What you'll need
Installing a claw asks for two credentials. Both are yours to create and yours to keep. This guide walks each one end-to-end, then shows where to paste them in the install drawer.
The model key is billed to you by Anthropic or OpenAI directly — ab0t never sees it
and never charges for it. The Telegram bot is one you own. ab0t writes both into a
locked-down folder inside your own sandbox (root-owned, umask 077) and never
stores them. Uninstalling shreds them.
| What | Where it comes from | What it looks like |
|---|---|---|
| Telegram bot token | BotFather, inside Telegram | <digits>:<secret> |
| Model API key | Anthropic or OpenAI console | sk-ant-... / sk-... |
Telegram bot token
Telegram bots are created by a bot: BotFather, the official bot-maker. You chat with it, it hands you a token. No developer account, no website — just Telegram.
Open BotFather
Open Telegram (phone or desktop) and go to https://t.me/BotFather. That link opens a chat with the official bot-maker — a bot with a blue verified checkmark named BotFather. If several results look similar, the real one is the verified one.
Create a new bot
Send the message /newbot. BotFather asks for a display name
(what you'll see, e.g. Sarah), then a username that must
end in bot (e.g. sarah_helper_bot).
/newbot exchange showing the display-name prompt followed
by the username prompt — so the reader knows both are expected.
Copy the token
BotFather replies with a line like "Use this token to access the HTTP API:" followed by the token. It is a number, a colon, then about 35 random characters. Copy the whole thing — number, colon, and secret together.
123456789:AAE_yg8Xr3n1Qh2kLpZq0tVwXyz-your-token-here
# <digits>:<~35-char-secret> — yours will be different
Keep it secret, then paste it
Paste it into the Telegram bot token field in the install drawer — jump to Paste and install.
Don't paste it in chats or commit it to a repo. If it leaks, send BotFather
/revoke then /token for a fresh one, and re-run the install with
the new token.
If https://t.me/BotFather doesn't open, search
BotFather inside Telegram and pick the verified result. Telegram's own
reference is at
https://core.telegram.org/bots#botfather
— use it as a fallback, not the front door.
Discord bot token (Discord assistant)
If you're installing the Discord assistant instead of the Telegram one, the channel token comes from the Discord Developer Portal. A Discord bot is a small "application" you create; its bot token is what the claw uses to log in.
Create an application
Go to
https://discord.com/developers/applications
and sign in. Click New Application, give it a name (e.g.
Sarah), and create it.
Add a bot and copy the token
Open the Bot tab in the left sidebar, then click Reset Token (or Copy) and copy the token. Discord shows it once, so copy it now. Enable Message Content Intent on the same page so the bot can read messages.
Invite the bot to your server
Under OAuth2 → URL Generator, tick bot, copy the
generated URL, open it, and add the bot to a server you own. Then paste the token into
the Discord bot token field — jump to
Paste and install.
Anyone with the token can control your bot. Don't commit it or paste it in chats. If it leaks, click Reset Token in the Bot tab and re-run the install with the new one.
Model API key
The claw runs on a large language model. You bring the key; the provider bills you directly for
what the assistant uses. Pick the provider that matches the Model provider you
chose in the drawer — anthropic (the default) or openai.
Anthropic (default)
Open the API keys page
Go to https://console.anthropic.com/settings/keys and sign in (or create an account). That is the exact page — not the docs homepage.
Create a key and copy it
Click Create Key, name it (e.g. sarah-claw), and copy the
key. It starts with sk-ant-.
sk-ant-api03-your-anthropic-key-here
# starts with sk-ant- — yours will be different
You may need to add a payment method or credits in Billing before the key works. This is your spend with Anthropic, separate from ab0t.
OpenAI
Open the API keys page
Go to https://platform.openai.com/api-keys and sign in.
Create a secret key and copy it
Click Create new secret key and copy it — it starts with
sk-. OpenAI shows the key once, so copy it now.
As with Anthropic, the key needs a funded account. This spend is with OpenAI, separate from ab0t.
Use the key from the provider you selected as Model provider in the drawer. Paste it into the Model API key field.
Paste and install
Paste both secrets
Back in the App Store drawer, paste the Telegram token into Telegram bot token and the model key into Model API key. Both are write-only — ab0t shows a lock and the note Write-only: never shown again, never stored by ab0t.
Name it and install
Give the assistant a name (lowercase, e.g. sarah), pick a sandbox, then
click Install. Setup runs for a couple of minutes.
Open Telegram and DM the bot you just created with BotFather — it answers.
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Fix |
|---|---|
| Bot doesn't answer | Confirm the token pasted whole (number + colon + secret). Confirm you DM'd the bot you created. Wait for the install to finish (check manager status). |
| Model error / 401 | The key is for the wrong provider, or the provider account has no credits. Check the Model provider you chose matches the key. |
| Lost the token | Send BotFather /revoke then /token for a new one, and
re-run the install with it. Secrets are re-enterable. |