Mac Mini Hardware Requirements for OpenClaw

# M1 (2020) - Budget option:
- 8-core CPU, 8-core GPU
- $599 base
- Good for: Personal use, learning
- Limitation: Lower performance for heavy workloads

# M2 (2023) - Balanced:
- 8-core CPU, 10-core GPU
- $699 base
- Good for: Small teams, moderate workloads
- Trade-off: Mid-range price and performance

# M4 (2024) - High performance:
- 10-core CPU, 10-core GPU
- $799 base
- Good for: Production deployments, high concurrency
- Cost: Premium for best performance

# 8GB RAM (Base M1/M2):
- Single user, basic skills
- ~5 concurrent requests
- Suitable for: Home labs, personal use

# 16GB RAM (Recommended):
- Multiple users or skills
- ~20 concurrent requests
- Suitable for: Small teams, production single-instance
- Memory usage: 60-80% under load

# 24GB+ RAM (Enterprise):
- Large deployments, many skills
- 50+ concurrent requests
- Suitable for: Enterprise deployments
- Cost: $200-300 extra

# Storage breakdown:
# macOS system: 15-20GB
# OpenClaw: 2-3GB
# Dependencies: 1-2GB
# Database & logs: 5-20GB
# Skills & caches: 2-5GB
# Total minimum: 256GB
# Recommended: 512GB

# Example: 1 year of conversation history
# 100 conversations/day × 10KB = 1MB/day
# 365MB/year
# 512GB is more than sufficient

# Response time benchmarks

# M1 16GB:
- Simple query: 2-3 seconds
- Complex query: 5-8 seconds
- 10 concurrent: 15-20 seconds

# M2 16GB:
- Simple query: 1.5-2 seconds
- Complex query: 4-6 seconds
- 20 concurrent: 12-18 seconds

# M4 16GB:
- Simple query: 1-1.5 seconds
- Complex query: 3-5 seconds
- 20 concurrent: 8-12 seconds

# Notes:
- Times include API calls to Claude
- More RAM = faster (less swapping)
- Sustained load causes slight thermal throttling

# 1-year Total Cost of Ownership

# Mac Mini M1 16GB:
- Hardware: $599 + $200 (RAM) = $799
- Electricity: ~$200/year (40W)
- Total: ~$1,000/year ($83/mo)

# Mac Mini M4 24GB:
- Hardware: $799 + $600 (RAM) = $1,399
- Electricity: ~$250/year (50W)
- Total: ~$1,650/year ($138/mo)

# DigitalOcean VPS 2GB:
- Cost: ~$216/year ($18/mo)
- Limitation: Shared CPU, underpowered

# AWS EC2 t3.medium:
- Cost: ~$500/year
- Flexibility: Easy scaling
# Better for variable workloads

# Energy settings:
# System Preferences → Energy Saver
# - Disable: Display sleep
# - Disable: Hard disk sleep
# - Enable: Power Nap

# Thermal management:
# Install Macs Fan Control (free)
# Set fan curve: 40% at 60°C, 100% at 85°C
# Ensure good air circulation

# Development settings:
# System Preferences → Sharing
# - Enable: Remote Login (SSH)
# - Enable: File Sharing (if needed)

# Activity Monitor:
# Applications → Utilities → Activity Monitor
# Monitor CPU %, RAM, memory pressure

# Terminal:
top -o %MEM  # Sort by memory
df -h        # Disk usage
power_metrics # Power info

# Install glances:
brew install glances
glances

# Time Machine (local backup):
# System Preferences → Time Machine
# - Enable: Turn on Time Machine
# - Select: External USB drive or NAS
# - Frequency: Hourly (automatic)

# Cloud backup:
# Install Backblaze ($7/month)

# Command-line backup:
tar -czf openclaw-backup-$(date +%Y-%m-%d).tar.gz ~/.openclaw/