OpenClaw Release Channels: Stable, Beta, Dev, and Extended-Stable

OpenClaw provides four update channels:

• stable: npm dist-tag latest. The suggested option for the majority of users.
• extended-stable: npm dist-tag extended-stable. A brand-new, trailing supported-month package channel. It is package-only, and installation is foreground-only. It receives read-only update hints when update.checkOnStart is enabled, including direct final extended-stable package installs, but never applies automatically.
• beta: npm dist-tag beta. Falls back to latest when beta is missing or older than the current stable release.
• dev: moving head of main (git). npm dist-tag dev when published. main is for experimentation and active development; it may contain incomplete features or breaking changes. Do not run it for production gateways.

Stable builds usually ship to beta first, get vetted there, then get promoted to latest without a version bump. Maintainers can also publish directly to latest. Dist-tags are the source of truth for npm installs.

Switching channels

openclaw update --channel stable
openclaw update --channel extended-stable
openclaw update --channel beta
openclaw update --channel dev

--channel persists the choice to update.channel in config and drives both install paths:

For dev git installs, the default checkout is ~/openclaw (or $OPENCLAW_HOME/openclaw when OPENCLAW_HOME is set); override with OPENCLAW_GIT_DIR. Automatic update campaigns pin the upstream commit they announce, so the displayed list previews up to five commits from the exact target installed even if main advances during the countdown. A manual openclaw update --channel dev still targets the current upstream main.

Tip

To keep stable and dev in parallel, use two separate checkouts and point each gateway at its own.

One-off version or tag targeting

Use --tag to target a specific dist-tag, version, or package spec for a single update without changing the persisted channel:

# Install a specific version
openclaw update --tag 2026.4.1-beta.1

# Install from the beta dist-tag (one-off, does not persist)
openclaw update --tag beta

# Switch to the moving GitHub main checkout (persistent)
openclaw update --channel dev

# Install a specific npm package spec
openclaw update --tag openclaw@2026.4.1-beta.1

Notes:

• --tag applies to package (npm) installs only; git installs ignore it.
• The tag is not persisted; the next openclaw update uses the configured channel.
• The --tag main shorthand is rejected for package installs because the workspace checkout is not a self-contained package artifact. Use openclaw update --channel dev (package installs switch to a git checkout) or reinstall with the installer's git method: curl -fsSL https://openclaw.ai/install.sh | bash -s -- --install-method git --version main.
• Downgrade protection: if the target version is older than the current version, OpenClaw prompts for confirmation (skip with --yes).
• Extended-stable always uses its verified exact package target. It is not a one-off alias for --tag extended-stable, and --tag cannot be combined with an effective extended-stable channel.
• --channel beta differs from --tag beta: the channel flow can fall back to stable/latest when beta is missing or older, while --tag beta always targets the raw beta dist-tag for that one run.

Dry run

Run a dry run to see what openclaw update would do without applying anything:

openclaw update --dry-run
openclaw update --channel beta --dry-run
openclaw update --tag 2026.4.1-beta.1 --dry-run
openclaw update --dry-run --json

The dry run shows the effective channel, the target version, the actions that are planned, and whether a downgrade confirmation would be needed.

Plugins and channels

When you switch channels with openclaw update, plugin sources get synced as well:

• dev moves installed plugins that have a bundled counterpart back to their bundled (git checkout) source.
• stable and beta bring back npm-installed or ClawHub-installed plugin packages.
• extended-stable maps eligible official npm plugins with bare/default or latest intent to the exact installed core version. It does not check plugin @extended-stable tags at runtime.
• npm-installed plugins get updated after the core update finishes.

Checking current status

openclaw update status

Displays the active channel (along with the source that determined it: config, git tag, git branch, installed version, or default), the install type (git or package), the current version, and whether an update is available.

Tagging best practices

• Tag releases you want git checkouts to land on: vYYYY.M.PATCH for stable, vYYYY.M.PATCH-beta.N for beta. Named prerelease suffixes like -alpha.N, -rc.N, and -next.N are not stable or beta targets.
• Legacy numeric stable tags such as vYYYY.M.PATCH-1 and v1.0.1-1 are still recognized as stable git tags for compatibility.
• vYYYY.M.PATCH.beta.N (dot-separated) is also recognized for compatibility; prefer -beta.N.
• Keep tags immutable: never move or reuse a tag.
• npm dist-tags remain the source of truth for npm installs:
  • latest -> stable
  • extended-stable -> trailing supported-month package release
  • beta -> candidate build or beta-first stable build
  • dev -> main snapshot (optional)

macOS app availability

Beta and dev builds may not include a macOS app release. That is fine:

• The git tag and npm dist-tag can still publish on their own.
• Call out "no macOS build for this beta" in release notes or changelog.

Related

• Updating
• Installer internals