Skip to main content
The /help command displays comprehensive help information about ClawControl, including available commands, workflow guidance, and useful links.

​
Usage

/help

​
Help Display

/help - ClawControl Help

┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ What is ClawControl?                               │
│                                                    │
│ ClawControl is a CLI tool that simplifies          │
│ deploying OpenClaw instances to cloud providers.   │
│ It handles all the complex setup including VPS     │
│ provisioning, Node.js installation, OpenClaw       │
│ configuration, and Tailscale VPN setup.            │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Available Commands                                 │
│                                                    │
│ /new         Initialize a new deployment          │
│              Creates deployment config in          │
│              ~/.clawcontrol/deployments/           │
│                                                    │
│ /deploy      Deploy a configured instance          │
│              Provisions VPS, installs dependencies │
│                                                    │
│ /status      View status of all deployments       │
│              Shows deployment state, health checks │
│                                                    │
│ /ssh         SSH into a deployed instance         │
│              Opens interactive SSH session         │
│                                                    │
│ /logs        View OpenClaw logs                   │
│              Streams logs from journalctl          │
│                                                    │
│ /destroy     Permanently delete a deployment      │
│              Deletes VPS, SSH keys, config         │
│                                                    │
│ /templates   Manage deployment templates          │
│              View, fork, and use reusable presets  │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Typical Workflow                                   │
│                                                    │
│ 1. Run /templates to browse or create presets     │
│ 2. Run /new to create a deployment config         │
│ 3. Run /deploy to deploy to the cloud             │
│ 4. Authenticate Tailscale when prompted           │
│ 5. Complete OpenClaw onboarding via SSH           │
│ 6. Use /status and /logs to monitor               │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Supported Cloud Providers                          │
│                                                    │
│ ✓ Hetzner Cloud - ~$4.99/mo (CPX11, US East)     │
│ ✓ DigitalOcean - Starting at $12/mo (NYC1)       │
│ ○ Vultr - Coming soon                             │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Useful Links
• OpenClaw Docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai/
• Hetzner API: https://docs.hetzner.cloud/
• Tailscale: https://tailscale.com/

Press any key to return to home

​
What You’ll Learn

The help screen provides:

​
Overview

  • What ClawControl does
  • Why you’d use it
  • What it automates

​
Command Reference

  • List of all commands
  • Brief description of each
  • What each command does

​
Typical Workflow

  • Step-by-step deployment process
  • Best practices
  • Common patterns

​
Supported Providers

  • Which cloud providers work
  • Approximate costs
  • Provider-specific details
  • OpenClaw documentation
  • Cloud provider docs
  • Related services (Tailscale)

​
Example Terminal Session

> /help

/help - ClawControl Help

[Full help display shown]

[Read through information]

[Press any key]

> _
# Returns to home

​
Keyboard Navigation

  • Any Key - Return to home

​
Quick Reference

The help command shows this quick reference:

​
Core Commands

/new        Create a deployment
/deploy     Deploy to cloud
/status     Check deployments
/ssh        Connect to server
/logs       View logs
/dashboard  Open web UI
/destroy    Delete deployment

​
Management Commands

/templates  Manage templates
/channels   View channel config
/help       Show this help

​
Getting Help

For more detailed help:

​
Command-Specific Help

Each command shows contextual help: 
# Example: /new shows help text at each step
Step 1: Deployment Name
Enter a unique name (lowercase, alphanumeric, hyphens allowed)

​
Online Documentation

Full documentation available at:

​
Community Support

​
Tips

Run /help when you need a quick reminder of available commands. It’s faster than searching through documentation.
The help screen is read-only and safe. You can press any key to exit without affecting your deployments.

​
Additional Resources

​
OpenClaw Documentation

Learn about OpenClaw itself:
  • AI agent capabilities
  • Tool system
  • Configuration options
  • API reference
Visit: docs.openclaw.ai

​
Hetzner Cloud

Learn about Hetzner:
  • Server types and pricing
  • API documentation
  • Network configuration
  • Support resources
Visit: docs.hetzner.cloud

​
Tailscale

Learn about Tailscale VPN:
  • How Tailscale works
  • Security model
  • Network configuration
  • Access control
Visit: tailscale.com/kb

​
DigitalOcean

Learn about DigitalOcean:
  • Droplet sizes and pricing
  • API documentation
  • Networking
  • Monitoring
Visit: docs.digitalocean.com

​
Workflow Guidance

The help screen includes a typical workflow:

​
First-Time Setup

  1. Prepare
    • Get Hetzner or DigitalOcean API key
    • Get AI provider API key (Anthropic, OpenAI, etc.)
    • Create Telegram bot with @BotFather
    • Get your Telegram user ID from @userinfobot
  2. Create Deployment 
    > /new
# Follow wizard
  3. Deploy 
    > /deploy
# Wait for provisioning
# Authenticate Tailscale
# Complete onboarding
  4. Verify 
    > /status
# Run health check
  5. Use
    • Message your Telegram bot
    • Or use /dashboard for web UI

​
Ongoing Usage

# Check status
> /status

# View logs
> /logs

# Connect for maintenance
> /ssh

# Open dashboard
> /dashboard

​
Version Information

The help command doesn’t show version information. To see the version: 
clawcontrol --version
Output: 
clawcontrol v0.2.3

​
Common Questions

​
How do I start?

1. Run: clawcontrol
2. Type: /new
3. Follow the wizard
4. Type: /deploy

​
What does it cost?

Cloud costs:
  • Hetzner CPX11: ~$4.99/month
  • DigitalOcean Basic: $12+/month
AI API costs:
  • Depends on usage and provider
  • Claude: ~$3-15 per million tokens
  • GPT-4: ~$2.50-10 per million tokens

​
Is it secure?

  • SSH keys are unique per deployment
  • Tailscale adds VPN layer
  • Telegram bot access controlled by user ID
  • All credentials stored locally only

​
Can I manage multiple deployments?

Yes! Create as many as you need: 
> /new
Name: production

> /new  
Name: staging

> /new
Name: development

​
How do I update OpenClaw?

SSH into the server and update: 
> /ssh
root@server:~# npm install -g @openclaw/core@latest
root@server:~# systemctl restart openclaw

​
Next Steps

After reading help:

Quick Start

Get started with ClawControl

New Command

Create your first deployment

Templates

Use pre-built configurations

Options

CLI flags and options

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get started for freeTalk to us