Most AI agent systems don't fail with a dramatic error. They drift. Memory files accumulate contradictions. A prompt injection slips through a group chat. The assistant that used to be helpful just stops working, and nobody can explain why. The information you need to prevent this is scattered across README files, Discord threads, and blog posts that go stale within weeks. None of it was written for someone who needs to understand why things work -- not just how to copy and paste a config block. Openclaw Agents: The Working Manual is the comprehensive operating reference for OpenClaw, the open-source platform for running self-hosted AI agents. Written by David Shake, the book covers the full stack from first install to production hardening: - How OpenClaw's architecture works: the gateway, channels, agents, sessions, and the message flow that connects them - How agents think, remember, and take action -- including multi-agent setups - Sessions and memory: how context is maintained and where it breaks down - Tools and skills: extending what your agent can do - Models and providers: choosing and configuring LLMs, including fully local models - Security: prompt injection, sandboxing, access control, and what to lock down before exposing an agent to a group chat - Automation and advanced features for unattended operation - Six hands-on setup guides covering Mac Mini local deployments, Claude API proxies, Docker sandboxing, Google Workspace integration, token cost optimization, and memory personalization - A complete glossary of every term and concept Every chapter explains the reasoning behind the design, not just the steps. Troubleshooting sections and cross-references are built in so the book works as both a cover-to-cover study and a quick-lookup reference when something breaks at 11 PM. This book is for builders setting up OpenClaw for the first time, operators who need a reliable reference for a running system, and anyone who wants to understand what self-hosted AI agents are actually doing under the hood -- without a computer science degree as a prerequisite.
