Suggest edit — Memory Workshop

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title: Memory Workshop
visibility: public
---

# Memory Workshop
*OpenClaw & personal agents.*

**Companion page for the workshop.** Everything we set up together, in order, with the exact commands. Work at your own pace — each section stands alone.

> **📲 Don't type any of this — use the connect page**
> [**jacobcole.ai/memory-workshop**](https://jacobcole.ai/memory-workshop/) has every command and URL on this page as a copy button, plus one-click "Add to Cursor" / "Add to VS Code" deep links and a QR code. Scan it, tap along, and read this page for the *why*.

> **💡 What we're building**
> A personal agent that lives where you already talk (Telegram, WhatsApp, iMessage), plus connectors that give ChatGPT and Claude access to your own notes and your own social archives. The theme: **your data, on your machine, reachable by your agent.**

## The four parts

| # | What | Time | You'll end up with |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | [OpenClaw](#01--install-openclaw) | ~15 min | An agent you can text |
| 2 | [Ideaflow connectors](connectors.md) | ~10 min | ChatGPT + Claude reading and writing your notes |
| 3 | [Birdclaw + Gramclaw](birdclaw.md) | ~15 min + archive wait | Your X and Instagram history in local SQLite |
| 4 | [NoteStream + group chats](groupchats-beta.md) *(bonus / beta)* | ~30 min | Your agent mining group chats into durable artifacts |

**Before you start:** you need Node.js 22.22.3+, 24.15+, or 25.9+ (Node 26 recommended) and an API key from a model provider (Anthropic, OpenAI, or Google). If you're brand new to the terminal, do [The Absolute Basics](../index.md) first.

---

## 01 — Install OpenClaw
*One agent, all your chats.*

OpenClaw runs a local **Gateway** on your machine. Chat channels connect into it, and the agent runs turns against the model provider you pick. Nothing is hosted for you — it's your machine, your keys.

**macOS / Linux:**

```bash
curl -fsSL https://openclaw.ai/install.sh | bash
```

**Windows (PowerShell):**

```powershell
iwr -useb https://openclaw.ai/install.ps1 | iex
```

Then run onboarding — it walks you through picking a model provider, setting an API key, and configuring the Gateway:

```bash
openclaw onboard --install-daemon
```

Check it came up (the Gateway listens on port 18789), and open the control UI:

```bash
openclaw gateway status
openclaw dashboard
```

➤ Docs: [docs.openclaw.ai/start/getting-started](https://docs.openclaw.ai/start/getting-started)

## 02 — Connect a chat channel
*This is the part that makes it feel like magic.*

OpenClaw supports Discord, Feishu, iMessage, Matrix, Microsoft Teams, Signal, Slack, Telegram, WhatsApp, Zalo and more. **Telegram is the fastest** — it's just a bot token.

### Telegram (recommended for the workshop)

1. In Telegram, message **@BotFather**, run `/newbot`, follow the prompts, save the token.
2. Put the token in your OpenClaw config (or set `TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN`):

```json5
{
  channels: {
    telegram: {
      enabled: true,
      botToken: "YOUR_TOKEN_HERE",
      dmPolicy: "pairing",
    },
  },
}
```

3. Start the gateway, then approve yourself:

```bash
openclaw gateway
openclaw pairing list telegram
openclaw pairing approve telegram <CODE>
```

Pairing codes expire after an hour. Now DM your bot — that's your agent.

### WhatsApp (QR pairing)

```bash
openclaw channels add --channel whatsapp
openclaw channels login --channel whatsapp   # scan the QR with your phone
openclaw gateway
openclaw pairing approve whatsapp <CODE>
```

➤ Channel docs: [docs.openclaw.ai/channels](https://docs.openclaw.ai/channels)

> **🔒 Read this before you invite anyone else in**
> `dmPolicy: "open"` means *anyone who finds your bot gets your agent* — and your agent has your files and your shell. Keep `dmPolicy: "pairing"` or `"allowlist"`, and if you add other people, bind them to a **sandboxed** agent first, then add them to the allowlist — never the other way around. A missing binding silently falls through to the unsandboxed default agent.

## 03 — Give it something to do

Once you can text it, the interesting question is what it has access to. That's the rest of this workshop:

- **[Connectors →](connectors.md)** — your notes, in ChatGPT and Claude
- **[Birdclaw + Gramclaw →](birdclaw.md)** — your X and Instagram archives, local and claw-able
- **[Group chats →](groupchats-beta.md)** — turning conversations into artifacts

## Troubleshooting

```bash
openclaw doctor            # health checks + quick fixes
openclaw logs --follow     # watch what's actually happening
openclaw docs "<query>"    # search the live docs from your terminal
openclaw gateway status
```

`openclaw doctor` fixes most first-run problems. If a channel won't connect, `openclaw logs --follow` while you send a message is the fastest way to see why.

➤ FAQ: [docs.openclaw.ai/help/faq-first-run](https://docs.openclaw.ai/help/faq-first-run)

---

**Next:** [Ideaflow connectors →](connectors.md)

**Memory Workshop:** [jacobcole.ai/memory-workshop](https://jacobcole.ai/memory-workshop/) — every command here as a copy button.