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CLI commands

CLI reference

openclaw is the main CLI entry point. Each core command has a dedicated reference page or is documented with the command it aliases; this index lists the commands, global flags, and output styling rules that apply across the CLI.

Setup commands by intent:

  • openclaw setup and openclaw onboard verify inference first, then start OpenClaw for Gateway, workspace, channels, skills, and health setup.
  • openclaw setup --baseline creates the baseline config and workspace without walking the guided onboarding flow.
  • openclaw configure changes targeted parts of an existing setup: model auth, gateway, channels, plugins, or skills.
  • openclaw channels add configures channel accounts after the baseline exists; run without flags for guided setup, or with channel-specific flags for scripts.

Command pages

Area Commands
Setup and onboarding openclaw · setup · onboard · configure · config · completion · doctor · dashboard
Reset, backup, and migration backup · migrate · reset · uninstall · update
Messaging and agents message · agent · agents · attach · acp · mcp
Health and sessions status · health · sessions · audit
Gateway and logs gateway · logs · system
Models and inference models · promos · infer · capability (alias for infer) · memory · commitments · wiki
Network and nodes directory · nodes · devices · node · worker
Runtime and sandbox approvals · exec-policy (see approvals) · sandbox · tui · chat/terminal (aliases for tui --local) · browser
Automation cron · tasks · hooks · webhooks · transcripts
Discovery and docs dns · docs
Pairing and channels pairing · qr · channels
Security and plugins security · secrets · skills · plugins · proxy
Legacy aliases daemon (gateway service) · clawbot (namespace)
Plugins (optional) path · policy · voicecall · workboard (if installed)

Global flags

Flag Purpose
--dev Isolate state under ~/.openclaw-dev, default gateway port 19001, and shift derived ports
--profile <name> Isolate state under ~/.openclaw-<name> (OPENCLAW_STATE_DIR/OPENCLAW_CONFIG_PATH)
--container <name> Run the CLI inside a running Podman/Docker container named <name> (default: env OPENCLAW_CONTAINER)
--log-level <level> Override the global log level for file + console output
--no-color Disable ANSI colors (NO_COLOR=1 is also respected)
--update Shorthand for openclaw update; works for both source checkouts and package installs
-V, --version, -v Print version and exit

Output modes

  • ANSI colors and progress indicators render only in TTY sessions.
  • OSC-8 hyperlinks render as clickable links where supported; otherwise the CLI falls back to plain URLs.
  • --json (and --plain where supported) disables styling for clean output.
  • Long-running commands show a progress indicator (OSC 9;4 when supported).

Color palette

OpenClaw uses a lobster palette for CLI output:

Token Hex Used for
accent #FF5A2D Headings, labels, primary highlights
accentBright #FF7A3D Command names, emphasis
accentDim #D14A22 Secondary highlight text
info #FF8A5B Informational values
success #2FBF71 Success states
warn #FFB020 Warnings, option flags, fallbacks
error #E23D2D Errors, failures
muted #8B7F77 De-emphasis, metadata

Palette source of truth: packages/terminal-core/src/palette.ts.

Command tree

Full command tree

This map covers core commands and their primary subcommands. Plugin-added subcommands (for example under skills, plugins, and wiki) evolve independently; run <command> --help for the authoritative, current list.

Code
openclaw [--dev] [--profile <name>] <command>openclawsetuponboardconfigureconfig  get  set  unset  file  schema  validatecompletiondoctordashboardbackup  create  verifymigrate  list  plan <provider>  apply <provider>security  auditsecrets  reload  audit  configure  applyresetuninstallupdate  wizard  status  repairchannels  list  status  capabilities  resolve  logs  add  remove  login  logoutdirectory  self  peers list  groups list|membersskills  search  install  update  verify  workshop list|inspect|propose-create|propose-update|revise|apply|reject|quarantine  list  info  checkplugins  list  search  inspect  install  uninstall  update  enable  disable  doctor  build  validate  init  registry  marketplace list|entries|refreshworkboard  list  create  show  dispatchmemory  status  index  searchtranscripts  list  show  pathpath  resolve  find  set  validate  emitcommitments  list  dismisswiki  status  doctor  init  compile  lint  ingest  okf import  search  get  apply synthesis|metadata  bridge import  unsafe-local import  chatgpt import|rollback  obsidian status|search|open|command|dailymessage  send  broadcast  poll  react  reactions  read  edit  delete  pin  unpin  pins  permissions  search  thread create|list|reply  emoji list|upload  sticker send|upload  role info|add|remove  channel info|list  member info  voice status  event list|create  timeout  kick  banagentagents  list  add  delete  bindings  bind  unbind  set-identityattachacpmcp  serve  list  show  set  unsetstatushealthsessions  cleanupaudittasks  list  audit  maintenance  show  notify  cancel  flow list|show|cancelgateway  call  usage-cost  health  stability  diagnostics export  status  probe  discover  install  uninstall  start  stop  restart  rundaemon  status  install  uninstall  start  stop  restartlogssystem  event  heartbeat last|enable|disable  presencemodels  list  status  set  set-image  aliases list|add|remove  fallbacks list|add|remove|clear  image-fallbacks list|add|remove|clear  scan  auth list|add|login|setup-token|paste-token|paste-api-key|login-github-copilot  auth order get|set|clearpromos  list  claim <slug>infer (alias: capability)  list  inspect  model run|list|inspect|providers|auth login|logout|status  image generate|edit|describe|describe-many|providers  audio transcribe|providers  tts convert|voices|personas|providers|status|enable|disable|set-provider|set-persona  video generate|describe|providers  web search|fetch|providers  embedding create|providerssandbox  list  recreate  explaincron  status  list  get  add  edit  rm  enable  disable  runs  runnodes  status  describe  list  pending  approve  reject  rename  invoke  notify  push  canvas snapshot|present|hide|navigate|eval  canvas a2ui push|reset  camera list|snap|clip  screen record  location getdevices  list  remove  clear  approve  reject  rotate  revokenode  run  status  install  uninstall  stop  restartworkerapprovals  get  set  allowlist add|removeexec-policy  show  preset  setbrowser  status  start  stop  reset-profile  tabs  open  focus  close  profiles  create-profile  delete-profile  screenshot  snapshot  navigate  resize  click  type  press  hover  drag  select  upload  fill  dialog  wait  evaluate  console  pdfhooks  list  info  check  enable  disable  install  updatewebhooks  gmail setup|runproxy  start  run  coverage  sessions  query  blob  purgepairing  list  approveqrclawbot  qrdocsdns  setuptuichat (alias: tui --local)terminal (alias: tui --local)

Plugins can add additional top-level commands, such as openclaw workboard or openclaw voicecall.

Chat slash commands

Chat messages support /... commands. See slash commands.

Highlights:

  • /status - quick diagnostics.
  • /trace - session-scoped plugin trace/debug lines.
  • /config - persisted config changes.
  • /debug - runtime-only config overrides (memory, not disk; requires commands.debug: true).

Usage tracking

openclaw status --usage and the Control UI surface provider usage/quota when OAuth/API credentials are available. Data comes directly from provider usage endpoints and is normalized to X% left. Providers with current usage windows: Anthropic, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot, MiniMax, OpenAI Codex, Xiaomi, and z.ai.

See Usage tracking for details.

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