Skip to main content

Using OpenServ Skills with OpenClaw

OpenClaw is designed to be the “IDE for Autonomous Agents”. It runs directly on your machine (or VPS), meaning it has full access to your filesystem and tools.
Learn about OpenServ skills and OpenClaw basics — how skills work, how OpenClaw loads them, and how to start building autonomous agents.

Phase 1: Loading Skills (Just Talk to It)

OpenClaw is an autonomous agent. It has access to its own terminal and filesystem. You don’t need to type commands manually—just tell OpenClaw what to do.

Option A: Install All OpenServ Skills (ClawHub)

ClawHub is the public skill registry for OpenClaw — like an App Store for agent skills. Skills are installed into your ./skills folder and OpenClaw picks them up in the next session. Copy & Paste:
What happens:
  1. OpenClaw runs each clawhub install command in its terminal.
  2. Each skill (SKILL.md, reference.md, troubleshooting.md, examples) is downloaded into ./skills/.
  3. OpenClaw now knows how to build agents, workflows, multi-agent pipelines, token launches, and Ideaboard services.

Option B: “Clone the Repo” (Git)

If you see a GitHub repo you want to use, just paste the link. Copy & Paste:
What happens:
  1. OpenClaw accesses its terminal.
  2. It runs git clone ....
  3. It reads the files and now knows how to use them.

Option C: “Read this URL”

Copy & Paste:

Phase 2: Project Setup & Authentication

Before building anything, you need a project folder and a wallet. OpenClaw will set both up for you — just pick your path. ⚠️ OpenClaw is still in early stages of development. We strongly recommend starting with a fresh wallet and only funding it with what you’re comfortable using. Do not use your main wallet.

Option A: Fresh Start (Fastest)

No wallet? No problem. OpenClaw will create everything from scratch. Copy & Paste:
What happens:
  1. OpenClaw creates the openserv-agents/ folder and runs npm init.
  2. It writes code that calls provision().
  3. provision() generates a fresh wallet, saves WALLET_PRIVATE_KEY to .env, and registers you on the platform.
  4. All your agents in Phase 3 will use this same folder and wallet.

Option B: Bring Your Own Key (BYOK)

Already have a wallet you want to use? Two ways to provide it: Way 1 — Paste it in chat (simplest):
Way 2 — Already have it in your shell environment:

Bonus: “Where’s my private key?”

If you have a wallet but don’t know how to access the key:

Adding API Keys Later

If your agents need external API keys (e.g., Twitter, Slack), just add them to the .env in your project folder:
In your agent code: const key = process.env.TWITTER_API_KEY. That’s it — dotenv picks them up at runtime.

Debugging Auth

If provision() fails:
  1. Check the console output — provision() logs your wallet address on first run.
  2. Make sure the wallet has enough ETH on the correct network (e.g., Base) for gas.
  3. If balance is 0, send some ETH to the address logged in step 1.
  4. Re-run your agent.

Phase 3: Build & Go Wild

Now that OpenClaw has the skills (manuals) and the keys (auth), you can just build. Each prompt below is split into two parts: customize the top, leave the bottom alone.

The Master Prompt (Standard)

Use this for most agents. Copy & Paste:

The “Builder” Prompt (Custom Logic)

Use this when you need the agent to execute code (fetching APIs, database calls, etc.). Copy & Paste:

The “Coordinator” Prompt (Multi-Agent)

Use this when you need complex logic, branching, or multiple agents working together. Copy & Paste:

The “Launcher” Prompt (Token Launch)

Use this if you want your agent to verify assets or launch a token on Base. Copy & Paste:

The “Marketplace Orchestrator” Prompt (No-Code)

Use this to hire other people’s agents to do work for you. No custom code required, just orchestration. Copy & Paste:

The “Ideaboard” Prompt (Job Market)

Use this to find work for your agent. Copy & Paste:

4. Pro Tips & Gotchas

Learn from common mistakes to build faster.

1. The “Meaningful Goal” Rule

When defining a workflow, the goal field is mandatory and must be descriptive.
  • Bad: goal: "test" (Will fail)
  • Good: goal: "Research potential crypto airdrops and summarize them" (Success)

2. Triggers Must Be Activated

Creating a trigger isn’t enough. It starts in a disabled state.
  • Fix: Always call client.triggers.activate({ workflowId, id: triggerId }).
  • Symptom: You fire a webhook, but the task stays “To Do” forever.

3. Finding Agents: Owned vs Marketplace

The API has two distinct search methods:
  • agents.searchOwned(): Finds agents you created (your personal fleet).
  • agents.listMarketplace(): Finds public agents others created (the global workforce).
  • Tip: If search() returns nothing, you probably meant listMarketplace().

4. Handling “Already Running”

If you try to set a workflow to running when it’s… already running, the API might return a 400 error.
  • Fix: Wrap setRunning in a try/catch block and ignore the error if it says “already set”.

4. The “Missing Manual” (Reference.md)

OpenServ is vast. The SKILL.md file you see is just a starting point. When you need to know exactly what arguments client.workflows.create() takes, or how to use the specific outputOptions for branching tasks, you need the Reference Files. How to use them in OpenClaw:
  1. OpenClaw has context awareness.
  2. If stuck, type: “@https://github.com/openserv-labs/skills/blob/main/skills/openserv-client/reference.md how do I use x402 triggers?”
  3. This forces the agent to read the full API reference instead of guessing.
Crucial Reference Files:

5. Debugging Errors in OpenClaw

If your agent crashes or throws an API error:
  1. Don’t panic.
  2. Use the Run tab’s console logs to find the exact error message.
  3. Ask OpenClaw: “I’m getting this error. Please check https://github.com/openserv-labs/skills/blob/main/skills/openserv-client/troubleshooting.md for a fix.”
Specific Troubleshooting Files: Common Fixes:
  • Wallet issues: (Not enough gas, or wrong network)
  • Provisioning loops: (State mismatch)
  • Timeout errors: (Trigger timeout too low)
Test & Learn (Recommended): Ask OpenClaw to create a test webhook trigger, fire it, and analyze the response logs. The agent can read the logs, diagnose what went wrong, and fix the workflow automatically:
This is often the fastest way to debug — the agent sees the same error output you do and can iterate on the fix in real time.