Overview

This guide walks you through deploying an AI assistant powered by Google Gemini using Local Deployment. You'll configure the provider, set up the deployment environment, and get your assistant running.

Why Google Gemini?

  • 1M token context window
  • Multimodal understanding
  • Fast inference

Why Local Deployment?

  • Simplest setup
  • No network exposure
  • Full control

Requirements

  • Node.js 22+: Node.js version 22 or higher is required
  • macOS, Linux, or WSL2: Supported operating systems
  • npm or pnpm: Package manager for installation
  • Google Gemini credentials: API key or authentication

Step 1: Configure Google Gemini

Google AI API key

  1. Go to ai.google.dev
  2. Create or select a project
  3. Enable the Gemini API
  4. Generate an API key
  5. Set GOOGLE_API_KEY environment variable
Environment Variable: GOOGLE_API_KEY

Step 2: Prepare Local Deployment Environment

  1. Install OpenClaw: Install OpenClaw globally via npm or the installer script
    curl -fsSL https://openclaw.bot/install.sh | bash
  2. Run Onboarding: Complete the setup wizard
    openclaw onboard --install-daemon
  3. Configure Providers: Add your AI provider credentials during onboarding or manually
  4. Start Gateway: Start the Gateway service
    openclaw gateway start
  5. Verify Status: Check that everything is running correctly
    openclaw status

Step 3: Configuration

Create your openclaw.json configuration:

{
  "agents": {
    "defaults": {
      "model": {
        "primary": "google-gemini/gemini-2.0-flash-exp"
      }
    }
  },
  "models": {
    "providers": {
      "google-gemini": {
  "models": {
    "providers": {
      "google-gemini": {
        "apiKey": "${GOOGLE_API_KEY}
    }
  }
}

Step 4: Deploy

{
  "gateway": {
    "mode": "local",
    "bind": "loopback",
    "port": 18789,
    "auth": {
      "mode": "token",
      "allowTailscale": false
    }
  }
}

Step 5: Verify

# Check deployment status
openclaw status

# View logs
openclaw logs --follow

# Test with a message
openclaw test "Hello, are you working?"

Connect to Channels

Now connect your deployed Google Gemini assistant to messaging channels: