💻 Code Assistant with OpenClaw

Complete tutorial to automate development tasks and code generation

Here's how to use OpenClaw for code—generation, debugging, PR reviews, refactors, and dev automation. We'll go from setup to a working workflow. Roughly 30–40 minutes.

When to use this: You want an AI pair that can generate snippets, explain errors, review PRs, or refactor from natural language—without leaving your chat. Best if you already use Telegram, Discord, or another connected channel for daily work.

What You'll Build

You'll end up with:

  • OpenClaw integrated with your development workflow
  • Automated code generation and review
  • GitHub integration for PR reviews
  • Code debugging and refactoring assistance

Prerequisites

Before starting:

Step 1: Install Development Skills

Install GitHub and development-related skills:

Install GitHub Skill 
npx clawdhub@latest install github

Or ask OpenClaw to set up development tools:

  • "Set up GitHub integration for code reviews"
  • "Help me configure development skills"
  • "Install Git and GitHub tools"

Step 2: Code Generation

Use OpenClaw to generate code for various tasks:

Code Generation Examples 
"Write a Python function to parse JSON and extract specific fields"
"Create a React component for a user profile card"
"Generate a SQL query to find duplicate records"
"Write a shell script to backup files older than 30 days"

OpenClaw can generate code in multiple languages and frameworks based on your requirements.

Step 3: Code Review and Debugging

Ask OpenClaw to review and debug your code:

Code Review

  • "Review this code for bugs and improvements" (paste code)
  • "Check for security vulnerabilities in this function"
  • "Suggest optimizations for this algorithm"

Debugging

  • "Help me debug this error: [error message]"
  • "Why is this function returning null?"
  • "Explain what's wrong with this code"

Step 4: GitHub Integration

Set up automated PR reviews with GitHub webhooks:

GitHub Webhook Configuration 
{
  "webhooks": {
    "github": {
      "path": "/webhook/github",
      "command": "agent --message 'Review this pull request: {payload}. Check for code quality, security issues, and suggest improvements.'"
    }
  }
}

Configure the webhook in your GitHub repository settings to point to your OpenClaw endpoint.

Step 5: Code Refactoring

Use OpenClaw to refactor and improve code:

Refactoring Requests 
"Refactor this code to follow best practices"
"Convert this to use async/await instead of callbacks"
"Extract this into reusable functions"
"Improve the readability of this code"

Step 6: Development Automation

Automate common development tasks:

Daily Code Review Automation 
{
  "cron": {
    "jobs": [
      {
        "schedule": "0 9 * * *",
        "command": "agent --message 'Check my GitHub repositories for new pull requests. Review any that need attention and summarize them.'"
      }
    ]
  }
}

Advanced Code Assistant Features

Explore advanced development capabilities:

  • Documentation Generation - Auto-generate code documentation
  • Test Writing - Generate unit tests for your code
  • API Integration - Create API clients and wrappers
  • Code Migration - Help migrate code between frameworks
  • Performance Analysis - Identify bottlenecks and optimize code

See also