I’ve lastly been catching up with OpenClaw, and whereas most individuals appear to be utilizing it for work stuff, I’ve been quietly constructing out a bunch of non-public automations on the facet. Getting it working the way in which I wished was not precisely a weekend mission. There have been quite a lot of evenings spent down rabbit holes I didn’t plan on taking place.
However as soon as every part clicked, it ended up changing a couple of apps I used to be paying for. Others have simply quietly eliminated little bits of friction I had gotten so used to that I ended noticing them.
Cease managing your reminders app manually
What Apple Intelligence ought to’ve achieved
Raghav Sethi/MakeUseOfCredit: Raghav Sethi/MakeUseOf
Funnily sufficient, one of the best use-case I’ve discovered for OpenClaw is that it is the finest reminders app I’ve ever used (imagine me, I’ve tried just about all of them).
One of the best factor about it’s the way it handles pure language effortlessly, and integrates together with your reminder apps, which means you get one of the best of each worlds. For example, I’ve linked my OpenClaw to the Apple Reminders app. To take action, you may want to put in the remindctl utility by way of Homebrew. You are able to do so by coming into this command:
brew set up steipete/faucet/remindctl
remindctl is a utility that principally permits you to management your Reminders app by way of the terminal. And guess what OpenClaw can do? It will probably enter instructions for you within the terminal! As soon as you have put in remindctl, simply obtain the Apple Reminders talent from ClawHub, and paste the .md file into your OpenClaw expertise folder.
Now you’ll be able to simply hand off all of your reminders to OpenClaw, and it’ll handle every part inside your reminders app for you. As a substitute of fiddling round with totally different choices, I simply fairly actually yap to it about every part I need to do. I’ve even arrange a job for it to simply create a curated plan for me and the best way to deal with my duties each morning.
That is one thing I truly anticipated Apple Intelligence to do, however everyone knows the way it has been a horrible disappointment to this point.
OpenClaw is the proper distant desktop substitute
Bye-bye, RustDesk
Raghav Sethi/MakeUseOfCredit: Raghav Sethi/MakeUseOf
Okay, this one goes to wish a bit of little bit of clarification, as a result of at first look it is senseless. What does an AI agent should do with distant desktop software program?
Right here is the factor. The principle purpose I ever had distant desktop software program open was to kick off one thing on my desktop from my MacBook, or verify on a long-running job with out bodily being on the machine. Pull up the display screen, click on a couple of issues, shut it. That was principally your complete use case. It was by no means fairly. Distant desktop apps are clunky, the latency is annoying, and half the time I simply didn’t trouble.
OpenClaw changed all of that for me, and it did it with out me even planning for it. Since I have already got it working as a background daemon on my desktop, I can simply message it from wherever I’m. Run a script, verify on a obtain, transfer some recordsdata round. It does it and experiences again. All by means of Telegram or Discord, from my telephone, whereas I’m nowhere close to my desk.
As a result of it runs regionally in your machine with full shell entry, it already has the power to do most of what you’d truly open a distant desktop app to do. The hole between “AI assistant” and “distant entry software” seems to be quite a bit smaller than you’d suppose, no less than for on a regular basis stuff.
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Microsoft simply introduced its reply to OpenClaw, and it truly appears to be like fairly nice
OpenClaw could also be extra highly effective, however that energy comes with main safety tradeoffs
The clearest instance of this was simply the opposite day. I needed to go away the home all of the sudden due to an emergency, and I had an project due. My completed file was sitting on my desktop with a very incorrect identify.
Previous me would have both rushed again residence, or fumbled by means of one thing like RustDesk on my telephone making an attempt to navigate a full desktop UI with my thumbs. As a substitute, I simply messaged OpenClaw, requested it to rename the file and ship it over, and that was it. Your entire downside was solved proper within the cab I used to be in.
Make your individual morning summaries
Now Briefs, however higher
The very first thing I see within the morning is a bunch of emails, particularly since I lately moved to a brand new time zone, so I maintain getting emails at odd hours. Now I simply get a WhatsApp message at 8am telling me what is definitely in there. Who wants a reply, what can wait, something pressing. I learn it in thirty seconds and I already know what my morning inbox appears to be like like earlier than I’ve opened a single tab.
You are able to do this by way of gog, which is one other CLI software which might management most apps in your Google workspace. As soon as you have set it up, simply add a cron job together with your immediate and what you need OpenClaw to do.
I take advantage of a bit extra complete immediate for this, however a fundamental instance of this is able to be:
openclaw cron add –name “morning-briefing” –cron “0 8 * * *” –message “Examine my inbox for the final 24 hours. Summarize what wants a reply as we speak and flag something pressing.”
OpenClaw has entry to no matter you give it entry to, so it’s value being deliberate about this. When establishing gog, solely grant the scopes you really need. For a morning abstract that’s simply learn, not write.
The factor that makes it truly helpful fairly than only a gimmick is how particular you may make the immediate. I’ve mine set to disregard newsletters and automatic notifications totally, so what I get again is just the stuff that an actual particular person despatched me that in all probability wants one thing from me.
Should you throw Calendar into the identical job, you additionally get your schedule alongside it, which suggests you open your telephone as soon as within the morning, and you might be already oriented for the day.
Clear your downloads folder with out doing something
Somebody (or one thing) has to do it
Raghav Sethi/MakeUseOfCredit: Raghav Sethi/MakeUseOf
My Downloads folder had not been correctly cleaned in in all probability two years. Perhaps longer. There have been installers there for apps I don’t even have anymore and tons of of random ineffective PDFs I downloaded as soon as and can by no means open once more. Your entire factor was a misplaced trigger, and I’ve by no means been within the temper to kind every part out myself.
I simply requested OpenClaw to cope with it. You do not want any additional expertise, no setup, nothing. It already has file system entry out of the field, so I simply described what I wished, and it went by means of the entire folder, moved stuff into wise locations, and cleared out the junk. You’ll be able to actually inform it to simply undergo your downloads folder, and kind every part in folders, and make a possible delete folder with every part in there so that you can evaluation.
By default OpenClaw isn’t sandboxed, which suggests it will possibly attain wherever in your file system, not simply the folder you pointed it at. If that makes you uncomfortable, you’ll be able to allow sandboxing in your config with brokers.defaults.sandbox which locks software execution down significantly. For one thing like a downloads cleanup it’s in all probability tremendous, however it’s value understanding.
Clearly, you are able to do this with any folder you need. You simply want to inform it what you need to do and the way you need to manage your recordsdata, and also you’re achieved!
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Sorry, Home windows and Linux: that is nonetheless the higher OS for builders
It truly does “simply work.”
Watch out with it, please
One last item earlier than you go and set all of this up. OpenClaw is de facto highly effective, however that energy cuts each methods. You’re basically giving an AI agent a direct line into your file system, your electronic mail, your terminal, and no matter else you join it to. That’s a variety of floor space, and if you don’t set it up accurately it may be an actual safety downside.
Earlier than you do something, undergo the official safety docs correctly. Not only a skim. The web page covers every part from locking down who can truly discuss to your agent, to creating positive your gateway isn’t by accident uncovered in your community. Run openclaw safety audit after you get arrange and truly learn what it flags.
