Getting started - OpenClaw OpenClawDocs Search...K 🇺🇸English🇺🇸 English🇨🇳 简体中文🇨🇳 繁體中文🇯🇵 日本語🇪🇸 Español🇧🇷 Português (BR)🇰🇷 한국어🇩🇪 Deutsch🇫🇷 Français🇮🇳 हिन्दी🇸🇦 العربية🇮🇹 Italiano🇻🇳 Tiếng Việt🇳🇱 Nederlands🇹🇷 Türkçe🇺🇦 Українська🇮🇩 Bahasa Indonesia🇵🇱 Polski🇷🇺 Русский🇮🇷 فارسی🇹🇭 ไทย🇺🇸English✓🇨🇳简体中文✓🇨🇳繁體中文✓🇯🇵日本語✓🇪🇸Español✓🇧🇷Português (BR)✓🇰🇷한국어✓🇩🇪Deutsch✓🇫🇷Français✓🇮🇳हिन्दी✓🇸🇦العربية✓🇮🇹Italiano✓🇻🇳Tiếng Việt✓🇳🇱Nederlands✓🇹🇷Türkçe✓🇺🇦Українська✓🇮🇩Bahasa Indonesia✓🇵🇱Polski✓🇷🇺Русский✓🇮🇷فارسی✓🇹🇭ไทย✓ Get startedInstallChannelsAgentsCapabilitiesClawHubModelsPlatformsGateway & OpsReferenceRelease & CIHelp Browse docs SectionGet startedGet startedInstallChannelsAgentsCapabilitiesClawHubModelsPlatformsGateway & OpsReferenceRelease & CIHelp In this section Overview OpenClawShowcaseWhy OpenClawFeatures First steps Getting startedOnboarding overviewOnboarding (CLI)Onboarding (macOS app) Guides Personal assistant setupTeam setupCLI setup referenceCLI automation Get started/First steps/Getting startedCopy pageCopy pageCopy page as Markdown for LLMsView as MarkdownView this page as plain text↗Open in ChatGPTAsk questions about this page↗Open in ClaudeAsk questions about this page↗ First steps Getting started Get startedFirst steps Install OpenClaw, run onboarding, and chat with your AI assistant in about 5 minutes. By the end you will have a running Gateway, configured auth, and a working chat session. What you need Node.js 22.22.3+, 24.15+, or 25.9+ (Node 26 is the recommended runtime) An API key from a model provider (Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, etc.) — onboarding will prompt you Tip Check your Node version with node --version. Windows users: the native Windows Hub app is the easiest desktop path. The PowerShell installer and WSL2 Gateway paths are also supported. See Windows. Need to install Node? See Node setup. Quick setup Install OpenClaw macOS / Linux bashCopy code curl -fsSL https://openclaw.ai/install.sh | bash Windows (PowerShell) powershellCopy code iwr -useb https://openclaw.ai/install.ps1 | iex Note Other install methods (Docker, Nix, npm): Install. Complete onboarding The installer starts the onboarding wizard automatically. Follow it to choose a model provider, set an API key, and configure the Gateway. QuickStart is usually only a few minutes, but provider sign-in, channel pairing, daemon install, network downloads, skills, or optional plugins can make full onboarding take longer. Skip optional steps and return later with openclaw configure. See Onboarding (CLI) for the full reference. Verify the Gateway is running bashCopy code openclaw gateway status You should see the Gateway listening on port 18789. Open the dashboard bashCopy code openclaw dashboard This opens the Control UI in your browser. If it loads, everything is working. Send your first message Type a message in the Control UI chat and you should get an AI reply. Want to chat from your phone instead? The fastest channel to set up is Telegram (just a bot token). See Channels for all options. Advanced: mount a custom Control UI build If you maintain a localized or customized dashboard build, point gateway.controlUi.root to a directory that contains your built static assets and index.html. bashCopy code mkdir -p "$HOME/.openclaw/control-ui-custom"# Copy your built static files into that directory. Then set: jsonCopy code {"gateway": { "controlUi": { "enabled": true, "root": "${HOME}/.openclaw/control-ui-custom" }}} Restart the gateway and reopen the dashboard: bashCopy code openclaw gateway restartopenclaw dashboard If setup does not work One command turns the current state of your install into a diagnosis you can act on: bashCopy code openclaw triage It runs read-only health checks, writes a sanitized prompt describing what it found, and then offers to hand that prompt to a coding agent it detects on your machine — Claude Code, Codex CLI, or the built-in OpenClaw agent — so the agent starts with the diagnosis already loaded. Pick "just print the commands" if you would rather run the handoff yourself. Nothing leaves your machine until you choose an agent, and secrets, tokens, raw chat payloads, and raw logs are excluded from the prompt. To read the findings yourself instead, run openclaw doctor. For symptom-first routes, see Troubleshooting. What to do next Connect a channel Discord, Feishu, iMessage, Matrix, Microsoft Teams, Signal, Slack, Telegram, WhatsApp, Zalo, and more. Pairing and safety Control who can message your agent. Configure the Gateway Models, tools, sandbox, and advanced settings. Browse tools Browser, exec, web search, skills, and plugins. Advanced: environment variables If you run OpenClaw as a service account or want custom paths: OPENCLAW_HOME — home directory for internal path resolution OPENCLAW_STATE_DIR — override the state directory OPENCLAW_CONFIG_PATH — override the config file path Full reference: Environment variables. Related Install overview Channels overview Setup Triage Troubleshooting Was this useful?YesNo Edit sourceRaise issueOpen issue PreviousFeaturesNextOnboarding overview On this pageOn this page What you needQuick setupIf setup does not workWhat to do nextRelated © 2026 OpenClaw — an OpenClaw Foundation project openclaw.ai openclaw.org Releases GitHub Discord Install OpenClawSet up TelegramFix GatewayBuild a plugin Ask Molty Ask Molty Molty Responses are generated using AI and may contain mistakes.