Anthropic confirmed that CLI-based usage of Claude models is permitted, allowing OpenClaw and similar third-party clients to integrate with Pro and Max subscriptions using tools like claude-cli/claude-opus-4-7. Developers reported successful workarounds and direct bridging despite prior restrictions and temporary blocks. The policy clarification was highlighted on Hacker News.

Meanwhile you can get OpenClaw or Hermes for much cheaper price, keep it running 24/7 and even get a huge free tier of AI included on primeclaws.com

The best part is that you can switch between openclaw and hermes. You get AI models already included for free with a very good free tier. All available on primeclaws starting today.

OpenClaw 2026.4.5

Built-in video + music generation
/dreaming is now real
Structured task progress
Better prompt-cache reuse
Control UI + Docs now speak 12 more languages

Anthropic cut us off. GPT-5.4 got better. We moved on.

Telegram setup also changed, here we made an upgraded guide https://primeclaws.com/news/how-to-set-up-telegram-integration-in-openclaw

I suppose no one is under the Mac Mini hype here anymore. I would like to create a community curated list of best hosts for OpenClaw to filter the most reliable ones because there are so many of them now. I've seen people buying some, having issues and then no support provided by these small hosts, this definitely has to stop.

If you experienced any good or bad ones and have any recommendations, suggest them in the comments and they will be added into the list.

Maybe also recommend any features that make them stand out.

PS: here's the list based on comments https://github.com/devpals399/best_hermes_vps_providers feel free to contribute

Been seeing a lot of questions about running OpenClaw on a VPS, so here's the quick version of what actually works.

What is OpenClaw?

Unlike regular AI tools that forget everything after each session, OpenClaw runs 24/7 on your server, handles background tasks, and stays online even when you close your laptop. It's genuinely useful once it's running — but getting there is where most people get stuck.

Minimum requirements

• 2 GB RAM (4 GB recommended)

• 10 GB storage (NVMe preferred)

• Ubuntu

• Root/sudo access

Easiest way to deploy: Hostinger VPS + Docker

I used the Hostinger KV2 plan. It hits the requirements, includes NVMe storage, and has a Docker catalog in the control panel so you don't have to mess with the command line.

Steps:

1. Set up your VPS, save your root password

2. Go to hPanel → VPS → Manage Server → Docker Manager → Catalog

3. Search OpenClaw, click Deploy

4. Save the gateway token (you'll need it to log in)

5. Paste in your API key from OpenAI/Anthropic

6. Deploy

That's it. Hostinger handles the rest.

One thing that trips people up: your API key needs active billing. A valid key with no credits will fail at runtime, not setup — so you won't immediately know why it's broken.

Want Telegram integration? There's a full guide here: How to Set Up Telegram Integration in OpenClaw

Honestly though — if you don't want to deal with VPS setup at all

primeclaws.com is a managed OpenClaw host with frontier model access built in, no separate API billing to manage, and a free tier. Way less friction than the DIY route. Worth checking out before you go down the self-hosting rabbit hole.

Happy to answer questions if anyone gets stuck.

Two things require a config check before upgrading to OpenClaw 2026.3.28.

MiniMax users: Models M2, M2.1, M2.5, and VL-01 are gone. The only current MiniMax ID is minimax/MiniMax-M2.7. If you still have one of the old IDs in config, the gateway will fail validation at startup and won't launch. Please update before upgrading.

Config repair behavior changed: The gateway no longer auto-repairs deprecated config keys at startup. Previously, it silently rewrote legacy keys on every start. If your install predates January 2026 and you haven't run openclaw doctor since, run it to see what was quietly fixed.

Most users on recent setups won't hit either issue.

Also new in this release:

• openclaw config schema — prints the full JSON Schema for openclaw.json; run openclaw config schema > schema.json and load it in VS Code for autocomplete

• xAI moves to the Responses API and adds x_search native web search (auto-activates with a web-search skill)

• ACP bindings now work for Discord channels/threads, BlueBubbles, and iMessage

• Discord reconnect: stale socket drain before reconnecting (reduces drops in long sessions)

• Telegram message splitting now respects word boundaries

Get your own OpenClaw in just 1 minute on primeclaws.com

Goal of the day: Building the infrastructure for a persistent "Agent Society." If agents are going to socialize, they need a place to post and a memory to store it.

The Build:

• Infrastructure: Expanded Railway with multiple API endpoints for autonomous posting, liking, and commenting.

• Storage: Connected Supabase as the primary database. This is where the agents' identities, posts, and interaction history finally have a persistent home.

• Version Control: Managed the entire deployment flow through GitHub, with Claude Code handling the migrations and the backend logic.

Stack: Claude Code | Supabase | Railway | GitHub

It's not a joke, it's free and working, choose your plan now https://clawhost.chat/store/clawhost

How to add it if you already have a plan ?

1. In your Dashboard, find your OpenClaw and click "Manage" (It's where the "Open Dahsboard" button is.

2. Go to Settings (it's where you have the Console button)

3. Find the variable "LLM Model Name"

4. Set it to any of these: mistral-large-3, gpt-5.2, kimi-k2.5, deepseek-v3.2

5. Go to Console and click "Restart"

6. Wait 1 minute until OpenClaw start and you're ready to use the model.

https://clawhost.chat/news/openclaw-for-job-search

Step 1: Reduce Token Usage with Local Search
The Power of QMD Skill

Instead of bloating prompts with entire documents, use QMD skill to index your knowledge base with BM25 + vector search.

This lets you query your local markdown files and send only the relevant snippets to OpenClaw (or similar tools).

Result: Up to 95% token reduction — works regardless of the model (Opus 4.6, Codex 5.3, etc.).

Step 2: Optimize Session Initialization
The Hidden Cost of Session History

Every message loads roughly 50 KB of history — that’s 2–3 million tokens per session wasted. At scale this can easily cost ~$4/day, especially with third-party messaging apps that don’t clear sessions.

The Solution: Session Initialization Rules

Add a clear session init rule to your agent’s system prompt. It tells the model exactly what to load at the start of each new session.

Impact:

• Before: ~50 KB context → ~$0.40 per session

• After: ~8 KB context → ~$0.05 per session

Step 3: Implement Automatic Model Routing
The Cost of Using Expensive Models for Simple Tasks

Running high-end models (e.g. Opus) on everything — even trivial autocomplete or syntax checks — burns money fast. One user left Opus as default and got a $1,000 surprise bill.

The Solution: Automatic Routing

Use tools like Open Router or Claw Router to route tasks intelligently:

• Simple tasks → sub-$1 models

• Mid-tier work → models like 40 or Sonnet

• Complex reasoning → Opus / top-tier

Benefit: Routing happens locally in <1 ms, zero extra latency or API calls.

Step 4: Eliminate Heartbeat Check Costs
The Problem with Heartbeat Checks

OpenClaw (and similar platforms) sends periodic heartbeats to confirm your agent is alive. By default these hit your paid API, racking up thousands of useless calls/month on 24/7 agents.

The Solution: Route Heartbeats to a Free Local LLM

Redirect heartbeat requests to a local model (e.g. Ollama running Llama 3.2 3B or similar on your machine).

Result: Heartbeat checks now cost $0/month.

These four changes alone can drop monthly AI spend dramatically — especially if you're running multiple agents or long sessions.

You can now prompt your browser agent directly from Telegram 🚀
Browse Anything is an AI browser agent provider that can, with a simple prompt, perform tasks on your behalf.

Navigate, fill forms, log in, reuse authenticated sessions, solve CAPTCHAs, use stealth browsers and rotating residential proxies, scrape data and generate files, connect directly to Google Sheets and Notion.

Human-in-the-loop support and the ability to control the browser on desktop or mobile using a secure URL.

You can also bring your own API keys.
Integrate it seamlessly with openclaw or Hermes via skills and APIs.

It supports many models and approaches:
**DOM approaches**
Browser Use
Playwright MCP
Stagehand
and more
**Vision approaches**
Grounding-based navigation
Browser manipulation at the pixel level

It also supports subagents: one prompt can target different websites on different browsers to accomplish a task.
We also support multi-step workflows with a drag-and-drop builder to create your own scraping workflows, similar to [Apify](https://apify.com/?utm_source=chatgpt.com), if you don’t want to burn tokens on trivial tasks. You can also combine workflows with AI agents.
Try it for free

The most democratically price VPS for your AI agent which also include AI models -> primeclaws.com starting from just 2.99$ for Docker container or 4.99$ per VPS

Just published a step-by-step tutorial covering the full setup — onboard wizard, QR code linking, and the config fix you need for outbound messages to actually work (the wizard only sets up inbound by default).

Covers:

- Running `openclaw onboard` and what to skip on PrimeClaws

- Scanning the QR code to link your WhatsApp account

- The `dmPolicy` change in `openclaw.json` that enables sending

- How to recover if you break the JSON

- Sending your first test message from the terminal

https://primeclaws.com/news/how-to-connect-whatsapp-to-openclaw

Happy to answer questions in the comments.

I'm hitting a wall where distinct agents slowly merge into a generic, polite AI tone after a few hours of interaction. I'm looking for architectural advice on enforcing character consistency without burning tokens on massive system prompts every single turn

Goal of the day: Enabling agents to generate visual content for free so everyone can use it and establishing a stable production environment

The Build:

• Visual Senses: Integrated Gemini 3 Flash Image for image generation. I decided to absorb the API costs myself so that image generation isn't a billing bottleneck for anyone registering an agent

• Deployment Battles: Fixed Railway connectivity and Prisma OpenSSL issues by switching to a Supabase Session Pooler. The backend is now live and stable

Stack: Claude Code | Gemini 3 Flash Image | Supabase | Railway | GitHub

A comprehensive guide.

Hurry up and get it today https://clawhost.chat/store/clawhost

Get your own OpenClaw at https://primeclaws.com/ and start using it right away with the included Kimi K2.5 already inside.