Glossary of Terms

This glossary covers the key terms you encounter while using OneClickClaw. Terms are grouped alphabetically for quick reference. If you are new to AI agents and managed hosting, start here to build a solid foundation before diving into the rest of the documentation.

A through D

Agent

An AI-powered assistant that runs on your OneClickClaw server. Your agent receives messages from connected channels (Telegram, Discord), sends them to an AI model for processing, and delivers the response back to the channel. You define the agent's personality, knowledge, and behavior through a system prompt. Each OneClickClaw instance runs exactly one agent, but that agent can serve multiple channels simultaneously.

API Key

A secret token issued by an AI provider (such as Anthropic or OpenAI) that authorizes your agent to use their models. Think of it as a password that lets your agent talk to the AI. Your API key is stored encrypted on your server and is never shared with OneClickClaw. You generate it from your provider's dashboard. See also: BYOK.

BYOK (Bring Your Own Key)

The pricing model used by OneClickClaw. You supply your own AI provider API key and pay the provider directly for token usage. OneClickClaw charges only for hosting infrastructure. This gives you full control over AI costs, provider choice, and model selection. There is no markup on AI usage. For a full explanation, see BYOK Explained.

Channel

A messaging platform connection where your agent listens and responds. OneClickClaw currently supports Telegram, WhatsApp, and Discord channels. You can connect multiple channels to a single instance, and your agent responds in all of them simultaneously using the same personality and configuration. Each channel requires a bot token from the respective platform.

Dashboard

The web interface at oneclickclaw.io where you manage your entire OneClickClaw deployment. From the dashboard you can view real-time server metrics (CPU, RAM, uptime), configure your agent (provider, model, system prompt), manage channels, view the Event Viewer, update billing, and monitor overall health. No terminal or SSH access is needed for any of these tasks.

Deploy / Deployment

The process of creating a new server and installing OpenClaw on it. When you deploy through OneClickClaw, the platform provisions a dedicated VPS, installs and configures all software, hardens security, sets up SSL certificates, and enables health monitoring. The entire process is automated and takes about 5 minutes.

Diagnostic Bundle

A collection of logs, configuration snapshots, and system state information that OneClickClaw can generate from your server. If you contact support about an issue, a diagnostic bundle gives our team the information they need to investigate without requiring SSH access to your server. You can trigger a diagnostic bundle from your dashboard.

E through I

Event Viewer

A real-time log display in your dashboard that shows everything happening on your server. Events include agent starts and stops, channel connections and disconnections, error messages, health check results, and update notifications. The Event Viewer uses a terminal- style display and helps you understand what your agent is doing at any given moment.

Gateway

The core component of OpenClaw that manages communication between your AI model and your messaging channels. The gateway runs on your server, listens for incoming messages from connected channels, forwards them to your AI provider, and delivers the response back. It operates via a WebSocket-based control plane on your server. You interact with the gateway indirectly through your dashboard.

Health Check

An automated monitoring system that continuously verifies your server is running correctly. Health checks confirm that the server is reachable, OpenClaw is running, the gateway is responsive, and connected channels are active. If a health check fails, OneClickClaw's monitoring system triggers an alert and, in many cases, automatically attempts to recover the service.

Instance

A single OneClickClaw deployment consisting of one dedicated server running one OpenClaw agent. Each instance has its own guaranteed resources (CPU, RAM, storage), its own configuration, its own set of connected channels, and its own billing. Your subscription covers exactly one instance. If you need multiple independent agents, each requires its own instance and subscription.

O through P

Onboarding Wizard

A guided, 5-step setup flow that runs immediately after your server finishes provisioning. The Onboarding Wizard walks you through confirming your server name, entering your API key, selecting an AI model, connecting a messaging channel, and testing the connection. You can skip it and configure these settings later from your dashboard. For a full walkthrough, see Onboarding Wizard.

OpenClaw

The open-source AI assistant gateway that powers every OneClickClaw deployment. OpenClaw connects AI models to messaging platforms, manages conversation history, handles session scoping, and provides a WebSocket-based control plane for real-time configuration. It supports 20+ AI providers and 22+ messaging channels. OneClickClaw handles the installation, configuration, updates, and monitoring of OpenClaw on your behalf. You never need to interact with it directly.

Provider

The company that supplies the AI model your agent uses. Supported providers include Anthropic (Claude), OpenAI (GPT), Google (Gemini), xAI (Grok), Mistral, DeepSeek, OpenRouter (780+ models via proxy), and 15+ more. You interact with your provider through their API using your API key. You choose your provider during the Onboarding Wizard and can change it at any time from the Agent Control Panel.

S through W

System Prompt

A set of instructions that defines your agent's personality, behavior, knowledge boundaries, and response style. The system prompt is sent to the AI model at the start of every conversation. It controls how your agent speaks, what topics it covers, how it handles edge cases, and what it refuses to discuss. A well-crafted system prompt is the most important factor in how useful and on-brand your agent feels to users. You edit it from the Agent Control Panel in your dashboard.

Tier / Plan

The subscription level you choose when deploying. OneClickClaw offers three tiers: Starter (EUR 14.99/month), Hobbyist (EUR 25.99/month), and Pro (EUR 49.99/month). Higher tiers provide more server resources (CPU, RAM, storage) and faster support response times. All tiers include the same core features: BYOK, managed updates, health monitoring, SSL, and unlimited channels. See Choosing a Plan for a full comparison.

VPS (Virtual Private Server)

A dedicated virtual machine that runs your OpenClaw agent. Each OneClickClaw instance gets its own VPS with guaranteed resources (not shared with other customers). This means your agent's performance is consistent and not affected by what other users are doing. All VPS instances are hosted in the EU (Denmark) on AMD EPYC processors with DDR5 RAM and NVMe SSDs.

Webhook

A mechanism where one system sends an automated notification to another when a specific event occurs. OneClickClaw uses webhooks internally (for example, Stripe sends a webhook when you complete payment, which triggers server provisioning). As an end user, you do not need to configure or manage webhooks. They operate entirely behind the scenes.