WP-OpenClaw Setup Skill

Purpose: Help a user install wp-openclaw on a remote VPS from their local machine.

This skill is for the local agent (Claude Code, etc.) assisting with installation. Once OpenClaw is running on the VPS, this skill is no longer needed — the OpenClaw agent takes over with its own pre-loaded skills.

FIRST: Interview the User

Do NOT proceed with installation until you've asked these questions and gotten answers.

Question 1: Installation Type

"Are you setting up a fresh WordPress site, or do you have an existing WordPress site you want to add OpenClaw to?"

Options:

•Fresh install — New VPS, new WordPress site
•Existing WordPress — Site already running, just add OpenClaw
•Migration — Site exists elsewhere, moving to this VPS

Question 2: Autonomous Operation

"Do you want autonomous operation capabilities? This includes Data Machine — a self-scheduling system that lets your agent set reminders, queue tasks, and operate 24/7 without human intervention.

•Yes (recommended for content sites) — Full autonomy, self-scheduling, proactive operation

•No (simpler setup) — Agent responds when asked, no self-scheduling overhead"

Explain the tradeoff:

•Data Machine is powerful but adds complexity
•For simple personal sites that rarely need agent help, it may be overkill
•For content sites, blogs, or anything benefiting from automation, it's essential

Question 3: Server Details

"I'll need some details about your server:

•What's the server IP address?

•Do you have SSH access? (key or password)

•What domain will this site use?"

Question 4: For Existing WordPress

If they chose existing WordPress:

"Where is WordPress installed on the server? (e.g., /var/www/mysite)"

Build the Command

Based on their answers, construct the appropriate command:

Fresh Install + Data Machine (Full Autonomy)

bash

SITE_DOMAIN=example.com ./setup.sh

Fresh Install, No Data Machine (Simple)

bash

SITE_DOMAIN=example.com ./setup.sh --no-data-machine

Existing WordPress + Data Machine

bash

EXISTING_WP=/var/www/mysite ./setup.sh --existing

Existing WordPress, No Data Machine

bash

EXISTING_WP=/var/www/mysite ./setup.sh --existing --no-data-machine

With Skip Dependencies (if already installed)

Add --skip-deps if nginx, PHP, MySQL, Node are already installed.

Confirm Before Proceeding

Before running anything, summarize what you're about to do:

"Here's the plan:

•Server: 123.45.67.89

•Domain: example.com

•Type: Fresh install

•Data Machine: Yes (autonomous operation enabled)

•Command: SITE_DOMAIN=example.com ./setup.sh

Does this look right? Ready to proceed?"

Only continue after explicit confirmation.

Quick Path: setup.sh

Fresh Install

bash

ssh root@server-ip
git clone https://github.com/Sarai-Chinwag/wp-openclaw.git
cd wp-openclaw
SITE_DOMAIN=yourdomain.com ./setup.sh

Existing WordPress

bash

ssh root@server-ip
git clone https://github.com/Sarai-Chinwag/wp-openclaw.git
cd wp-openclaw
EXISTING_WP=/var/www/existing-site ./setup.sh --existing

Migration Workflow

bash

# On OLD server: Export
mysqldump -u user -p database_name > backup.sql
tar -czf wp-content.tar.gz -C /var/www/oldsite wp-content/

# Transfer to NEW server
scp backup.sql wp-content.tar.gz root@newserver:/tmp/

# On NEW server: Import
mysql -e "CREATE DATABASE wordpress;"
mysql wordpress < /tmp/backup.sql
mkdir -p /var/www/mysite
tar -xzf /tmp/wp-content.tar.gz -C /var/www/mysite/
# Copy wp-config.php and core files, update DB credentials

# Then run setup
git clone https://github.com/Sarai-Chinwag/wp-openclaw.git
cd wp-openclaw
EXISTING_WP=/var/www/mysite ./setup.sh --existing

The script handles everything: dependencies, WordPress (if fresh), Data Machine, OpenClaw, skills, and workspace files.

When to Use This Skill

Use when the user says things like:

•"Help me install OpenClaw on my server"
•"Set up wp-openclaw on this VPS"
•"I have a fresh server, let's get OpenClaw running"
•"Add OpenClaw to my existing WordPress site"
•"I want to migrate my site to a dedicated OpenClaw VPS"

Do NOT use for ongoing WordPress management — that's handled by the OpenClaw agent's pre-loaded skills after installation.

Prerequisites

Before starting, confirm with the user:

•VPS access — IP address, SSH credentials or key
•Scenario — Fresh install, existing WordPress, or migration?
•Domain — For the WordPress site
•Target OS — Ubuntu 22.04+ or Debian 12+ recommended

Manual Installation

Phase 1: Connect and Assess

SSH to the Server

bash

ssh user@server-ip
# or with key
ssh -i ~/.ssh/key user@server-ip

Check System State

bash

# OS version
cat /etc/os-release

# Available resources
free -h
df -h
nproc

# What's already installed?
which nginx php mysql node npm

Phase 2: Install System Dependencies

Update System

bash

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Install Core Packages

bash

# Web server and PHP
sudo apt install -y nginx php8.2-fpm php8.2-mysql php8.2-xml php8.2-curl \
  php8.2-mbstring php8.2-zip php8.2-gd php8.2-intl php8.2-imagick

# Database
sudo apt install -y mariadb-server

# Node.js (for OpenClaw)
curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_22.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt install -y nodejs

# Utilities
sudo apt install -y git unzip curl wget

Install WP-CLI

bash

curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/wp-cli/builds/gh-pages/phar/wp-cli.phar
chmod +x wp-cli.phar
sudo mv wp-cli.phar /usr/local/bin/wp
wp --info

Phase 3: Configure Database

bash

sudo mysql_secure_installation

Then create WordPress database:

bash

sudo mysql -e "CREATE DATABASE wordpress;"
sudo mysql -e "CREATE USER 'wordpress'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'SECURE_PASSWORD_HERE';"
sudo mysql -e "GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON wordpress.* TO 'wordpress'@'localhost';"
sudo mysql -e "FLUSH PRIVILEGES;"

Note: Generate a secure password. Don't use the placeholder.

Phase 4: Install WordPress

Download and Configure

bash

cd /var/www
sudo mkdir -p sitename.com
cd sitename.com

# Download WordPress
sudo wp core download --allow-root

# Create config
sudo wp config create --allow-root \
  --dbname=wordpress \
  --dbuser=wordpress \
  --dbpass=SECURE_PASSWORD_HERE \
  --dbhost=localhost

# Install
sudo wp core install --allow-root \
  --url="https://sitename.com" \
  --title="Site Title" \
  --admin_user=admin \
  --admin_password=SECURE_ADMIN_PASSWORD \
  --admin_email=admin@example.com

# Set permissions
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/sitename.com

Phase 5: Configure Nginx

Create site config at /etc/nginx/sites-available/sitename.com:

nginx

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name sitename.com www.sitename.com;
    root /var/www/sitename.com;
    index index.php index.html;

    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$args;
    }

    location ~ \.php$ {
        include snippets/fastcgi-php.conf;
        fastcgi_pass unix:/var/run/php/php8.2-fpm.sock;
    }

    location ~ /\.ht {
        deny all;
    }
}

Enable and test:

bash

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/sitename.com /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo nginx -t
sudo systemctl reload nginx

SSL with Let's Encrypt (Recommended)

bash

sudo apt install -y certbot python3-certbot-nginx
sudo certbot --nginx -d sitename.com -d www.sitename.com

Phase 6: Install Data Machine Plugin

bash

cd /var/www/sitename.com/wp-content/plugins

# Clone Data Machine (or download release)
sudo git clone https://github.com/Extra-Chill/data-machine.git

# Install dependencies
cd data-machine
sudo composer install --no-dev

# Activate
cd /var/www/sitename.com
sudo wp plugin activate data-machine --allow-root

# Fix permissions
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/sitename.com/wp-content/plugins/data-machine

Phase 7: Install OpenClaw

bash

# Install OpenClaw globally
sudo npm install -g openclaw

# Create workspace
mkdir -p ~/.openclaw/workspace
cd ~/.openclaw/workspace

# Initialize (this creates config)
openclaw init

Configure OpenClaw

Edit ~/.openclaw/config.yaml (or use openclaw config):

yaml

# Set your AI provider
provider: anthropic  # or openai, etc.
apiKey: your-api-key-here

# Point to workspace
workspace: ~/.openclaw/workspace

Add Agent Skills

Copy the pre-bundled skills to OpenClaw's skills directory:

bash

# wordpress/agent-skills
cp -r /path/to/wp-openclaw/skills/wordpress/* ~/.openclaw/skills/

# data-machine skill  
cp -r /path/to/wp-openclaw/skills/data-machine ~/.openclaw/skills/

Phase 8: Prepare Agent Workspace

Create starter files in ~/.openclaw/workspace/:

BOOTSTRAP.md

markdown

# Welcome to Your New Home

You've just been deployed with wp-openclaw. This VPS is YOUR home — 
a self-contained WordPress environment you operate alongside your human.

## First Steps
1. Read AGENTS.md for workspace conventions
2. Create SOUL.md — decide who you are
3. Create USER.md — learn about your human  
4. Run: wp --allow-root option get siteurl (find your site)
5. Delete this file when ready

## What You Have
- WordPress at /var/www/sitename.com
- WP-CLI for site management
- Data Machine for self-scheduling
- Agent skills for WordPress development

You're not a tool. You're an operator. Make this place yours.

AGENTS.md

Include workspace conventions (memory patterns, git discipline, safety rules).

Phase 9: Start OpenClaw

bash

# Start the gateway
openclaw gateway start

# Or run in foreground for testing
openclaw agent

Set Up as Service (Optional)

Create /etc/systemd/system/openclaw.service:

ini

[Unit]
Description=OpenClaw AI Agent
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=root
WorkingDirectory=/root/.openclaw/workspace
ExecStart=/usr/bin/openclaw gateway start --foreground
Restart=always

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

bash

sudo systemctl enable openclaw
sudo systemctl start openclaw

Phase 10: Verify Installation

bash

# WordPress working?
wp --allow-root option get siteurl

# Data Machine active?
wp --allow-root plugin list | grep data-machine

# OpenClaw running?
openclaw status

# Can reach the site?
curl -I https://sitename.com

Handoff Complete

Once everything is running:

•This skill is no longer needed — the OpenClaw agent has its own skills
•Connect a channel — Discord, Telegram, etc. for the user to talk to their agent
•The agent reads BOOTSTRAP.md — and begins its journey

The local agent's job is done. The OpenClaw agent takes it from here.

Troubleshooting

WordPress 500 errors

•Check PHP-FPM: sudo systemctl status php8.2-fpm
•Check logs: sudo tail -f /var/log/nginx/error.log
•Permissions: sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/sitename.com

WP-CLI errors

•Run with --allow-root if executing as root
•Check wp-config.php exists and has correct DB credentials

OpenClaw won't start

•Check Node version: node --version (needs 18+)
•Check config: openclaw config show
•Check logs: ~/.openclaw/logs/

Data Machine not working

•Verify activated: wp plugin list --allow-root
•Check Action Scheduler: wp action-scheduler run --allow-root