How to Use OpenClaw Online: A Beginner’s Guide

01

Can you use OpenClaw in a browser?

Yes. OpenClaw has a browser interface. It needs a running environment behind that interface; a hosting service can provide it for you. With FreeOpenClaw, you create a personal instance—your own running OpenClaw—and open it from your account.

OpenClaw connects an AI model with conversations, working files, and tools. What it can do depends on the model and tools you connect. This guide starts with a small text task: make sense of some notes, then revise the result. You do not need to connect a messaging app or install extra skills to follow the example.

You can also install OpenClaw on your own computer if you prefer to manage it yourself. Here, we follow the hosted route from your browser.

02

What do you need, and what is free?

FreeOpenClaw currently provides free hosting, subject to capacity and usage rules. Model access is separate: you bring a model provider’s API key and pay that provider for any billable usage. Opening an instance does not give you model credit.

An API key is a private credential that lets OpenClaw use your model account. You enter it in the model connection form inside OpenClaw. Keep it out of chat messages and screenshots.

• A FreeOpenClaw account and a browser.
• A model provider account with an API key and access to the model you want to use.
• Enough provider balance or an applicable allowance for the task. Check the provider’s current prices and limits first.

03

Create and open your personal OpenClaw

Start at FreeOpenClaw and sign in. If you already have an instance, open that one; each account currently has one personal instance.

1. 1

   Create your instance

   In the console, choose “Create your first instance” or “Create instance.” Give it a recognizable name, such as “My assistant,” and submit. You do not enter a model key on this screen.

2. 2

   Wait for Running

   The instance page shows progress. Wait until the state is Running and the “Open OpenClaw” button is available. If capacity is unavailable or an operation fails, read the displayed status and activity before trying again.

3. 3

   Open the browser interface

   Click “Open OpenClaw.” A new tab opens your workspace. A fresh instance without a model connection can show the Model Setup page first. Keep the console tab so you can return to it later.

Keep the full instance access link private: anyone who has it can manage that instance. Use the console’s open button for everyday access.

04

Connect a model: an OpenRouter example

Once your OpenClaw opens, connect a model so it can answer you. This guide uses OpenRouter. If you already have an account with another supported provider, you can use that instead; its credentials and connection steps will differ.

In a separate tab, sign in to OpenRouter and open its API Keys page. Create a key, copy it privately, and check your account’s credits and spending controls. Model availability and pricing belong to OpenRouter, so choose a model you are comfortable paying for. A free model, where available, can still have usage limits.

1. 1

   Find the connection form

   On Model Setup, find “Connect with an API key or token.” Under “Provider and access method,” select “OpenRouter — OpenRouter API key.” On an already configured instance, use Settings → Models to manage connections; the layout can differ between OpenClaw versions.

2. 2

   Enter the key and verify

   Paste your key into the “API key or token” field, then choose “Connect & verify.” The setup page states that it checks a real model reply, so this check can count as model usage. Wait for its result and follow any model-selection prompts.

3. 3

   Check the active model and send a message

   Use a model available to your account. Return to the app’s chat and send “Reply with: ready.” A normal reply confirms that this conversation can reach the model. If you only saved a credential, make sure a model is also selected; saving a key alone is not proof of a working chat.

If verification fails, check the provider, key, model access, and available balance. Follow the error shown on screen. Do not paste your key into a conversation to ask for help.

05

Turn rough notes into a checklist

Paste the prompt below into a conversation. It supplies the source material, the output format, and a rule for missing information. You can judge the result without needing web search or access to your other accounts.

The event and people below are fictional. You can copy the notes exactly to practice.

Turn these event notes into a checklist.

Use a table with task, owner, deadline, and status.
Use only the information in the notes. Write “To confirm” where an owner or deadline is missing. Do not invent details.
After the table, list the questions I still need to answer.

Notes:
We are holding an online workshop on October 15.
Lin owns the signup page, due October 8.
Jay owns the poster, but we have not agreed on a deadline.
We need to invite two speakers; no owner or deadline has been assigned.
An event reminder should go out the day before the workshop; no owner has been assigned.
None of these tasks is complete.

Check the facts, not just the formatting. The reminder belongs on October 14. The poster deadline and speaker owner are still unknown. If the model fills in those gaps, ask it to remove the assumptions. A tidy table is only useful when it preserves what you actually know.

Update the checklist with these details:
The poster deadline is October 9.
I will invite the speakers; the deadline is October 7.
Neither task is complete yet.
Keep everything else unchanged, and tell me which details still need confirmation.

The two deadlines should change, you should become the speaker-invitation owner, and both tasks should remain incomplete. The reminder still needs an owner. This is the useful habit to take away: give a concrete task, inspect the answer, then make a precise correction.

06

Keep the result and pick it up later

Copy the checklist somewhere you keep your work. To return to OpenClaw, sign in to FreeOpenClaw, open your existing instance, and look for the conversation in its history. Continue there when you want to revise the same plan.

Stopping an instance preserves its data but makes it unavailable until you start it again. Deleting an instance removes its data. Keep your own copy of important results; stored data is not a backup.

Optional: save a working file

If your selected model and enabled tools support writing files, you can ask OpenClaw to keep the checklist in its workspace. Try this only after the text task works:

Save the latest checklist as event-checklist.md in your workspace.
First check whether that file already exists. If it does, ask me before overwriting it.
After saving, read the file back and show me its contents so I can verify the result.

Look for a successful file operation and check the contents. If file tools are unavailable, copy the checklist manually. A message saying “saved” is not enough to establish that a file exists. The workspace is in your hosted instance; saved files do not automatically appear on your computer.

07

If something does not work

Start with the step that failed. These checks help separate a hosting problem from a model or task problem.

My instance never reaches Running.

Look at its state and Activity in the FreeOpenClaw console. Capacity or a failed operation may need attention. Repeated create requests will not speed it up. If the status does not explain what to do, contact support with the error and the time it happened.

OpenClaw opens, but it does not answer.

Return to the model connection screen. Check that you used the correct provider key, the selected model is available to your account, and you have usable balance or quota. Note the actual error; a loaded page does not confirm model access.

Can I start without a model API key?

You can create your FreeOpenClaw instance before connecting a model. This guide’s model connection needs your own API key. FreeOpenClaw currently does not include platform model credit; do not assume a separate chat subscription includes the API access used here.

Do I need Telegram, WhatsApp, or extra skills?

No additional chat channel or skill is needed for the text example in this guide. Complete it in the browser first. Other integrations have their own setup and permissions.

Will it send the reminder or invite the speakers?

This task creates a plan. It does not connect a calendar, send invitations, or schedule a reminder. Those actions need a separate request and working integrations. Check the result before relying on it.