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OpenClaw

OpenClaw is a self-hosted AI gateway that powers the AI Butler inside cli_debrid. It handles session memory, AI provider routing, and can be used standalone via Telegram, Discord, WhatsApp, and other messaging platforms.

Requirements

  • Docker (recommended) or Node.js 22.16+
  • Minimum 2 GB RAM
  • An API key from an AI provider (Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, or a self-hosted model via Ollama/vLLM)

Paid AI API recommended

Works best with a paid API (OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini). Free tier models may lack the context window or tool-calling capability needed for reliable responses.

Installation

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

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

git clone https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw.git

cd openclaw
./scripts/docker/setup.sh

Or using the pre-built image:

export OPENCLAW_IMAGE="ghcr.io/openclaw/openclaw:latest"
./scripts/docker/setup.sh
  1. Go to Community Apps and search for openclaw
  2. Install the template
  3. Set the config path to your preferred appdata location
  4. Start the container
services:
  openclaw:
    image: ghcr.io/openclaw/openclaw:latest
    container_name: openclaw
    ports:
      - "18789:18789"
    volumes:
      - /path/to/appdata/openclaw:/config
    restart: unless-stopped

Paste into your stack editor and deploy.

Onboarding

After installation, run the onboarding wizard to configure your AI provider, port, and auth:

openclaw onboard --install-daemon
# or with Docker:
docker compose run --rm openclaw-cli onboard

The wizard walks you through:

  1. Selecting an AI provider and entering your API key
  2. Setting the gateway port (default 18789)
  3. Choosing an authentication mode (token recommended)
  4. Installing as a background daemon

Access the dashboard:

openclaw dashboard
# or with Docker:
docker compose run --rm openclaw-cli dashboard --no-open

Then open http://127.0.0.1:18789/ in your browser.

Enable required HTTP endpoints

Required step

Before cli_debrid can communicate with OpenClaw, two HTTP endpoints must be enabled. Without these the connection will fail silently.

  1. Open the OpenClaw dashboard (http://your-openclaw-url/)
  2. Go to Settings → Infrastructure → Gateway HTTP API → Gateway HTTP Endpoints
  3. Enable Chat Completions
  4. Enable Responses
  5. Save the changes

These expose the OpenAI-compatible API that cli_debrid uses to send and receive messages.

Connecting to cli_debrid

  1. Open the AI Butler settings — click the ⚙ cog in the chat header, or go to Settings → Additional Settings → AI Assistant
  2. Set OpenClaw URL to the URL OpenClaw is listening on (must be reachable from inside the cli_debrid container)
  3. Set Bearer Token to match the token configured in OpenClaw. Leave blank if no auth is configured.
  4. Set Agent ID to main (or the ID of the agent you configured)
  5. Set Display Name to your agent's name (found in its IDENTITY.md file in the workspace)
  6. Click Save — the status dot will turn green if the connection succeeds

Container networking

The OpenClaw URL must be reachable from inside the cli_debrid Docker container, not just from your browser. If you use a reverse proxy or Tailscale, use the internal/container-reachable address.

Skill file (Tool API)

The skill file tells OpenClaw how to call back into cli_debrid's tool API so the AI can check queue status, search your library, trigger tasks, and more — from any connected messaging platform (Telegram, Discord, etc.).

Install the skill

  1. Go to Settings → Additional Settings → AI Assistant
  2. Click Download OpenClaw Skill File
  3. Drop the downloaded cli_debrid_skill.md into your OpenClaw workspace directory:
    • Default: ~/.openclaw/workspace/
    • Docker: the workspace/ folder in your Docker volume
  4. Reload OpenClaw and assign the skill to your agent

The skill file is pre-filled with your cli_debrid URL and bearer token.

Security note

This skill requires cli_debrid to be publicly accessible — it cannot work via an internal IP only. Exposing cli_debrid publicly means anyone with your token can control it, so User Management must be enabled before downloading. For best security, use OIDC/SSO (e.g. Authentik) rather than local accounts.

Available tools

Once the skill is installed, your OpenClaw agent can:

Tool Description
queue_status Get current queue counts and whether the program is running
library_stats Total movies/shows/episodes, wanted, blacklisted, collected in last 24h
recently_collected List the most recently downloaded items (default 20, max 50)
search_library Search your library by title — check if something is collected
add_to_library Add a movie or TV show to the wanted list
send_notification Send a message via your configured notification channels (Discord, Telegram, etc.)

Example prompts

What is currently downloading?
How many items are in the queue?
Is Breaking Bad in my library?
What was recently collected?
How many movies do I have?
Add The Bear (2022) to my library
Is the program running?
Send me a notification about the current queue status

Authentication

The skill authenticates to cli_debrid via a query parameter (?token=<value>) rather than an Authorization header, for compatibility with clients that cannot set custom headers.

The token is the same value set in Settings → AI Assistant → OpenClaw Token — it is the token OpenClaw uses to authenticate to cli_debrid, not a separate password.

Troubleshooting

Status dot is red

  • Check OpenClaw is running: curl http://your-openclaw-url/healthz
  • Verify the URL is reachable from inside the cli_debrid container (not just your browser)
  • Confirm the bearer token matches what OpenClaw expects

Connection fails silently