Deployment & Installation
Treat deployment as a sequence, not a badge of seriousness: local install first, Docker when isolation helps, then cloud or VPS only when always-on uptime matters.
System Requirements
- Node.js 22 or later is the current baseline for local installs.
- npm, pnpm, or bun all work. macOS users should have Xcode Command Line Tools installed.
- Windows users should strongly prefer WSL2 instead of a native Windows runtime.
- Have at least one model path in mind before you onboard, unless your cloud template already bundles a model plan.
Choose Your Deployment Route
Local Quick Start
Start with the npm global install path. It is the cleanest way to confirm runtime, onboarding, daemon install, and your first working model path.
TerminalCopy
$ npm install -g openclaw@latest
$ openclaw onboard --install-daemon
Doctor, Update, Backup
After onboarding, verify the environment before you touch channels or public access. Stable operations start with health checks and restorable state.
$ openclaw doctor
$ openclaw update --channel stable
$ openclaw backup create