How to Build Your Own Personal AI Assistant

Start with base installation: Follow the basic OpenClaw setup first. Get a working assistant before customizing.

Define your assistant's personality: Edit ~/.openclaw/config.yaml. Add a 'persona' section with name, communication style, and behavioral rules. Example: 'Be concise, use casual language, remember I prefer morning meetings.'

Configure memory priorities: Tell your AI what's important to remember. Work projects? Personal relationships? Health goals? Set memory categories and retention rules.

Connect your essential tools: Start with 2-3 core integrations. Calendar and email are most impactful. Add more gradually as you learn what's useful.

Build custom skills: Create YAML skill files in ~/.openclaw/skills/ for your specific workflows. A skill is just a template the AI follows for certain tasks.

Train on your writing style: Share examples of your emails, messages, or writing. Ask the AI to adopt your tone and vocabulary for drafts.

Set up context triggers: Configure automatic context loading. When you mention 'the Johnson project,' your AI should know you mean the Q2 marketing campaign.

Create daily routines: Build morning briefing and evening summary workflows. Customize what information matters to you.

Add decision frameworks: Teach your AI how you make decisions. 'When scheduling meetings, prefer afternoons. Never book over lunch.'

Iterate and refine: Your AI learns from corrections. When it gets something wrong, tell it. 'Actually, I prefer...' builds better understanding over time.

Document your setup: Keep notes on your customizations. Future you will thank present you when you need to restore or migrate.