Install overview

Installer Internals

OpenClaw ships three installer scripts, served from openclaw.ai.

Script	Platform	What it does
install.sh	macOS / Linux / WSL	Installs Node if needed, installs OpenClaw via npm (default) or git, and can run onboarding.
install-cli.sh	macOS / Linux / WSL	Installs Node + OpenClaw into a local prefix (~/.openclaw). No root required.
install.ps1	Windows (PowerShell)	Installs Node if needed, installs OpenClaw via npm (default) or git, and can run onboarding.

Quick commands

ℹ️ If install succeeds but openclaw is not found in a new terminal, see Node.js troubleshooting.

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install.sh

💡 Recommended for most interactive installs on macOS/Linux/WSL.

Flow (install.sh)

Step 1: Detect OS

Supports macOS and Linux (including WSL). If macOS is detected, installs Homebrew if missing.

Step 2: Ensure Node.js 22+

Checks Node version and installs Node 22 if needed (Homebrew on macOS, NodeSource setup scripts on Linux apt/dnf/yum).

Step 3: Ensure Git

Installs Git if missing.

Step 4: Install OpenClaw

• npm method (default): global npm install
• git method: clone/update repo, install deps with pnpm, build, then install wrapper at ~/.local/bin/openclaw

Step 5: Post-install tasks

• Runs openclaw doctor --non-interactive on upgrades and git installs (best effort)
• Attempts onboarding when appropriate (TTY available, onboarding not disabled, and bootstrap/config checks pass)
• Defaults SHARP_IGNORE_GLOBAL_LIBVIPS=1

Source checkout detection

If run inside an OpenClaw checkout (package.json + pnpm-workspace.yaml), the script offers:

• use checkout (git), or
• use global install (npm)

If no TTY is available and no install method is set, it defaults to npm and warns. The script exits with code 2 for invalid method selection or invalid --install-method values.

Examples (install.sh)

Flag	Description
--install-method npm|git	Choose install method (default: npm). Alias: --method
--npm	Shortcut for npm method
--git	Shortcut for git method. Alias: --github
--version <version|dist-tag>	npm version or dist-tag (default: latest)
--beta	Use beta dist-tag if available, else fallback to latest
--git-dir	Checkout directory (default: ~/openclaw). Alias: --dir
--no-git-update	Skip git pull for existing checkout
--no-prompt	Disable prompts
--no-onboard	Skip onboarding
--onboard	Enable onboarding
--dry-run	Print actions without applying changes
--verbose	Enable debug output (set -x, npm notice-level logs)
--help	Show usage (-h)

Variable	Description
OPENCLAW_INSTALL_METHOD=git|npm	Install method
OPENCLAW_VERSION=latest|next|	npm version or dist-tag
OPENCLAW_BETA=0|1	Use beta if available
OPENCLAW_GIT_DIR=	Checkout directory
OPENCLAW_GIT_UPDATE=0|1	Toggle git updates
OPENCLAW_NO_PROMPT=1	Disable prompts
OPENCLAW_NO_ONBOARD=1	Skip onboarding
OPENCLAW_DRY_RUN=1	Dry run mode
OPENCLAW_VERBOSE=1	Debug mode
OPENCLAW_NPM_LOGLEVEL=error|warn|notice	npm log level
SHARP_IGNORE_GLOBAL_LIBVIPS=0|1	Control sharp/libvips behavior (default: 1)

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install-cli.sh

ℹ️ Designed for environments where you want everything under a local prefix (default ~/.openclaw) and no system Node dependency.

Flow (install-cli.sh)

Step 1: Install local Node runtime

Downloads Node tarball (default 22.22.0) to /tools/node-v and verifies SHA-256.

Step 2: Ensure Git

If Git is missing, attempts install via apt/dnf/yum on Linux or Homebrew on macOS.

Step 3: Install OpenClaw under prefix

Installs with npm using --prefix , then writes wrapper to /bin/openclaw.

Examples (install-cli.sh)

Flag	Description
--prefix	Install prefix (default: ~/.openclaw)
--version	OpenClaw version or dist-tag (default: latest)
--node-version	Node version (default: 22.22.0)
--json	Emit NDJSON events
--onboard	Run openclaw onboard after install
--no-onboard	Skip onboarding (default)
--set-npm-prefix	On Linux, force npm prefix to ~/.npm-global if current prefix is not writable
--help	Show usage (-h)

Variable	Description
OPENCLAW_PREFIX=	Install prefix
OPENCLAW_VERSION=	OpenClaw version or dist-tag
OPENCLAW_NODE_VERSION=	Node version
OPENCLAW_NO_ONBOARD=1	Skip onboarding
OPENCLAW_NPM_LOGLEVEL=error|warn|notice	npm log level
OPENCLAW_GIT_DIR=	Legacy cleanup lookup path (used when removing old Peekaboo submodule checkout)
SHARP_IGNORE_GLOBAL_LIBVIPS=0|1	Control sharp/libvips behavior (default: 1)

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install.ps1

Flow (install.ps1)

Step 1: Ensure PowerShell + Windows environment

Requires PowerShell 5+.

Step 2: Ensure Node.js 22+

If missing, attempts install via winget, then Chocolatey, then Scoop.

Step 3: Install OpenClaw

• npm method (default): global npm install using selected -Tag
• git method: clone/update repo, install/build with pnpm, and install wrapper at %USERPROFILE%\.local\bin\openclaw.cmd

Step 4: Post-install tasks

Adds needed bin directory to user PATH when possible, then runs openclaw doctor --non-interactive on upgrades and git installs (best effort).

Examples (install.ps1)

Flag	Description
-InstallMethod npm|git	Install method (default: npm)
-Tag	npm dist-tag (default: latest)
-GitDir	Checkout directory (default: %USERPROFILE%\openclaw)
-NoOnboard	Skip onboarding
-NoGitUpdate	Skip git pull
-DryRun	Print actions only

Variable	Description
OPENCLAW_INSTALL_METHOD=git|npm	Install method
OPENCLAW_GIT_DIR=	Checkout directory
OPENCLAW_NO_ONBOARD=1	Skip onboarding
OPENCLAW_GIT_UPDATE=0	Disable git pull
OPENCLAW_DRY_RUN=1	Dry run mode

ℹ️ If -InstallMethod git is used and Git is missing, the script exits and prints the Git for Windows link.

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CI and automation

Use non-interactive flags/env vars for predictable runs.

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Troubleshooting

Git is required for git install method. For npm installs, Git is still checked/installed to avoid spawn git ENOENT failures when dependencies use git URLs.

Some Linux setups point npm global prefix to root-owned paths. install.sh can switch prefix to ~/.npm-global and append PATH exports to shell rc files (when those files exist).

The scripts default SHARP_IGNORE_GLOBAL_LIBVIPS=1 to avoid sharp building against system libvips. To override:

SHARP_IGNORE_GLOBAL_LIBVIPS=0 curl -fsSL --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 https://openclaw.ai/install.sh | bash

Install Git for Windows, reopen PowerShell, rerun installer.

Run npm config get prefix and add that directory to your user PATH (no \bin suffix needed on Windows), then reopen PowerShell.

install.ps1 does not currently expose a -Verbose switch. Use PowerShell tracing for script-level diagnostics:

Set-PSDebug -Trace 1
& ([scriptblock]::Create((iwr -useb https://openclaw.ai/install.ps1))) -NoOnboard
Set-PSDebug -Trace 0

Usually a PATH issue. See Node.js troubleshooting.

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