Open Claw Local Implementation Prompt

Secure architecture for Open Claw

The following is a guide to establish a secure local infrastructure for Open Claw deployment. Upload it to your LLM of choice. This deployment is designed for those who want to experiment with open claw in a secure environment. You can modify it based upon your hardware. In addition, if you’re not using Ubuntu you can change the prompt or you can ask the LLM to help you upgrade the laptop to Ubuntu. I used a laptop because of the built-in battery back up. Once I establish my use cases, I will upgrade it to him more robust platform. If you follow these guides, you can upgrade from the last backup copy in your Google Drive.

If you follow this guideline, you will have a secure development platform to experiment with. You are still going to have to do some cutting and pasting to get it to work, but you don’t have to have programming skills.

Guide

🔐

OPENCLAW — HARD CHECKPOINT SUMMARY

Date: Feb 25, 2026

System Name: OpenClaw

Host: Lenovo ThinkPad T460s

OS: Ubuntu 24.04.4 LTS

Kernel: 6.17.0-14-generic

Access: Local + SSH (confirmed working)

Remote Access: iPad via SSH (Termius)

1. System Purpose

OpenClaw is a local-first, sovereign AI runtime designed to:

• Run on personal hardware (no cloud dependency required)
  
  

• Expose AI capabilities via local HTTP API routes
  
  

• Be accessed and operated primarily via terminal (SSH/local shell)
  
  

• Serve as a foundation for multiple small, purpose-built AI applications
  
  

The system prioritizes:

• simplicity
  
  

• transparency
  
  

• upgradeability later (not premature scaling)
  
  

2. Runtime Stack

Core Components

• Node.js + Bun
  
  

• Astro (v5.17.2) running in dev mode
  
  

• OpenAI API used as external intelligence (via API key)
  
  

• tmux for persistence
  
  

• OpenSSH server enabled and running
  
  

Project Path

/opt/sovereign/runtime/openclaw/

Primary working directory:

/opt/sovereign/runtime/openclaw/src

3. OpenAI API Integration (Confirmed Working)

Environment Variable

Stored persistently in:

~/.bashrc

Format

export OPENAI_API_KEY=”sk-proj-...”

Verified with:

echo ${OPENAI_API_KEY:0:10}

API Connectivity

• API key created via OpenAI dashboard
  
  

• Key rotation understood
  
  

• API calls confirmed working
  
  

4. OpenClaw API Route (Core Intelligence)

Route

POST /api/think.json

Location

src/pages/api/think.json.ts

Behavior

• Accepts JSON input:
  
  

{

“prompt”: “Your instruction here”

}

• Forwards prompt to OpenAI
  
  

• Returns clean text-only JSON response
  
  

• No UI dependency required
  
  

Verified With:

curl -s http://localhost:4321/api/think.json \

-H “Content-Type: application/json” \

-d ‘{”prompt”:”Say: OpenClaw is alive.”}’

Successful responses confirmed from:

• local shell
  
  

• SSH session (iPad)
  
  

• tmux session
  
  

5. Server Status

Astro Dev Server

bun run dev -- --host 0.0.0.0 --port 4321

Live endpoints:

http://localhost:4321

• 
  
  

• http://<LAN-IP>:4321
  
  

• http://<Tailscale-IP>:4321
  
  

Persistence

• tmux session created for OpenClaw
  
  

• SSH enabled and active:
  
  

sudo systemctl status ssh

6. SSH Configuration

• OpenSSH server installed and enabled
  
  

• Service name: ssh.service
  
  

• Verified active and listening on 0.0.0.0
  
  

• Authentication uses system user password
  
  

• SSH access confirmed from iPad (Termius)
  
  

7. Architecture Decisions (Intentional)

Chosen Approach (Now)

• Server routes inside Astro
  
  

• Single-machine runtime
  
  

• No separate microservices
  
  

• No production adapter yet
  
  

Why

• Hardware is modest (ThinkPad)
  
  

• Low scale expected initially
  
  

• Faster iteration
  
  

• Minimal operational overhead
  
  

Deferred (Later)

• Astro adapter for production builds
  
  

• Separate AI service
  
  

• UI-heavy applications
  
  

• Multi-user support
  
  

Migration later is expected to be straightforward because:

• AI access already isolated in /api/think.json
  
  

• UI and logic are decoupled
  
  

8. User Interface Model (Confirmed Understanding)

• Primary UI: Terminal (local or SSH)
  
  

• OpenClaw’s website is not the app launcher
  
  

• Each application will be:
  
  

  • its own webpage (/chat, /tools, etc.)
    
    

  • or a terminal-driven workflow
    
    

• No built-in “no-code” UI exists by default
  
  

• Applications are created deliberately, one at a time
  
  

9. Workflow Model (Agreed)

1. User provides application ideas and intent
   
   

2. Assistant translates intent into:
   
   

   • backend logic
     
     

   • routes
     
     

   • minimal UI where appropriate
     
     

3. Code is implemented inside OpenClaw
   
   

4. User tests, evaluates, refines
   
   

5. Iterate until desired behavior is achieved
   
   

Outcome:

The system amplifies the user’s creativity and system design thinking while the assistant provides the implementation leverage.

10. Current State

✅ OpenClaw is alive

✅ API responding correctly

✅ SSH remote access working

✅ Persistence understood

✅ Architecture intentional and documented

✅ Ready to build re