OpenClaw Getting Started: Install & Chat

Install OpenClaw, run through the onboarding flow, and start chatting with your AI assistant in roughly 5 minutes. When you finish, you will have a live Gateway, authentication configured, and an active 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

Run node --version to see which Node version you have. 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

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

Install Script Process

Windows (PowerShell)

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

Note

For other install methods (Docker, Nix, npm): Install.

Run onboarding

openclaw onboard --install-daemon

The wizard guides you through picking a model provider, entering an API key, and setting up the Gateway. QuickStart typically takes just a few minutes, but provider sign-in, channel pairing, daemon install, network downloads, skills, or optional plugins can extend full onboarding. Skip optional steps and come back later with openclaw configure.

Check Onboarding (CLI) for the complete reference.

Verify the Gateway is running

openclaw gateway status

The Gateway should be listening on port 18789.

Open the dashboard

openclaw dashboard

This brings up the Control UI in your browser. If it loads, everything is functioning.

Send your first message

Send a message in the Control UI chat and you should receive an AI response.

Prefer chatting from your phone? The quickest channel to configure 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.

mkdir -p "$HOME/.openclaw/control-ui-custom"
# Copy your built static files into that directory.

Then set:

{
  "gateway": {
    "controlUi": {
      "enabled": true,
      "root": "${HOME}/.openclaw/control-ui-custom"
    }
  }
}

Restart the gateway and reopen the dashboard:

openclaw gateway restart
openclaw dashboard

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.