This week I had a genuinely eye-opening moment with AI.
I did end-to-end software development using nothing but my phone, on a train, by messaging my personal AI assistant — an OpenClaw agent I named 42.
I had been playing with OpenClaw for about three days at that point. I was already amazed by its capabilities. I had it installed on my laptop and could see its potential: always-on access through Telegram, the ability to reach my files and system, and I had already taught it to interact with my personal notes — written in Markdown and managed through Obsidian — and even with my Kanboard instance, where it could read, create, and move tickets.
But I needed to get it off my laptop, for two reasons. First, to limit its access to my files. Second, to have it available 100% of the time — when I shut down my computer, 42 went dark until I turned it back on.
I was deep in the frenzy of testing what this agent could do. So before leaving the office that day, I decided to move my OpenClaw install to a Hetzner server — a €4.91/month box — so I could keep experimenting during the train ride home. I connected it to Telegram, and off I went.
On the train, I set up my Obsidian notes to sync via Git, then started checking the code tasks I had queued up for a personal project.
And then a thought hit me.
The Hetzner server’s SSH key was already on the Git remote. 42 already had access to Kanboard. So… could I just ask it to pick up a task and write the code?
I gave it the Git link to clone through Telegram. We brainstormed an idea I’d been thinking about. We decided to change the URL format of the project. Then 42 cloned the repo, created the Kanboard ticket, wrote the code, and pushed the branch. I reviewed the PR on Forgejo from my phone, merged it, done.
No laptop. No terminal. Just a conversation on Telegram.
I sat there speechless, with the unmistakable feeling that I was giving myself a glimpse of the future. I had just done real software development — on a train, heading home — by talking to my AI assistant.
It was beautiful.