Install

System requirements

• Node 24.16+ or 26.1+ - Node 26 is recommended; the installer provisions Node 26 on macOS and Node 24 LTS on Linux when Node is missing (see Node.js compatibility).
• 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.

Download the desktop app

Prefer a normal app download over the CLI? OpenClaw ships desktop companions:

• Windows: the Windows Hub companion app — a signed installer you download and run like any Windows app, with setup, tray status, chat, and node mode:
  • OpenClawCompanion-Setup-x64.exe
  • OpenClawCompanion-Setup-arm64.exe
  • All Hub releases: Windows Hub releases page
• macOS: the macOS menu bar app — download the OpenClaw-<version>.dmg (preferred) or .zip asset from OpenClaw GitHub releases, then install and launch OpenClaw.app. See the macOS app page for details, including what to do when the newest release ships no macOS asset.

Both desktop apps can provision a local Gateway during first-run setup, or connect to an existing remote Gateway.

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@latest --allow-scripts=openclawopenclaw onboard --install-daemon

pnpm add -g --allow-build=openclaw openclaw@latestopenclaw onboard --install-daemon

bun add -g --trust openclaw@latestbun run --bun openclaw onboard --install-daemon --daemon-runtime bun

From source

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

git clone https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw.gitcd openclawcorepack enablepnpm install && pnpm build && pnpm ui:buildpnpm add --global "openclaw@link:$PWD"openclaw onboard --install-daemon

pnpm add --global "openclaw@link:$PWD" links the CLI to this checkout without changing its package files. If pnpm reports that its global bin directory is not on PATH, run pnpm setup, reopen your shell, and retry.

Corepack selects the exact pnpm version from package.json (currently pnpm 12). If Corepack is unavailable, install that version explicitly with npm install -g [email protected] [email protected]; keep npm install scripts and optional dependencies enabled so pnpm can provision its native executable.

Or skip the global install 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

Next: run onboarding and connect a channel

Hosting and deployment

Deploy OpenClaw on a cloud server or VPS. See Linux server for the full provider picker (DigitalOcean, Hetzner, Hostinger, Fly.io, GCP, Azure, Railway, Northflank, Oracle Cloud, Raspberry Pi, and more), deploy declaratively on Render, or try the experimental Cloudflare Containers template.

Back up, update, migrate, or uninstall

Troubleshooting: openclaw not found

Almost always a PATH issue: npm's global bin directory isn't on your shell's PATH. See Node.js troubleshooting for the full fix, including the Windows path.

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