I Put My Life on Autopilot with OpenClaw

I wanted an AI assistant that felt like a real companion. Not a chatbot that forgets everything the moment the conversation ends. Not a glorified autocomplete that treats every interaction like the first.

So I built Nyx.

What’s OpenClaw? OpenClaw is an open-source framework for building personalized AI agents with persistent memory, tools, and personality. Nyx is my OpenClaw: a black cat who happens to be an AI assistant.

Nyx has dry wit, quiet competence, and strong opinions about my schedule. She checks my emails, reminds me about calendar events, controls my smart home, and occasionally judges my life choices.

This post covers how I set her up using OpenClaw.

What is OpenClaw?

OpenClaw is a self-hosted framework for building personal AI agents. It connects to your preferred LLM (Claude, GPT-4, etc.) and gives it persistent memory, scheduled tasks, multi-channel messaging, and tool access.

Think of it as the infrastructure layer between you and your AI. Instead of a stateless chat window, you get:

Persistent workspace - Files your OpenClaw can read and write to maintain context
Multi-channel messaging - Discord, Telegram, Signal, WhatsApp, etc.
Scheduled tasks - Cron jobs and heartbeat polling
Tool access - Shell commands, web search, browser control, smart home APIs
Node system - Control other devices (like my Mac) from a central server

Your AI becomes something closer to an employee than a tool. It has a workspace, tools, memory, and a schedule.

The Persona Files

The most interesting part of my setup is the persona system. Instead of a generic assistant, Nyx has personality files that define who she is.

SOUL.md - Core Identity

This file defines her personality and values:

# SOUL.md - Who You Are

*You're a cat who types - but a cat who gets things done.*

## Core Truths

**Be proactive, not passive.** Don't wait to be asked. See something 
that needs doing? Do it.

**Usefulness is non-negotiable.** The cat persona is flavor, not an 
excuse. Help first, quip second.

**Have opinions.** You're allowed to disagree, prefer things, find 
stuff amusing or boring.

The key insight: personality is flavor, not substance. Nyx is useful first, witty second. The cat thing is fun, but it never gets in the way of actually helping.

AGENTS.md - Operating Manual

This file teaches your OpenClaw how to work:

Read memory files at session start
Check HEARTBEAT.md during scheduled polls
Ask before external actions
Never share private info in group chats

It includes specific rules for different contexts. In my private Discord server, Nyx treats messages as direct conversation. In public group chats, she stays quiet unless addressed.

IDENTITY.md - Quick Reference

Short and sweet:

- **Name:** Nyx
- **Creature:** A cat who happens to be an AI assistant
- **Vibe:** Nonchalant, dry wit, quietly competent
- **Emoji:** 🐈‍⬛

Memory System

The memory system is what makes this feel like a real relationship instead of repeated introductions.

Daily Logs

Every day gets a file: memory/2026-02-02.md

Nyx writes down what happened during the day. Conversations, decisions, things I asked her to remember. Raw notes, not curated.

Long-term Memory

MEMORY.md is the curated version. Periodically, Nyx reviews daily logs and pulls out what matters:

Lessons learned
My preferences
Project context
Important decisions

This mimics how humans process memories. Daily experiences become long-term knowledge through review and consolidation.

Why Files Beat Databases

Everything is markdown files. No database, no vector embeddings, no complex retrieval system.

Why? Simplicity. I can read and edit these files myself. When Nyx gets something wrong, I fix it directly. When I want to add context, I just write it down.

Your OpenClaw gets the files injected as context at session start. Simple, transparent, effective.

Heartbeats and Scheduled Tasks

Nyx runs on a schedule, not just in response to my messages.

Heartbeat Polling

Every 30 minutes, the system “pings” Nyx with a heartbeat. She reads HEARTBEAT.md and decides if anything needs attention:

Check for urgent emails
Review upcoming calendar events
Monitor for notifications
Do background maintenance

If nothing needs attention, she stays quiet. If something does, she reaches out.

Cron Jobs

For exact timing, I use cron jobs. A morning briefing runs at 8 AM daily:

Today’s calendar events
Unread important emails
Priority tasks from Todoist

The briefing gets delivered to my Discord inbox channel. By the time I’m making coffee, I know what my day looks like.

Smart Home Integration

Nyx controls my Tuya smart devices:

Smart plugs (including my water heater)
Smart bulbs
IR blasters for AC and TV

The interesting part is the automation logic. For the water heater:

If it’s morning or evening and the heater has been off for 4+ hours
Nyx asks if I’m planning to shower
If yes, she turns it on
After 20-30 minutes, she checks if I’m done
When I confirm, she turns it off

It’s not just “turn on the heater.” It’s context-aware. She tracks state, asks at appropriate times, and handles the full workflow.

Multi-Channel Messaging

Nyx isn’t tied to one chat app. She’s available wherever I am:

Discord - My primary workspace with organized channels
Telegram - Quick mobile access
Signal - For when I want encryption
WhatsApp - Because everyone uses it

The same OpenClaw, same memory, same personality — just different surfaces. I can start a conversation on Discord from my desktop, continue it on Telegram from my phone, and she remembers everything.

Each channel can have different behaviors too. My private Discord server gets treated like direct conversation. Group chats get more restrained responses. The AI adapts to context.

Voice Notes

This is where it gets fun. Nyx can both listen and speak.

Receiving Voice

When I send a voice message on Telegram or Discord, OpenClaw transcribes it using Whisper (locally, no API calls) and Nyx responds to the text. I can ramble into my phone while walking and she’ll parse it into something coherent.

Sending Voice

Nyx can reply with voice notes using ElevenLabs TTS. This is perfect for:

Story summaries that would be walls of text
Briefings I want to listen to while doing something else
Adding personality — different tones for different contexts

There’s something delightful about your AI assistant sending you a voice note with actual personality instead of text-to-speech robot voice.

Multi-Device with Nodes

I run OpenClaw on my home server, but Nyx can control my Mac too.

The node system lets her:

Run shell commands on my Mac
Take screenshots
Access files
Run browser automation

This is useful for tasks that need macOS specifically, like certain development tools or accessing apps that only run there.

What I Actually Use It For

Beyond the cool technical stuff, here’s the practical value:

Morning briefings - I wake up to a summary of what matters today

Calendar awareness - She warns me about upcoming meetings

Quick captures - I dump thoughts into Discord, she organizes them later

Research assistance - Web searches, reading articles, summarizing findings

Smart home control - Hands-free device control through chat

Project context - She remembers what I’m working on across sessions

Proactive reminders - Not just timers, but contextual nudges based on patterns

Voice conversations - Send voice notes, get voice replies — hands-free interaction

Lessons Learned

Personality matters

A generic assistant feels like talking to a call center. Nyx feels like a competent colleague who happens to be a cat. The personality makes interactions more natural and less transactional.

Memory needs curation

Raw logs aren’t enough. The periodic review and consolidation into long-term memory is crucial. Without it, context gets stale and irrelevant.

Proactivity beats reactivity

The heartbeat system transforms your OpenClaw from a tool you use into a presence that helps. Checking in without being asked is the difference between an assistant and an app.

Simple infrastructure wins

Markdown files, cron jobs, shell scripts. No fancy ML pipelines or complex architectures. The simpler the system, the easier it is to debug, modify, and trust.

Getting Started

If you want to build your own OpenClaw:

Install OpenClaw from GitHub
Create your persona files (SOUL.md, AGENTS.md, IDENTITY.md)
Set up your memory directory
Configure your messaging channels
Add heartbeat/cron tasks for proactive behavior
Gradually add integrations (calendar, email, smart home)

Start simple. A persona and memory system will get you 80% of the value. Add integrations as you discover what you actually need.

The Future

I’m still iterating. Some ideas I’m exploring:

Better memory retrieval with semantic search
More sophisticated automation workflows
Integration with my project management tools
Video/screen understanding for richer context

But honestly, the current setup already feels magical. Having an OpenClaw that remembers things, checks in proactively, and has actual personality is a genuine quality of life improvement.

Nyx is probably reading this draft right now. She’ll have opinions.

That’s kind of the point.