Install OpenClaw — Free Step-by-Step Guide for Mac Mini & VPS

Install the OpenClaw macOS app

Download from the official site and drag to /Applications. On first launch, macOS will prompt for TCC permissions — Notifications, Accessibility, Screen Recording, Microphone, Speech Recognition, and Automation/AppleScript. Grant all; the gateway uses them to read notifications and control apps on your behalf.

Install the CLI

Open Terminal and install OpenClaw globally via npm (install Node.js 20+ first if you don't have it, via brew install node):

npm install -g openclaw@latest

Verify with openclaw --version.

Run the onboarding wizard

This installs the launchd daemon so the gateway restarts on reboot, and walks you through picking a model provider (Claude, Claude Max, ChatGPT, DeepSeek, or local Ollama):

openclaw onboard --install-daemon

When the wizard asks for a bind mode, pick Local — the gateway stays on loopback (127.0.0.1). Do not expose it directly to the LAN.

Connect your messaging platform

For WhatsApp (recommended in MY — use a dedicated +60 number, not your primary WhatsApp):

openclaw channels login --channel whatsapp

A QR code will appear. Scan it from WhatsApp → Linked Devices. For Telegram substitute --channel telegram and follow the bot-token prompt.

Lock down who can DM your assistant

Edit ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json and set an allowlist so only your number(s) can talk to the gateway:

{
  "channels": {
    "whatsapp": {
      "dmPolicy": "allowlist",
      "allowFrom": ["+60123456789"],
      "groupPolicy": "disabled"
    }
  }
}

Restart the gateway: openclaw gateway restart.

Configure for 24/7 headless operation

System Settings → Energy → uncheck "Put hard disks to sleep when possible" and set "Prevent automatic sleeping when the display is off" to ON. Enable FileVault (System Settings → Privacy & Security) and turn on the macOS firewall. For remote access into the Mac from outside your LAN, install Tailscale and use tailscale serve — don't port-forward the gateway on your router.

Open the dashboard and test

From any machine on the same Tailscale network:

openclaw dashboard

Then WhatsApp "Hello" to the linked number. If the assistant replies, you're done.

Provision the VPS

Minimum: 2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM, 20 GB SSD. Region: Singapore (ap-southeast-1 on AWS, SGP1 on DO). SSH in as a non-root user with sudo, and make sure the box is fully updated:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Install Node.js 20+

Using NodeSource's official script:

curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_20.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt install -y nodejs

Confirm with node --version — should be v20.x or higher.

Install OpenClaw

npm install -g openclaw@latest

If you're on an ARM VPS or a small droplet, also add these to ~/.bashrc to speed up node restarts (per the official runbook):

export NODE_COMPILE_CACHE=/var/tmp/openclaw-compile-cache
mkdir -p /var/tmp/openclaw-compile-cache
export OPENCLAW_NO_RESPAWN=1

Run onboarding + install the systemd user service

openclaw onboard --install-daemon

The wizard installs openclaw-gateway.service as a user-scope systemd unit and enables auto-start on reboot.

Configure the gateway to loopback-only

The secure default is to keep the gateway on 127.0.0.1 and reach it via SSH tunnel or Tailscale — not to expose it on the public internet.

openclaw configure

Pick Local (this machine). If you bind to LAN or tailnet instead, OpenClaw will require you to set gateway.auth.token or gateway.auth.password — don't skip this.

Connect WhatsApp or Telegram

openclaw channels login --channel whatsapp

On a headless VPS the QR code renders in the terminal as ASCII — scan it from WhatsApp → Linked Devices on your phone.

Set the allowlist + restart

Same config as the Mac mini path — edit ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json and lock dmPolicy to allowlist, then:

systemctl --user restart openclaw-gateway.service

Access the dashboard over SSH tunnel

ssh -L 8787:127.0.0.1:8787 user@your-vps-ip

Then visit http://127.0.0.1:8787 in your local browser. WhatsApp "Hello" to the linked number — you're live.