Getting started

Get OpenClaw installed and run your first chat in minutes.

Install OpenClaw, run onboarding, and chat with your AI assistant — all 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 — Node 24 recommended (Node 22.16+ also supported)
  • An API key from a model provider (Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, etc.) — onboarding will prompt you
Check your Node version with `node --version`. **Windows users:** both native Windows and WSL2 are supported. WSL2 is more stable and recommended for the full experience. See [Windows](/docs/openclaw-docs/platforms/windows. Need to install Node? See [Node setup](/docs/openclaw-docs/install/node.

Quick setup

```bash curl -fsSL https://openclaw.ai/install.sh | bash ``` Install Script Process ```powershell iwr -useb https://openclaw.ai/install.ps1 | iex ``` 
<Note>
Other install methods (Docker, Nix, npm): [Install](/docs/openclaw-docs/install.
</Note>
```bash openclaw onboard --install-daemon ``` 
The wizard walks you through choosing a model provider, setting an API key,
and configuring the Gateway. It takes about 2 minutes.

See [Onboarding (CLI)](/docs/openclaw-docs/start/wizard for the full reference.
```bash openclaw gateway status ``` 
You should see the Gateway listening on port 18789.
```bash openclaw dashboard ``` 
This opens the Control UI in your browser. If it loads, everything is working.
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](/docs/openclaw-docs/channels/telegram (just a bot token). See [Channels](/docs/openclaw-docs/channels
for all options.
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

Discord, Feishu, iMessage, Matrix, Microsoft Teams, Signal, Slack, Telegram, WhatsApp, Zalo, and more. Control who can message your agent. Models, tools, sandbox, and advanced settings. Browser, exec, web search, skills, and plugins. 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](/docs/openclaw-docs/help/environment.