Install OpenClaw in 5 Minutes: Mac, Linux & Windows Guide

The One-Command Install

OpenClaw provides an installer script that handles everything — detecting your OS, installing Node.js 22 if needed, installing Git, and setting up OpenClaw globally. Here are the exact commands for each platform.

macOS / Linux / WSL2

Open Terminal and run:

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

What this does behind the scenes:

• Detects your OS (macOS, Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, Arch, etc.)
• Installs Homebrew on macOS if not present
• Installs Node.js 22 via Homebrew (macOS) or NodeSource (Linux)
• Installs Git if missing
• Installs OpenClaw globally via npm
• Runs the onboarding wizard to configure your AI model and first channel

Windows (PowerShell)

Open PowerShell as Administrator and run:

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

This installs Node.js 22 via winget, Chocolatey, or Scoop (whichever is available), then installs OpenClaw globally.

Installer Flags

The installer script accepts several flags for customization:

# Install via git clone instead of npm (useful for contributing)
curl -fsSL https://openclaw.ai/install.sh | bash -s -- --install-method git

# Install a specific version
curl -fsSL https://openclaw.ai/install.sh | bash -s -- --version 1.5.0

# Install beta channel
curl -fsSL https://openclaw.ai/install.sh | bash -s -- --beta

# Skip the onboarding wizard
curl -fsSL https://openclaw.ai/install.sh | bash -s -- --no-onboard

# Non-interactive (no prompts)
curl -fsSL https://openclaw.ai/install.sh | bash -s -- --no-prompt

# Dry run (show what would happen without doing it)
curl -fsSL https://openclaw.ai/install.sh | bash -s -- --dry-run

Alternative: npm / pnpm Global Install

If you already have Node.js 22+ installed, you can skip the installer script:

# npm
npm install -g openclaw@latest
openclaw onboard --install-daemon

# pnpm
pnpm add -g openclaw@latest
pnpm approve-builds -g
openclaw onboard --install-daemon

pnpm note: pnpm requires explicit approval for packages with build scripts. After seeing "Ignored build scripts" warnings, run pnpm approve-builds -g and select the listed packages.

Alternative: No-Root Local Install

If you can't install globally or don't have root/admin access:

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

This installs Node.js and OpenClaw entirely under ~/.openclaw with no system-level changes. Custom prefix example:

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

Post-Install: The Onboarding Wizard

After installation, the onboarding wizard (openclaw onboard --install-daemon) walks you through:

1. AI model selection: Choose Claude (Anthropic), GPT (OpenAI), or a local model via Ollama
2. API key entry: Paste your AI provider API key
3. Gateway configuration: Port, bind address, and security settings
4. Daemon installation: Sets up a background service (launchd on macOS, systemd on Linux) so the gateway starts automatically and survives reboots

Verify Your Installation

# Check OpenClaw is installed
openclaw --version

# Check gateway health
openclaw health

# Open the web dashboard
openclaw dashboard

# Run diagnostics if something seems wrong
openclaw doctor

Troubleshooting

• "openclaw: command not found" — The npm global bin directory isn't in your PATH. Fix: export PATH="$(npm prefix -g)/bin:$PATH" and add this line to your ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc
• sharp build errors on macOS — If you have Homebrew's libvips installed, it can conflict. Fix: SHARP_IGNORE_GLOBAL_LIBVIPS=1 npm install -g openclaw@latest
• Permission errors — Don't use sudo npm install -g. Instead, fix npm's global prefix: npm config set prefix ~/.npm-global and add ~/.npm-global/bin to PATH

Next Steps

Once the gateway is running, you can:

• Connect WhatsApp as your first messaging channel
• Containerize with Docker for production isolation
• Deploy to the cloud for 24/7 uptime