Getting Started

First Launch

After installing AcaClaw, launch it for the first time:

  1. Open AcaClaw
  2. Choose your field (Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Medicine, Engineering, Math, etc.)
  3. Connect your AI provider — enter your API key in the setup wizard, or configure it via OpenClaw CLI: 
    openclaw config set models.providers.openai.apiKey "sk-..."
  4. Start asking questions

That’s it. No terminal required (but it’s there if you prefer it).

Note: AcaClaw uses OpenClaw for all LLM handling — model routing, provider URLs, and API authentication are managed by OpenClaw automatically. You just provide the API key.

Your Workspace

Your workspace is ready at ~/AcaClaw/ — all your files, data, and results live here.

~/AcaClaw/
├── data/
│   ├── raw/           ← Your original data (never modified by AI)
│   └── processed/     ← Analysis outputs, computed results
├── documents/
│   ├── drafts/        ← Manuscript and report drafts
│   └── final/         ← Finalized documents for submission
├── figures/           ← Generated plots and visualizations
├── references/        ← Papers (PDFs), bibliography files (.bib, .ris)
├── notes/             ← Research notes, meeting minutes
├── output/            ← AI-generated outputs (summaries, citations)
└── README.md          ← Auto-generated workspace guide

Key rules

  • Confinement: AcaClaw cannot read, write, or delete files outside this directory
  • Raw data protection: Files in data/raw/ are never modified — results go to data/processed/
  • Automatic backup: Every file is backed up before modification

What You Can Ask

Here are some examples to try right away:

Literature search:

“Find recent papers on CRISPR-Cas9 delivery mechanisms in cardiac tissue”

Data analysis:

“Here’s my CSV of patient outcomes. Compare treatment groups and make a figure for my paper”

Writing:

“Help me draft the methods section for my paper on protein crystallography”

Citations:

“Format these references in APA style”

Math:

“Solve this differential equation step by step”

Security Levels

AcaClaw ships two security levels — choose the one that fits:

Level What it does Requires Docker?
Standard (default) Operations restricted to workspace. Command deny-lists, audit trail, automatic backup. No
Maximum Everything above + all code runs inside a Docker container. Full isolation. Yes

Both levels include:

  • Automatic file backup before every modification
  • Full audit log of every action
  • Privacy-first design — your data stays on your machine

Multiple Workspaces

You can point AcaClaw to any directory:

openclaw config set agents.defaults.workspace ~/my-research

Each workspace is independent with its own backups and metadata.

What’s Next