See more of my writing here.
In this post, I'll start from scratch and build up to OpenClaw's architecture step by step, showing how you could have invented it yourself from first principles, using nothing but a messaging API, an LLM, and the desire to make AI actually useful outside the chat window.
End goal: understand how persistent AI assistants work, so you can build your own (or become an OpenClaw power user).
When you use ChatGPT or Claude in a browser, there are several limitations:
| // Setting a unix lock date for ML | |
| new Date("10/17/2024").getTime() / 1000; // Returns 1729094400 | |
| // Decoding a unix lock date | |
| new Date(1729094400 * 1000); // Returns Sun Dec 25 2022 00:00:00 GMT+0800 (Philippine Standard Time) |
| import React, { Component } from 'react'; | |
| import axios from 'axios'; | |
| import './App.css'; | |
| class App extends Component { | |
| constructor() { | |
| super(); | |
| this.state = { | |
| images: [], |
| [ | |
| {"name":"Keeley Bosco","email":"katlyn@jenkinsmaggio.net","city":"Lake Gladysberg","mac":"08:fd:0b:cd:77:f7","timestamp":"2015-04-25 13:57:36 +0700","creditcard":"1228-1221-1221-1431"}, | |
| {"name":"Rubye Jerde","email":"juvenal@johnston.name","city":null,"mac":"90:4d:fa:42:63:a2","timestamp":"2015-04-25 09:02:04 +0700","creditcard":"1228-1221-1221-1431"}, | |
| {"name":"Miss Darian Breitenberg","email":null,"city":null,"mac":"f9:0e:d3:40:cb:e9","timestamp":"2015-04-25 13:16:03 +0700","creditcard":null}, | |
| {"name":"Celine Ankunding","email":"emery_kunze@rogahn.net","city":null,"mac":"3a:af:c9:0b:5c:08","timestamp":"2015-04-25 14:22:22 +0700","creditcard":"1228-1221-1221-1431"}, | |
| {"name":"Dr. Araceli Lang","email":"mavis_lehner@jacobi.name","city":"Yvettemouth","mac":"9e:ea:28:41:2a:50","timestamp":"2015-04-25 21:02:11 +0700","creditcard":"1211-1221-1234-2201"}, | |
| {"name":"Esteban Von","email":null,"city":null,"mac":"2d:e4:f0:dd:90:96","timestamp":"2015-04-25 21:47:09 +0700","creditcard":null}, |
| /* | |
| ##Device = Desktops | |
| ##Screen = 1281px to higher resolution desktops | |
| */ | |
| @media (min-width: 1281px) { | |
| /* CSS */ | |