It’s being called the "OpenClaw Effect." Over the last month, Apple stores and electronics retailers globally have reported a massive spike in Mac Mini sales, causing stockouts in major cities. The reason? Thousands of developers are seeking the perfect dedicated hardware to run their **OpenClaw agents** 24/7.
Why the Mac Mini?
OpenClaw is designed to be a local-first autonomous assistant. While you can run it on a laptop, most "power users" want a dedicated machine that stays on 24/7 to handle cron jobs, monitor Slack, and manage files. The Mac Mini (especially the M2 and M4 models) offers the perfect balance of:
- Energy Efficiency: Low power consumption for around-the-clock operation.
- Neural Engine Power: Handles local embedding models and small LLMs with ease.
- Small Form Factor: Tucks away behind a monitor or in a server rack.
- Reliability: macOS’s stability is ideal for a machine meant to run autonomously for months.
The Rise of the "Personal Server"
We are seeing a shift in how people view their computers. No longer is a PC just a tool for work; it's becoming the brain for an AI agent. Developers are setting up Mac Minis as dedicated OpenClaw "Gateways," connecting them to their phones via WhatsApp or Telegram and controlling their digital life from anywhere.
How to Get Started (If You Can Find One)
If you managed to snag a Mac Mini, setting up OpenClaw is trivial. Just ensure you have Node 22 installed and run the onboarding wizard:
npx -y openclaw@latest onboardFAQ
Do I need a Mac Mini to run OpenClaw?
No! OpenClaw runs perfectly on Windows, Linux,
and even Raspberry Pi 5. The Mac Mini is just the community's current favorite.
Is it expensive to run?
Aside from the hardware cost, OpenClaw is very efficient.
Your primary costs will be LLM API tokens (OpenAI, Anthropic, etc.).