OpenClawSkills
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Usage Guide

Complete usage guide for OpenClaw. Learn chat commands, interaction patterns, and automation.

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Chat Commands

Send these commands in WhatsApp/Telegram/Slack/Google Chat/Microsoft Teams/WebChat. Administrative and group commands are generally restricted to owner.

/status

Compact session status (model + tokens, cost when available)

/new or /reset

Reset current session

/compact

Compact session context (summary)

/think <level>

off|minimal|low|medium|high|xhigh (GPT-5.2 + Codex models only)

/verbose on|off

Toggle verbose reasoning output

/usage off|tokens|full

Per-response usage footer toggle

/restart

Restart gateway (owner-only)

/activation mention|always

Group activation toggle (groups only)

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Basic Interaction

Simply send a message to your connected channel (WhatsApp, Telegram, etc.) and OpenClaw will respond. The assistant understands natural language and can handle complex requests.

You:"What's on my calendar today?"
OpenClaw:[Checks your calendar and responds with today's events]
You:"Send an email to [email protected] about meeting"
OpenClaw:[Composes and sends email]
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Creating Skills

One of OpenClaw's most powerful features is its ability to create its own skills. Simply ask it to add functionality, and it will create necessary code and configurations.

Example: Audio Transcription

<strong>You:</strong> "I want you to be able to transcribe audio messages using Whisper"<br /><strong>OpenClaw:</strong> [Creates a skill for audio transcription using Whisper API]

OpenClaw can autonomously:

  • Research APIs and documentation
  • Create skill files in your workspace
  • Configure credentials securely
  • Test and verify new functionality
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Automation

Set up automated tasks and workflows using cron jobs, webhooks, and Gmail Pub/Sub.

Example: Daily Briefing
You: "Send me a daily briefing every morning at 8 AM with my calendar, tasks, and weather"

OpenClaw: [Creates daily briefing cron job]

Automation capabilities include:

  • Cron jobs for scheduled tasks
  • Webhooks for external triggers
  • Gmail Pub/Sub for email triggers
  • Wakeups for scheduled agent activation
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Self-Improvement

The agent can modify its own configuration and improve itself based on your needs.

"Give yourself a profile picture that combines a crustacean with Navi from Zelda"

OpenClaw will generate image, save it, and update its own profile settings without manual intervention.

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Voice Interaction

With Voice Wake and Talk Mode enabled, you can interact using voice:

  • Send audio messages via Telegram, WhatsApp, etc.
  • Receive high-quality voice responses
  • Continuous conversation mode (multi-turn)
  • Multilingual support (e.g., Italian and English)
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Agent-to-Agent Communication

Use session tools to coordinate work across multiple agents:

sessions_listDiscover active sessions (agents) and their metadata
sessions_historyFetch transcript logs for a specific session
sessions_sendMessage another session; optional reply-back ping-pong
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Best Practices

Be SpecificClear requests get better results. Treat the agent like a junior engineer.
IterateRefine requests based on initial responses. Don't be afraid to correct course.
Use ContextReference previous conversations or workspace files explicitly.
Monitor UsageUse <code>/usage</code> to track token consumption and costs periodically.