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CLI commands

Setup

openclaw setup

openclaw setup is the system-agent entry point. On a configured system, bare openclaw setup opens an interactive OpenClaw chat. On a fresh system, it falls through to guided onboarding. Use -m/--message for one request or --baseline to initialize config/workspace folders without the wizard.

Routing order:

  1. Any onboarding option (--wizard, --baseline, workspace, reset, non-interactive, flow, mode, Gateway, daemon, skip, import, remote, or auth options) runs onboarding exactly as openclaw onboard does.
  2. -m/--message or --yes runs the system agent.
  3. With no routing option, a configured interactive system opens OpenClaw. A fresh system runs onboarding. On a configured system, --json prints the system overview even without a TTY; an onboarding option keeps onboarding's JSON summary.

In guided mode, --workspace <dir> is the workspace proposed to OpenClaw; it is persisted only after you approve that proposal. Baseline, classic, and noninteractive setup persist the supplied workspace through their normal flow.

Guided inference detection runs on the Gateway host on macOS or Linux. The CLI and macOS app call the same Gateway-owned detector, which checks configured models, supported CLI logins, API-key environment variables, and already installed Ollama or LM Studio models. Local models are never downloaded by this automatic pass; the selected candidate must answer a real completion before its provider and model configuration is saved.

setup accepts the same onboarding flags as openclaw onboard, including auth (--auth-choice, --token, provider key flags), Gateway (--gateway-port, --gateway-bind, --gateway-auth, --install-daemon), Tailscale (--tailscale), reset (--reset, --reset-scope), flow (--flow quickstart|advanced|manual|import), and skip flags (--skip-channels, --skip-skills, --skip-bootstrap, --skip-search, --skip-health, --skip-ui, --skip-hooks). See Onboard and CLI automation for the full flag reference and non-interactive examples. openclaw onboard --modern remains a compatibility entry for the same inference-gated OpenClaw assistant.

Options

Flag Description
-m, --message <text> Run one OpenClaw request.
--yes Approve persistent config writes for one --message request.
--workspace <dir> Workspace proposal in guided mode; persisted directly by baseline, classic, and noninteractive setup.
--baseline Create baseline config/workspace/session folders without onboarding.
--wizard Force interactive onboarding.
--non-interactive Run onboarding without prompts.
--accept-risk Acknowledge full-system agent access risk; required with --non-interactive.
--mode <mode> Onboarding mode: local or remote.
--flow <flow> Onboard flow: quickstart, advanced, manual, or import.
--reset Reset config + credentials + sessions before onboarding (workspace only with --reset-scope full).
--reset-scope <scope> Reset scope: config, config+creds+sessions, or full.
--import-from <provider> Migration provider to run during onboarding.
--import-source <path> Source agent home for --import-from.
--import-secrets Import supported secrets during onboarding migration.
--remote-url <url> Remote Gateway WebSocket URL.
--remote-token <token> Remote Gateway token (optional).
--json Configured system: OpenClaw overview. Onboarding route: onboarding summary.

--classic and --non-interactive are mutually exclusive: classic opens the prompted wizard, while noninteractive setup uses the automation path.

Baseline mode

openclaw setup --baseline preserves the older baseline-only behavior: it creates the config, workspace, and session directories, then exits without running onboarding.

Examples

bash
openclaw setupopenclaw setup -m "status"openclaw setup -m "restart gateway" --yesopenclaw setup --jsonopenclaw setup --wizardopenclaw setup --baselineopenclaw setup --workspace ~/.openclaw/workspaceopenclaw setup --import-from hermes --import-source ~/.hermesopenclaw setup --non-interactive --accept-risk --mode remote --remote-url wss://gateway-host:18789 --remote-token <token>

Notes

  • After baseline setup, run openclaw onboard for the full guided journey, openclaw configure for targeted changes, or openclaw channels add to add channel accounts.
  • If Hermes state is detected, interactive onboarding can offer migration automatically. Import onboarding requires a fresh setup; use Migrate for dry-run plans, backups, and overwrite mode outside onboarding.
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