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OpenClaw recipe

New Repo Setup and Onboarding Guide

aka “Onboarding Buddy”

New repo? Running in minutes, not days

Point your Claw at an unfamiliar repo and it figures out how to get it running. Excellent starter recipe because it turns a messy pile of config files into a concrete setup plan you can follow.

House RecipeWork2 min
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INTEGRATIONS NEEDED

🐙GitHub

PROMPT

I just cloned a new repo and need to get it running locally. Read the project's config files (package.json, requirements.txt, Dockerfile, docker-compose.yml, Makefile, README, etc.) and figure out: (1) what language/framework this project uses, (2) what dependencies need to be installed, (3) what services need to be running (databases, caches, queues), (4) the correct startup sequence. Generate a step-by-step setup guide that actually works. If the README contradicts what the config files say, trust the config files. Flag anything that looks like it might cause "works on my machine" issues. Repo contents: [share the repo or key config files]

How It Works

Instead of following a 47-step README that was last updated two years ago,

your Claw reads all the config files in the repo, infers the actual

dependency chain, and generates a working setup script. When something

fails, it diagnoses and fixes it.

What You Get

  • Automated dependency detection from config files (package.json, requirements.txt, Gemfile, go.mod, etc.)
  • Service dependency mapping (databases, caches, message queues)
  • A single setup script that starts everything in the right order
  • Diagnosis and fixes when steps fail
  • Architecture overview: "here's how this project is structured"

Setup Steps

  1. Clone the repo
  2. Point your Claw at it
  3. It reads configs, generates a setup plan, and walks you through it
  4. When something breaks, paste the error — it adapts

Tips

  • Works best when the Claw can see the full repo (not just the README)
  • Handles monorepos with multiple services
  • Ask for an architecture overview if you're new to the codebase
  • Can generate a fresh, accurate README from what it discovers
  • Great for open source projects where the maintainer's machine has a different setup than yours
Tags:#onboarding#setup#development#documentation#automation

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