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Clawdbot Setup

Xinyu Zhang / January 2026 (684 Words, 4 Minutes)

Tech AI Tutorial

Setting Up Clawdbot: A Claude-Powered Telegram Bot

I recently set up Clawdbot, a self-hosted AI assistant that connects Claude to Telegram and other platforms. Here’s what the process looked like and my initial impressions.

What is Clawdbot?

Clawdbot is essentially a bridge that lets you run Claude (Anthropic’s AI) with extended capabilities:

Chat via Telegram, Discord, Slack, etc.
Execute commands on your machine
Access files, browse the web, schedule tasks
Maintain persistent memory across sessions

Think of it as Claude Code (the CLI tool) but with:

Multi-platform messaging interfaces
Persistent background operation
Automation capabilities (cron jobs, reminders)

Setup Process

1. Installation

npm install -g clawdbot
clawdbot gateway start

That’s it for the basic install. The CLI guides you through initial configuration.

2. Authentication: Claude Subscription via CLI

I already have a Claude Max subscription, and the good news is Clawdbot can actually use it directly through Claude Code CLI OAuth (no separate API billing needed).

Two authentication options:

Option A: Anthropic API key → Pay-per-token billing
Option B: Claude Code CLI OAuth → Use your existing Claude subscription

I went with Option B. The setup:

# On any machine with Claude Code CLI installed
claude setup-token

# Then paste the token into Clawdbot
clawdbot models auth paste-token --provider anthropic

This lets me use my Claude Max subscription quota instead of setting up separate API billing. Much more convenient if you already pay for Claude.

3. Telegram Integration

Clawdbot has built-in Telegram support. The setup:

Talk to @BotFather on Telegram
Create a new bot (/newbot)
Get your bot token
Add it to Clawdbot config:

clawdbot gateway config.patch
# Add your Telegram token in the config

Within minutes, my bot was live. I could message it from my phone and get Claude responses with full context.

4. Web Search

Enabled Brave Search integration for web searches:

{
  "tools": {
    "web_search": {
      "enabled": true
    }
  }
}

Now the bot can search the web when needed. Useful for looking up current information or checking facts.

Initial Impressions

What works well:

Telegram access — Having Claude in my pocket is convenient. I can ask questions while away from my computer.
Persistent memory — The bot maintains context across sessions using markdown files in the workspace.
Automation potential — Cron jobs and scheduled tasks open up interesting possibilities (like the stock sentiment analysis I’m planning).

What I haven’t fully utilized yet:

Command execution — The bot can run shell commands, but I’m still cautious about security. Need to explore this more.
Multi-session workflows — Can spawn sub-agents for parallel tasks. Haven’t needed it yet.
Skills system — There’s a whole plugin ecosystem I haven’t touched.

Honest assessment: So far, I haven’t found Clawdbot dramatically better than just using Claude Code directly for most tasks. The main advantages:

Remote access via Telegram
Background operation — Can run scheduled tasks
Multi-channel — Could add Discord, Slack, etc.

For pure coding work, Claude Code is still more direct. But for automation and cross-platform access, Clawdbot opens up new possibilities.

Hardware: The Accidental Home Server

An interesting side effect of Clawdbot’s recent popularity: Mac minis are getting attention as budget home servers. At around phone prices, they’re perfect for running 24/7 services like this.

I didn’t need to buy one though — I had an unused M2 MacBook Air sitting around. With Amphetamine (a free Mac app that prevents sleep), it’s now my little home server.

Setup:

M2 Air in clamshell mode, tucked away
Amphetamine keeping it awake
Clawdbot gateway running in the background
Still have full access when I need to use it as a laptop

Not as elegant as a headless Mac mini, but it works perfectly. The M2 is efficient enough that power consumption isn’t a concern.

Next Steps

I’m planning to build a daily stock sentiment analysis bot using Clawdbot’s cron system. It will:

Scrape Reddit/StockTwits every morning
Analyze sentiment on major tech stocks (GOOGL, TSLA, NVDA)
Detect trending small-cap mentions
Send a summary to Telegram before market open

This is exactly the kind of automation where Clawdbot shines — scheduled tasks that need AI analysis and messaging integration.

Verdict

Worth it if:

You want Claude on multiple platforms (Telegram, Discord, etc.)
You need scheduled/automated AI tasks
You want persistent context and memory

Maybe skip if:

You just need a coding assistant (Claude Code is simpler)
You don’t have a spare machine to run the gateway 24/7
Security concerns about command execution bother you

For me, the automation possibilities make it worthwhile. I’ll revisit this post in a month to see how the stock analysis project turns out.

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