OpenClawBS

OpenClawBS

**A reference architecture for running a long-lived personal AI agent that remembers things, doesn't lie, and doesn't silently break — based on my real OpenClaw stack.**

This is my OpenClaw setup, stripped of personal projects and secrets, published as patterns anyone can copy. It's not a product, not a framework, not a distribution — it's a small opinionated pile of shell scripts, launchd plists, markdown files, and reasoning about why I built it this way.

If you've tried to have an AI "remember" things and watched it confidently invent facts, or wired up an agent that silently stopped working because an OAuth token expired, or burned $40 in tokens before noticing an infinite loop — this setup is a direct answer to those failures.

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Actual live setup (sanitized)

This is what I'm actually running, without secrets:

• Host/runtime: Mac mini (Apple Silicon, macOS/Darwin arm64), Node 25.9.0, OpenClaw app 2026.5.4 (kept current via explicit, manual updates only).
• Process supervisor: macOS launchd LaunchAgent (ai.openclaw.gateway), loopback-only bind (127.0.0.1:18789), not publicly exposed. Reference plist: `launchd/ai.openclaw.gateway.plist.template`.
• Primary model route: openai-codex/gpt-5.5, with tested fallback aliases documented locally; model switches are explicit, verified, and reversible.
• Workspace brain: ~/clawd with persistent markdown memory files (SOUL.md, IDENTITY.md, USER.md, AGENTS.md, TOOLS.md, MEMORY.md, daily notes).
• Automation: OpenClaw AI cron jobs only when reasoning is needed; deterministic monitors run as shell/Python via system cron/launchd to avoid paying full-agent context cost for simple checks.
• Messaging: Telegram for actionable alerts; cron jobs default to quiet delivery unless action is needed.
• Auth pattern: Local-first secrets discipline: API keys/tokens stay in chmod 600 env files and are never committed.