> openclaw
your personal AI assistant, self-hosted — one gateway, chat from WhatsApp, Telegram, or Discord, agents with real tools, and skills that teach it new tricks
// getting started
7 commandsInstall OpenClaw on macOS or Linux
$ curl -fsSL https://openclaw.ai/install.sh | bashSet up the gateway with the onboarding wizard
$ openclaw onboard --install-daemonVerify the install and run a health check
$ openclaw --versionOpen the Control UI dashboard in a browser
$ openclaw dashboardUpdate OpenClaw to the latest release
$ openclaw updateBack up your config, credentials, and sessions
$ openclaw backup create --verifyUninstall OpenClaw and choose what to remove
$ openclaw uninstall --dry-run --all// gateway & service
7 commandsInstall the gateway as a background service
$ openclaw gateway installStart, stop, or restart the gateway service
$ openclaw gateway startCheck whether the gateway is running and healthy
$ openclaw gateway statusRun the gateway in the foreground for debugging
$ openclaw gateway runTail the gateway logs and export diagnostics
$ openclaw logs --followReach the gateway remotely over an SSH tunnel
$ ssh -N -L 18789:127.0.0.1:18789 user@hostExpose the gateway to your devices over Tailscale
$ openclaw gateway run --bind tailnet// channels
7 commandsList channels and check their connection status
$ openclaw channels listConnect a Telegram bot with its token
$ openclaw channels add --channel telegramLink a WhatsApp account by scanning a QR code
$ openclaw channels add --channel whatsappConnect a Discord bot with the right intents
$ openclaw config patch --file ./discord.patch.json5Connect Slack, Signal, or iMessage
$ openclaw channels add --channel slackApprove an unknown sender with a pairing code
$ openclaw pairing list whatsappSend a message to a contact from the CLI
$ openclaw message send --channel telegram --target @user --message "Deploy finished"// agents & sessions
6 commandsList agents and see which channels they serve
$ openclaw agents listAdd a second agent with its own workspace and model
$ openclaw agents add work --model anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6 --bind telegramRoute a channel or account to a specific agent
$ openclaw agents bind work telegramList active sessions and read their history
$ openclaw sessions list --agent workSend into a session or spawn a background run
$ openclaw sessions send my-session-id "continue where we left off"Run a one-off agent query from the CLI
$ openclaw agent --message "summarize today's incidents" --thinking high// skills
4 commands// nodes & devices
5 commandsPair a phone or Mac as a companion node
$ openclaw nodes pendingList paired nodes and inspect their capabilities
$ openclaw nodes statusCapture a photo or video from a node's camera
$ openclaw nodes camera snap --node my-phone --facing frontRecord a node's screen or drive its Canvas
$ openclaw nodes screen record --node my-phone --duration 10s --fps 10Get a node's location, notify it, or invoke a command
$ openclaw nodes location get --node my-phone// configuration & security
7 commandsFind and edit the OpenClaw config file
$ openclaw config fileSet the agent model and configure failover
$ openclaw models set anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6Add an Anthropic, OpenAI, or Google API key
$ openclaw models auth paste-api-key --provider anthropicConfigure environment variables and state paths
$ echo "ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-your-key" >> ~/.openclaw/.envAudit the gateway's security posture
$ openclaw security audit --deepLock down who can DM the assistant
$ openclaw config set channels.whatsapp.dmPolicy allowlistRequire a token and keep the gateway private
$ openclaw doctor --generate-gateway-token