Install

System requirements

• Node 24 (recommended) or Node 22.19+ - the installer script handles this automatically
• macOS, Linux, or Windows - Windows users can start with the native Windows Hub app, the PowerShell CLI installer, or a WSL2 Gateway. See Windows.
• pnpm is only needed if you build from source

Recommended: installer script

The fastest way to install. It detects your OS, installs Node if needed, installs OpenClaw, and launches onboarding.

curl -fsSL https://openclaw.ai/install.sh | bash

iwr -useb https://openclaw.ai/install.ps1 | iex

To install without running onboarding:

curl -fsSL https://openclaw.ai/install.sh | bash -s -- --no-onboard

& ([scriptblock]::Create((iwr -useb https://openclaw.ai/install.ps1))) -NoOnboard

For all flags and CI/automation options, see Installer internals.

Alternative install methods

Local prefix installer (install-cli.sh)

Use this when you want OpenClaw and Node kept under a local prefix such as ~/.openclaw, without depending on a system-wide Node install:

curl -fsSL https://openclaw.ai/install-cli.sh | bash

It supports npm installs by default, plus git-checkout installs under the same prefix flow. Full reference: Installer internals.

Already installed? Switch between package and git installs with openclaw update --channel dev and openclaw update --channel stable. See Updating.

npm, pnpm, or bun

If you already manage Node yourself:

npm install -g openclaw@latestopenclaw onboard --install-daemon

pnpm add -g openclaw@latestpnpm approve-builds -gopenclaw onboard --install-daemon

bun add -g openclaw@latestopenclaw onboard --install-daemon

From source

For contributors or anyone who wants to run from a local checkout:

git clone https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw.gitcd openclawpnpm install && pnpm build && pnpm ui:buildpnpm link --globalopenclaw onboard --install-daemon

Or skip the link and use pnpm openclaw ... from inside the repo. See Setup for full development workflows.

Install from the GitHub main checkout

curl -fsSL --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 https://openclaw.ai/install.sh | bash -s -- --install-method git --version main

Containers and package managers

Verify the install

openclaw --version      # confirm the CLI is availableopenclaw doctor         # check for config issuesopenclaw gateway status # verify the Gateway is running

If you want managed startup after install:

• macOS: LaunchAgent via openclaw onboard --install-daemon or openclaw gateway install
• Linux/WSL2: systemd user service via the same commands
• Native Windows: Scheduled Task first, with a per-user Startup-folder login item fallback if task creation is denied

Hosting and deployment

Deploy OpenClaw on a cloud server or VPS:

Update, migrate, or uninstall

Troubleshooting: openclaw not found

If the install succeeded but openclaw is not found in your terminal:

node -v           # Node installed?npm prefix -g     # Where are global packages?echo "$PATH"      # Is the global bin dir in PATH?

If $(npm prefix -g)/bin is not in your $PATH, add it to your shell startup file (~/.zshrc or ~/.bashrc):

export PATH="$(npm prefix -g)/bin:$PATH"

Then open a new terminal. See Node setup for more details.