance, the Aethir Claw portal provides a ready-to-use SSH command. Copy and run it in Command Prompt to connect.
Anatomy of the SSH command: ssh -i <private-key-file.pem> -p 10136 [email protected]
-i <private-key-file.pem>
Replace with your actual private key filename, e.g. aethir-claw
-p 10136 [email protected]
Do not modify — the IP, port, and username are auto-assigned by the system
How to connect:
2.2 Remote Desktop Access (RDP)
Remote desktop (RDP) access requires setting up an SSH encrypted tunnel first, then connecting with an RDP client.
Step 1 — Create the SSH Tunnel
-i aethir-claw
Replace aethir-claw if your private key filename is different
<localport>
Choose any available local port, e.g. 13390
localhost:3389
Do not modify — this is the RDP port on the cloud server
<public-ip> and <port>
Find these in the Network tab of your cloud server instance
abc
Username is always abc — no modification needed
Step 2 — Connect with an RDP Client
After the tunnel is established, open your RDP client and connect to localhost:<localport> (e.g. localhost:13390).
Linux
Remmina
macOS
Microsoft Remote Desktop (download from the App Store)
Windows
Microsoft Remote Desktop — press Win+R and type mstsc to launch
2.3 OpenClaw Wizard — Installation & Configuration
Once connected via SSH, run the OpenClaw onboarding wizard:
ℹ NOTE — Use the arrow keys to navigate between options, the spacebar to select/deselect, and Enter to confirm and move to the next step.
Follow the recommended settings in the table below:
I understand this is powerful and inherently risky. Continue?
Select "Yes"
Onboarding mode
Select "QuickStart"
Model/Auth Provider
Select "Skip for now" — configure later
Filter models by provider
Select "All providers"
Default model
Use the default configuration
Select channel (QuickStart)
Select "Skip for now" — configure later
Search provider
Select "Skip for now" — configure later
Configure skills now? (recommended)
Select "No" — configure later
Enable hooks?
Select "Skip for now"
✔ TIP — When complete, you will see "Onboarding complete..." - the basic setup is finished. You can now proceed to configure a model and channel.
2.4 Configure the Model
You will need the API Key obtained in Section 1.3. Run the configuration wizard and select the matching model provider.
Model configurations can be set up multiple times; you can configure multiple models to enable routing/switching.
Follow the steps in the table below (example uses OpenRouter):
Where will the Gateway run?
Select: Local (this machine ... ws://127.0.0.1:18789)
Select sections to configure
Select: Model
Model/auth provider
Select the provider matching your API Key from Section 1.3, e.g. OpenRouter
How do you want to provide this API key?
Select: Paste API key now
Enter API key
Paste the API key you obtained
Models in /model picker (multi-select)
Select the desired model(s); default is recommended
Confirmation message
...Updated ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json — your API key is saved ✓
Select sections to configure (follow-up)
Select "Channels" to continue, or "Continue" to exit
2.5 Configure Channels
Channels connect OpenClaw to messaging platforms (Telegram, WhatsApp, etc.). Configure each channel you need.
Channels
Select "Configure/link (Add/update channels)"
Select a channel
Choose your platform, e.g. Telegram (Bot API) — recommended for first-timers
Supported channels:
Telegram (Bot API)
WhatsApp (QR link)
Discord (Bot API)
IRC (Server + Nick)
Google Chat (Chat API)
Slack (Socket Mode)
Signal (signal-cli)
iMessage (imsg)
LINE (Messaging API)
Feishu / Lark (飞书)
Nostr (NIP-04 DMs)
Microsoft Teams
Mattermost (plugin)
Nextcloud Talk
Matrix (plugin)
BlueBubbles (macOS)
Zalo (Bot API)
Zalo (Personal)
Synology Chat
Tlon (Urbit)
After each channel configuration, restart the gateway:
2.5.1 Telegram Channel Setup
Open Telegram and search for BotFather — the official bot management account.
Send
/newbot, give the bot a name, and choose a unique username ending with"bot".BotFather will return a token. Copy the part after
"HTTP API:". Example:In the SSH window, run the configuration wizard and select: Local → Channels → Telegram, then paste the token:
Return to Telegram, open your bot's chat window, and send
/start. You will receive a pairing code:In the SSH window, approve the pairing:
The Agent is now online in Telegram. Return to Telegram, find your bot, and test the conversation.
2.5.2 WhatsApp Channel Setup
In the SSH window, run:
When prompted "Where will Gateway run?" select: Local (this machine ... ws://127.0.0.1:18789)
Under "Select sections to configure," choose Channels → WhatsApp → Generate a QR code.
On your phone, open WhatsApp → tap the three dots (⋮) → Linked devices → scan the QR code.
Confirm your WhatsApp phone number: three dots → Settings → User profile → Phone.
Enter the phone number in the terminal to complete WhatsApp authorization.
✔ TIP — Open WhatsApp and send yourself a message to test. The Agent will respond — e.g., "Here's a summary of the top 10 news stories in the AI field this week."
2.5.3 Feishu Channel Setup
See the full Feishu configuration documentation at: https://docs.openclaw.ai/zh-CN/channels/feishu
2.6 OpenClaw Control Web Interface (Optional)
Launch the dashboard to test conversations and view agents, skills, nodes, and more.
Copy the displayed Dashboard URL and open it in your local browser.
2.7 Enable Built-in Skills ⚡ Important
The cloud server comes pre-installed with commonly used skills. Enable them all with a single command:
⚠ IMPORTANT — Run this step after completing the initial setup to activate all pre-installed skills in one command.
14 built-in skills will be activated:
1
skill-vetter
2
Agent Browser
3
Tavily Web Search
4
find-skills
5
weather
6
self-improving-agent
7
summarize
8
Proactive Agent
9
gog
10
Clawsec
11
Multi Search Engine
12
ontology
13
GitHub
14
office-automation-test
After execution, the activated skills will appear on the Skills page of the OpenClaw Control web interface.
2.8 Configure the Chrome Browser
Configure Chrome so OpenClaw can access web resources through the browser process.
2.9 OpenClaw Command Reference
Quick reference for all OpenClaw CLI commands.
Core/Setup
openclaw tui
Launch the terminal UI
openclaw dashboard
Open the control panel
openclaw onboard
Initial global configuration
openclaw setup
Initialize configuration file
openclaw configure
Interactive configuration
openclaw config get
View current configuration
openclaw config set
Set a configuration option
Channels
openclaw channles add
Add a channel
openclaw channles login
Log in to a channel (WhatsApp, Telegram, etc.)
openclaw channles list
List connected channels
openclaw channles logout
Log out of a channel
openclaw message send
Send a message
openclaw message broadcast
Broadcast a message
openclaw status
View status (channel health, recent sessions)
Gateway
openclaw gateway status
Gateway status
openclaw gateway status --deep
Detailed gateway status
openclaw gateway status --json
Gateway status in JSON format
openclaw gateway install
Install the gateway
nohup openclaw gateway > nohup.out 2>&1 &
Start gateway in background (nohup)
openclaw gateway stop
Stop the gateway
openclaw health
View gateway health status
Skills & Plugins
openclaw skills
Skill management (install, update, delete)
openclaw skills install <skill>
Install a skill
openclaw skills list
List installed skills
openclaw plugins
Plugin management
Agents & Sessions
openclaw sessions
List session history
openclaw memory
Search memory contents
openclaw agents
Manage independent agents
openclaw cron
Scheduled task management
openclaw cron list
View scheduled tasks
openclaw cron add
Add a scheduled task
Browser
openclaw browser
Control the browser (automation)
openclaw browser status
Browser status
openclaw browser start
Start the AI-dedicated browser
openclaw nodes
Manage connected nodes (phones, etc.)
openclaw node
Single node control
Diagnostics & Maintenance
openclaw doctor
Diagnose issues + auto-fix
openclaw doctor --fix
Auto-fix issues
openclaw logs
View logs
openclaw logs --follow
Real-time log tracking
openclaw update
Update the CLI
openclaw reset
Reset configuration (keep CLI)
openclaw uninstall
Completely uninstall
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