How to Configure OpenClaw with MiniMax M2.7 for Cost-Effective AI Assistance

Mar 26, 2026

Purpose

I wanted a powerful, privacy-focused AI assistant at a fraction of Claude’s cost. Configuring OpenClaw with MiniMax M2.7 via OpenRouter turned out to be the answer—a $10 plan provides equivalent smartness for workflows like voice note processing, document organization, and daily AI assistance through Telegram integration.

Environment

Node.js 22.x or higher
OpenRouter account with API key
MiniMax M2.7 model access via OpenRouter
Obsidian vault for note synchronization
Syncthing for cross-device sync

What Is OpenClaw?

OpenClaw is a desktop AI assistant that supports multiple channels (Telegram, Discord, WhatsApp, Slack) and integrates with various AI models through providers like OpenRouter.

Key features for my workflow:

Channel integration: Send voice notes via Telegram, get AI-processed responses
File processing: Organize markdown files in Obsidian vaults
Multi-model support: Use different AI models through unified configuration

The Configuration

Here’s how I set up OpenClaw with MiniMax M2.7.

Step 1: Install OpenClaw

# Recommended: npm global installation
npm install -g openclaw@latest

# Alternative: pnpm (faster)
pnpm add -g openclaw@latest

# Verify installation
openclaw --version

Step 2: Run Initial Setup

# Start onboarding wizard
openclaw onboard --install-daemon

# Launch gateway service
openclaw gateway

Step 3: Configure MiniMax via OpenRouter

Edit ~/.openclaw/config.json or use the onboarding wizard:

{
  "models": {
    "mode": "merge",
    "providers": {
      "openrouter": {
        "baseUrl": "https://openrouter.ai/api/v1",
        "apiKey": "sk-or-v1-YOUR_OPENROUTER_API_KEY",
        "api": "openai-compat",
        "models": [
          {
            "id": "minimax/minimax-2-7",
            "name": "MiniMax M2.7",
            "contextWindow": 65536,
            "cost": {
              "input": 0.30,
              "output": 1.20,
              "cacheRead": 0.03
            }
          }
        ]
      }
    }
  },
  "agents": {
    "defaults": {
      "model": {
        "primary": "openrouter/minimax/minimax-2-7"
      }
    }
  }
}

Step 4: Set Model as Default

openclaw models set openrouter/minimax/minimax-2-7

Step 5: Complete Configuration Example

{
  "meta": {
    "lastTouchedVersion": "2026.3.23-1"
  },
  "models": {
    "mode": "merge",
    "providers": {
      "openrouter": {
        "baseUrl": "https://openrouter.ai/api/v1",
        "apiKey": "sk-or-v1-xxxxxxxxxxxxx",
        "api": "openai-compat",
        "models": [
          {
            "id": "minimax/minimax-2-7",
            "name": "MiniMax M2.7",
            "api": "openai-compat",
            "input": ["text"],
            "cost": {
              "input": 0.30,
              "output": 1.20,
              "cacheRead": 0.03,
              "cacheWrite": 0.03
            },
            "contextWindow": 65536,
            "maxTokens": 32000
          }
        ]
      }
    }
  },
  "agents": {
    "defaults": {
      "model": {
        "primary": "openrouter/minimax/minimax-2-7"
      },
      "models": {
        "openrouter/minimax/minimax-2-7": {
          "alias": "M2.7"
        }
      },
      "maxConcurrent": 4
    }
  }
}

Step 6: Configure Telegram Channel

# Open dashboard for visual configuration
openclaw dashboard

In the dashboard, configure your Telegram bot token and chat ID for voice-first workflows.

Step 7: Enable File Sync (Optional)

Configure Syncthing to sync Obsidian vaults between devices:

# Typical Syncthing folder configuration
~/Documents/Obsidian/Vault/ -> synced to -> ~/Notebook/Obsidian/

How It Works

My typical workflow:

Send voice notes to Telegram bot
OpenClaw processes with MiniMax M2.7
AI cleans up and organizes content
Results saved as markdown files
Syncthing syncs to all my devices

A Reddit user reported: “I run a $10 plan that changes my workflow to the point where I am actually using Minimax 2.7 as Claude Cowork for a fraction of the cost.”

Cost Comparison

Model	Input $/M	Output $/M	Cache Read	Context
MiniMax M2.7	$0.30	$1.20	$0.03	65K
Claude Opus 4.5	$15.00	$75.00	$1.50	200K
Claude Sonnet 4	$3.00	$15.00	$0.30	200K
GPT-4o	$2.50	$10.00	$1.25	128K

Monthly Estimate (10M input tokens):

MiniMax M2.7: ~$3-10 (with caching)
Claude Sonnet 4: ~$30-60
Claude Opus 4.5: ~$150-300

Common Mistakes

Mistake 1: Wrong API Endpoint

Use https://openrouter.ai/api/v1 (not /anthropic)

Mistake 2: Missing Context Window

Set contextWindow: 65536 for M2.7’s 65K token limit

Mistake 3: Incorrect Model ID

Use minimax/minimax-2-7 format for OpenRouter routing

Mistake 4: Ignoring Cache Settings

Enable cache for 90% cost reduction on repeated queries

Mistake 5: Skipping Channel Setup

Configure Telegram/Discord before testing workflows

Why This Matters

Cost Reduction: MiniMax M2.7 costs ~$0.30/M input tokens vs Claude’s $3/M (10x savings)

Performance Parity: M2.7 matches GPT-5 and Opus 4.6 on coding benchmarks:

SWE-Pro benchmark: 56.22% correctness (matches GPT-5.3-Codex)
VIBE-Pro repo-level code generation: 55.6% (nearly matches Opus 4.6)

Privacy Control: All processing runs locally on your infrastructure

Workflow Integration: Native support for Telegram, Discord, WhatsApp, Slack

Summary

In this post, I showed how to configure OpenClaw with MiniMax M2.7 for cost-effective AI assistance. The key point is that this setup delivers Claude-level intelligence at 10-50x lower cost through OpenRouter’s unified API and OpenClaw’s channel integrations.

Next Steps:

Create an OpenRouter account and generate an API key
Install OpenClaw via npm
Configure MiniMax M2.7 as your default model
Set up Telegram channel for voice-first workflows
Enable Syncthing for cross-device file synchronization
Start using your cost-effective Claude alternative

Final Words + More Resources

My intention with this article was to help others share my knowledge and experience. If you want to contact me, you can contact by email: Email me

Here are also the most important links from this article along with some further resources that will help you in this scope:

👨‍💻 MiniMax Platform Documentation
👨‍💻 OpenRouter API
👨‍💻 Reddit Discussion: OpenClaw on Minimax 2.7

Oh, and if you found these resources useful, don’t forget to support me by starring the repo on GitHub!