Comment by rizzo94

You nailed it with the 'hype smell.' The silence in your circles is likely because the churn rate on OpenClaw is massive. Most people hit that 'Day 2' wall—where the novelty wears off and the reality of securing a bot with shell access sets in—and they just quietly shut it down.

I was in that exact boat (wanted the agency, didn't want the sysadmin headache). I’ve actually pivoted to testing PAIO (Personal AI Operator) instead. It targets the same 'agentic' utility but uses a BYOK architecture and a managed security layer.

It basically solves the specific failures you linked:

Security: You aren't leaving a shell open on your local machine.

Setup: It’s a one-click integration rather than a failed sandbox install.

Cost: BYOK means you control the token burn directly, so no surprise bills from a runaway loop.

It feels like the 'adult in the room' version of these experiments. Less dramatic stories, perhaps, but it actually runs daily without me worrying it’s going to rm -rf my home directory.