Installing Skills

There are two ways to install skills on your bot: through the UseOpenClaw dashboard (via ClawHub) or by messaging your bot directly in Telegram.

Method 1: From the Dashboard (ClawHub)

This is the most common way to install skills.

Step-by-Step

1. Open your bot’s page on the UseOpenClaw platform
2. Click the Skills button (Package icon) in the action bar
3. The Skills drawer opens with the ClawHub marketplace embedded
4. Browse or search for a skill you want
5. Click on the skill to view its details — read through what it does, who published it, and any documentation
6. Click the Install Skill button
7. A notification will appear showing the installation progress

What Happens During Installation

When you click install:

1. The skill is downloaded from ClawHub to your bot’s server
2. You’ll see a progress notification — installation typically takes a few seconds
3. Once complete, you’ll see a confirmation: the skill is live and ready to use
4. If something goes wrong, you’ll see an error message explaining what happened

Installation Statuses

You may encounter these statuses while a skill is being installed:

Method 2: Via Telegram (Direct Install)

You can also install skills by sending a message directly to your bot in Telegram. This is useful if you already know the skill you want or prefer staying in your chat.

Send your bot a message asking it to install a skill. You can reference skills by:

• ClawHub URL — e.g., https://clawhub.ai/author/skill-name
• Publisher/skill path — e.g., author/skill-name
• Skill name — e.g., skill-name

Your bot will handle the installation and confirm when the skill is ready.

Managing Installed Skills

Viewing Your Skills

All your installed skills are visible in the Skills drawer on the dashboard. They’re organized into three categories:

• Platform Managed — Skills you installed from ClawHub
• Bundled — Built-in skills that come with OpenClaw
• User Created — Custom skills you’ve added directly

Removing a Skill

To remove a skill you no longer need:

1. Open the Skills drawer from your bot’s page
2. Find the skill you want to remove
3. Remove it — the skill will be uninstalled from your bot

Removing a skill doesn’t delete any data it may have created. Your conversations and memory are unaffected.

Using Skills After Installation

Once a skill is installed, it’s immediately active — there’s no separate activation step. Your bot automatically knows how to use the skill.

Simply chat with your bot as normal. When your request matches something a skill can handle, your bot will use it. For example, if you’ve installed a stock price skill, asking “What’s the price of AAPL?” will trigger that skill automatically.

How Skills Work Under the Hood

Skills integrate with OpenClaw’s tool system. Each skill registers one or more tools that your bot can invoke during conversation. When you ask your bot something, it evaluates whether any installed skill (tool) is relevant to your request and uses it accordingly.

This means you don’t need to use special commands or syntax — just talk naturally.

Troubleshooting

Installation Failed

If a skill fails to install:

1. Check the error message in the notification — it usually explains what went wrong
2. Try installing again — transient issues can sometimes cause failures
3. Make sure your bot is running (skills can only be installed on active bots)
4. If the problem persists, the skill itself may have an issue — check its ClawHub page for any known issues

Skill Not Responding

If an installed skill doesn’t seem to work:

• Make sure the skill’s status shows as Installed in the Skills drawer
• Try being more explicit in your request — describe exactly what you want the skill to do
• Check if the skill requires any setup or configuration (some skills need API keys or initial data)