OpenClaw Completion Command Reference

`openclaw completion`

Shell completion scripts can be generated, stored in OpenClaw state, and optionally added to your shell profile.

Usage

openclaw completion                          # print the detected shell's script
openclaw completion --shell fish             # print fish script
openclaw completion --write-state            # cache scripts for all shells
openclaw completion --write-state --install  # cache, then install in one step
openclaw completion --shell bash --write-state

Options

-s, --shell <shell>: specifies the shell target (zsh, bash, powershell, fish; auto-detected from $SHELL, defaulting to PowerShell on Windows and zsh elsewhere)
-i, --install: installs completion by inserting a source line for the cached script into your shell profile
--write-state: writes completion script(s) to $OPENCLAW_STATE_DIR/completions (defaulting to ~/.openclaw/completions) without sending anything to stdout; using --shell targets only that shell, otherwise all four are generated
-y, --yes: bypasses install confirmation prompts for non-interactive use

Install flow

Since --install links your profile to the cached script, that cache must already exist: if it's absent, the command errors out and instructs you to run openclaw completion --write-state. To handle both steps at once, combine --write-state --install. When --shell isn't supplied, the command respects a recognized $SHELL; if $SHELL is absent or unrecognized, it falls back to PowerShell on Windows and zsh elsewhere.

The installation adds a compact # OpenClaw Completion section to your shell profile and swaps out any previous slow source <(openclaw completion ...) lines for the cached source line:

Shell	Profile
bash	`~/.bashrc` (uses `~/.bash_profile` when `~/.bashrc` isn't present)
fish	`~/.config/fish/config.fish`
powershell	`~/.config/powershell/Microsoft.PowerShell_profile.ps1` (on Windows: `Documents/PowerShell/Microsoft.PowerShell_profile.ps1`, or `Documents/WindowsPowerShell/...` for Windows PowerShell)
zsh	`$ZDOTDIR/.zshrc` when `ZDOTDIR` is set; otherwise `~/.zshrc` (an empty `ZDOTDIR` resolves to `/.zshrc`)

Profile edits are prepared next to the target file and swapped in atomically only after a fully durable write completes. If the install fails, the existing profile stays untouched.

Notes

When neither --install nor --write-state is given, the script goes to stdout.
Building completions eagerly loads the entire command tree, plugin CLI commands included, so nested subcommands show up.
After a successful update, openclaw update automatically refreshes the completion cache; openclaw doctor can fix missing or outdated completion setups.

CLI reference