Using Perisclaw
How to talk to Perisclaw in self-chat, in other chats, and by voice.
Use Perisclaw the way you'd use a good assistant: ask a question, hand something off, or think out loud. Just describe what you want. You don't need to pick a feature first.
There are two places to begin: your self-chat for private work, or the conversation that already contains the context.
Start in your self-chat
Your self-chat (the WhatsApp chat with your own number) is Perisclaw's home base. Use it for work that spans people, apps, or several days.
What needs my attention today? Give me the three most important things and why.
Good first requests include:
- Catch up: “What did Rahul say about the budget last week?”
- Delegate: “Draft a polite no to this invitation.”
- Plan: “What does my day look like?” or “Remind me to call the bank Friday.”
- Remember: “Remember that Maya prefers morning meetings.”
Use /claw where the conversation is happening
In a direct message or group, start your request with /claw. Perisclaw uses
that conversation as context and replies there, so you do not need to forward
messages or explain the thread again.
/claw summarize the decisions in this chat and tell us what is still open.
Use /claw for a one-off answer. For something longer, like coordinating a
meeting time with the group, ask from your self-chat and Perisclaw sets it up as
a Mission or an Automation. Outside your self-chat
it stays silent otherwise. You can always see and change what it has access to
in Permissions & access.
Speak and react instead of typing
You can use familiar WhatsApp actions when a full typed request is inconvenient:
- Send a voice note in self-chat, or include
/clawwith a voice request in another chat. Perisclaw handles it like typed text. Learn about voice. - React 📎 to any message to save it to your personal wiki. Perisclaw sends a confirmation when it is stored. Learn about the personal wiki.
- React 👍 or ✅ to a draft in self-chat to approve and send it.
Know what happens after you ask
Some requests finish immediately; others create work you can return to:
- An answer or action finishes in the current conversation.
- A task holds something you want to track and eventually close.
- A reminder brings something back at a chosen time.
- A Mission takes on a goal that needs multiple steps, like chasing five invoices until they're paid.
- An Automation runs on a schedule or trigger, like a briefing every morning at 8.
Ask in normal language and Perisclaw picks the right one. You don't need to remember any of this.
Work through it on the web or your phone
WhatsApp is where you ask, clarify, and approve. Open the web app at app.perisclaw.com, or the app on your phone, when you want to sit down and clear what needs you:
- Today lists your tasks with the chat or email each one comes from, the reply already drafted, and Perisclaw beside it to change anything. See Tasks & commitments.
- Work shows your Missions, Automations, and reminders in one list, on the web and on your phone. See Automations.
- Settings holds your profile, Permissions, Skills, billing, Refer a friend, and account. On your phone, Permissions, Skills, and your account sit under You.
- Apps connects Gmail, Calendar, Drive, and the rest on the web. On your phone, open You and use the connections list to connect Gmail. See Mail & connected apps.
- Calendar lists what you committed to, in time order, on your phone.
Tap the button in the middle of the app to chat with Perisclaw, or press Cmd+K on a Mac and Ctrl+K on Windows.
Stop, ignore, or restart
These commands work even when the assistant is busy or stuck:
/stopin self-chat halts the current turn and drops queued work. The assistant reacts 🛑 when the command registers./ignoreas a standalone word in any message tells Perisclaw not to act on that message or use it in later AI search and retrieval. It reacts 🙈 to confirm./restartin self-chat restarts the assistant when it is unresponsive. It reacts ♻️ immediately and confirms when it is back.
Use /stop when you only want to halt current work. Reserve /restart for the
assistant itself being stuck.
Choose what to hand off next
Pick the guide for what you want to do next.