How to Use ClawdBot

Master your personal AI assistant with this complete user guide. From basic commands to advanced automation.

📋 User Guide Contents

🚀 Getting Started

Prerequisites

Before using ClawdBot, make sure you've:

  • ✅ Installed ClawdBot and completed the onboarding wizard
  • ✅ Connected at least one messaging platform (Telegram, WhatsApp, Discord, etc.)
  • ✅ Configured an AI model (Claude, GPT-4, or local Ollama)
  • ✅ Started the Gateway server

Starting ClawdBot

# Start the Gateway server
clawdbot start

# Check status
clawdbot status

# View logs
clawdbot logs

Your First Conversation

Open your connected messaging app (e.g., Telegram) and send a message to your ClawdBot:

Hello! Can you introduce yourself?

ClawdBot will respond with information about its capabilities. That's it! You're now using ClawdBot.

💬 Basic Usage & Commands

Natural Language Interface

ClawdBot understands natural language. You don't need to memorize commands. Just chat normally:

❌ Don't: /search weather in New York
✅ Do: What's the weather like in New York?

❌ Don't: /file create test.txt
✅ Do: Create a file called test.txt with some sample content

Common Use Cases

1. General Questions

You: Explain quantum computing in simple terms
You: What's the capital of France?
You: Help me write a professional email

2. Code Assistance

You: Write a Python function to sort a list
You: Debug this JavaScript code: [paste code]
You: Explain what this SQL query does

3. Research & Summarization

You: Summarize the latest news about AI
You: Research the best laptops under $1000
You: What are the pros and cons of solar panels?

4. Creative Writing

You: Write a short story about a robot
You: Help me brainstorm blog post ideas
You: Create a product description for my app

Special Commands

While ClawdBot prefers natural language, some special commands exist:

Command Purpose Example
/reset Clear conversation context /reset
/model Switch AI model /model claude-3.5-sonnet
/status Check system status /status
/help Show available commands /help

📱 Using Messaging Platforms

Telegram

Most popular platform for ClawdBot. See Telegram integration guide.

Features:

  • ✅ Direct messages (DMs)
  • ✅ Group chats (mention @YourBot)
  • ✅ File uploads/downloads
  • ✅ Voice messages (transcribed automatically)
  • ✅ Inline buttons for actions

Usage Example:

# In Telegram DM
You: Analyze this image [upload photo]
Bot: [Provides detailed image analysis]

# In group chat
You: @ClawdBot summarize the last 20 messages
Bot: [Provides conversation summary]

WhatsApp

Works via QR code connection. See WhatsApp setup.

Features:

  • ✅ Personal chats
  • ✅ Group chats
  • ✅ Media sharing
  • ⚠️ May disconnect occasionally (requires re-scan)

Discord

Great for developer communities. See Discord integration.

Features:

  • ✅ Server channels
  • ✅ DMs
  • ✅ Slash commands
  • ✅ Thread support

Usage Example:

# In Discord channel
You: /ask What's the best way to deploy a Node.js app?
Bot: [Provides deployment guide]

iMessage (macOS only)

Native integration on Mac.

  • ✅ Works like any iMessage contact
  • ✅ Syncs across Apple devices
  • ❌ Requires Mac to be running

🌐 Browser Automation

One of ClawdBot's killer features is controlling a real browser to automate web tasks.

What You Can Do

  • 🔍 Research and extract information from websites
  • 📝 Fill out forms automatically
  • 🛒 Monitor prices or product availability
  • 📊 Scrape data from web pages
  • 🎫 Book appointments or tickets
  • 📧 Interact with web apps

Example Commands

1. Research & Information Extraction

You: Go to Wikipedia and find the population of Tokyo
Bot: [Opens browser, navigates to Wikipedia, extracts data]
Bot: Tokyo's population is approximately 14 million (2023)

You: Check the current price of Bitcoin on CoinMarketCap
Bot: [Browses to CoinMarketCap]
Bot: Bitcoin is currently trading at $43,250

2. Form Filling

You: Fill out this contact form with my details:
     Name: John Doe
     Email: john@example.com
     Message: Interested in your services
Bot: [Opens the page, fills form, submits]
Bot: Form submitted successfully!

3. Monitoring

You: Check if the iPhone 15 is in stock at Apple.com
Bot: [Browses Apple Store]
Bot: iPhone 15 Pro (256GB) is currently in stock with 2-3 day shipping

Browser Settings

Configure browser behavior in ~/.clawdbot/config.yaml:

browser:
  headless: true        # Run without visible window
  timeout: 30000        # Page load timeout (ms)
  userAgent: "custom"   # Custom user agent
  viewport:
    width: 1920
    height: 1080

Limitations

  • ⚠️ Can't bypass CAPTCHAs
  • ⚠️ Some sites block automation
  • ⚠️ Slower than direct API access
  • ⚠️ Requires stable internet connection

📁 File Operations

ClawdBot can read, write, and manipulate files on your system.

Reading Files

You: Read the contents of ~/Documents/notes.txt
Bot: [Displays file contents]

You: Summarize this PDF: ~/Downloads/report.pdf
Bot: [Extracts text and provides summary]

Writing Files

You: Create a file called shopping-list.txt with:
     - Milk
     - Eggs
     - Bread
Bot: File created at ~/shopping-list.txt

You: Write a Python script that prints "Hello World"
Bot: [Creates hello.py with the code]

File Analysis

You: Analyze this CSV file and tell me the average sales
Bot: [Reads CSV, calculates statistics]
Bot: Average sales: $12,450 per month

Security Note

⚠️ Important: ClawdBot has access to your file system. You can enable sandboxed mode to restrict access:

# In config.yaml
security:
  sandboxMode: true
  allowedPaths:
    - ~/Documents
    - ~/Downloads

🧠 Memory & Context

ClawdBot has persistent memory - it remembers your conversations and preferences.

How Memory Works

  • 📝 All conversations stored locally in ~/.clawdbot/memory/
  • 🔍 Automatically recalls relevant past conversations
  • 💾 Remembers your preferences, coding style, and context
  • 🔒 Completely private - stored as Markdown files

Teaching ClawdBot About You

You: Remember that I prefer Python over JavaScript
Bot: Got it! I'll prioritize Python in future code examples.

You: My name is Sarah and I'm a frontend developer
Bot: Nice to meet you, Sarah! I'll keep that in mind.

You: I always use tabs, not spaces
Bot: Noted - I'll use tabs in code formatting for you.

Recalling Information

You: What did we discuss about React last week?
Bot: [Searches memory]
Bot: We talked about React hooks and you asked about useEffect...

Managing Memory

# Clear specific conversation
You: Forget our conversation about project X

# Reset all memory (use with caution!)
You: /reset --hard

Memory Storage Location

~/.clawdbot/
├── memory/
│   ├── conversations/
│   │   ├── 2026-01-27-telegram.md
│   │   └── 2026-01-26-discord.md
│   └── preferences.json

🔌 Skills & Extensions

Extend ClawdBot's capabilities with community-created skills. See Skills guide.

Popular Skills

1. GitHub Integration

You: Create a new GitHub issue in my repo
You: Show me my open pull requests
You: Star this repository: username/repo

2. Calendar & Reminders

You: Remind me to call Mom tomorrow at 3pm
You: What's on my calendar today?
You: Schedule a meeting for next Monday

3. Email Management

You: Check my unread emails
You: Draft a reply to the last email from John
You: Send an email to team@company.com

4. Home Automation

You: Turn off the living room lights
You: Set thermostat to 72°F
You: Is the front door locked?

Installing Skills

# Install from ClawdHub
clawdbot skill install github-integration

# List installed skills
clawdbot skill list

# Remove a skill
clawdbot skill remove calendar

Creating Custom Skills

Skills are just JavaScript/TypeScript modules. Create your own:

// ~/.clawdbot/skills/my-skill.js
module.exports = {
  name: 'weather',
  description: 'Get weather information',
  async execute(location) {
    // Your custom logic here
    return `Weather in ${location}: Sunny, 75°F`;
  }
};

⚡ Advanced Features

1. Multi-Model Switching

Use different AI models for different tasks:

You: Use Claude for this coding task
Bot: [Switches to Claude 3.5 Sonnet]

You: Switch to GPT-4 for creative writing
Bot: [Switches to GPT-4]

You: Use local Llama model to save costs
Bot: [Switches to Ollama]

2. Proactive Messaging

ClawdBot can message you without prompting:

# In config.yaml
proactive:
  enabled: true
  rules:
    - trigger: "daily_briefing"
      time: "08:00"
      message: "Good morning! Here's your daily briefing..."
    
    - trigger: "price_alert"
      condition: "bitcoin_price < 40000"
      message: "Bitcoin dropped below $40k!"

3. Group Chat Moderation

Use ClawdBot as a smart moderator:

You: @ClawdBot summarize the last 50 messages
You: @ClawdBot who has been most active today?
You: @ClawdBot create action items from this discussion

4. Voice Input

Send voice messages (Telegram/WhatsApp) - automatically transcribed:

[You send voice message: "What's the weather?"]
Bot: [Transcribes and responds]
Bot: Current weather in your location: Partly cloudy, 68°F

5. Image Analysis

You: [Uploads screenshot]
You: What's wrong with this UI design?
Bot: [Analyzes image]
Bot: The contrast ratio is too low for accessibility...

6. Code Execution

You: Run this Python script and show me the output
Bot: [Executes in sandbox]
Bot: Output: [results]

💡 Pro Tips & Best Practices

1. Be Specific

❌ Vague: "Help me with code"
✅ Specific: "Write a Python function that validates email addresses using regex"

2. Provide Context

❌ No context: "Fix this bug"
✅ With context: "I'm getting a 'undefined is not a function' error in React. Here's my code..."

3. Use Follow-ups

ClawdBot remembers the conversation:

You: Write a function to sort an array
Bot: [Provides code]
You: Now make it work with objects
Bot: [Modifies previous code]
You: Add error handling
Bot: [Further improves code]

4. Leverage Memory

You: Remember that I'm working on a React e-commerce project
Bot: Got it!

[Later...]
You: Show me how to add a shopping cart
Bot: For your React e-commerce project, here's a cart component...

5. Combine Features

You: Browse to example.com, extract the pricing table, 
     and save it as a CSV file
Bot: [Browser automation + file writing]
Bot: Done! Saved to ~/pricing-data.csv

6. Use Appropriate Models

  • Claude 3.5 Sonnet: Complex coding, analysis
  • GPT-4: Creative writing, general tasks
  • Gemini Flash: Quick questions, cost-saving
  • Local Ollama: Private tasks, offline use

7. Set Boundaries

# In config.yaml
limits:
  maxTokensPerRequest: 4000
  maxRequestsPerHour: 100
  allowSystemCommands: false  # Disable for safety

8. Regular Backups

# Backup your memory and config
cp -r ~/.clawdbot ~/Backups/clawdbot-$(date +%Y%m%d)

🔧 Troubleshooting

ClawdBot Not Responding

# Check if Gateway is running
clawdbot status

# Restart Gateway
clawdbot restart

# Check logs for errors
clawdbot logs --tail 50

Slow Responses

  • ✅ Switch to a faster model (Gemini Flash, Claude Haiku)
  • ✅ Reduce context window size
  • ✅ Check your internet connection
  • ✅ Verify API key limits haven't been reached

Messaging Platform Disconnected

# For WhatsApp
clawdbot channel reconnect whatsapp

# For Telegram
clawdbot channel status telegram

API Errors

# Verify API keys
clawdbot config check

# Test API connection
clawdbot test claude
clawdbot test openai

Memory Issues

# Clear old conversations (keeps last 30 days)
clawdbot memory clean --days 30

# Rebuild memory index
clawdbot memory reindex

Browser Automation Fails

  • ✅ Update Chrome/Chromium: clawdbot browser update
  • ✅ Try headless mode: Set browser.headless: false to debug
  • ✅ Increase timeout: browser.timeout: 60000

Getting Help

📚 Related Guides