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OpenClaw

Ever wished you had a lobster-themed CLI assistant that could automate your terminal chores? OpenClaw is exactly that — a chat-powered automation tool that installs itself with a single curl | bash command. This 1400+ line script handles everything from checking your Node.js version to installing Homebrew on macOS, setting up npm permissions on Linux, and even cracking jokes about your deployment anxiety.

openclaw-ai

Script info
URL https://openclaw.ai/install.sh
Invocation curl -fsSL https://openclaw.ai/install.sh | bash
Total lines 1416
Comments 15 lines
Blank 50 lines
Boilerplate ~350 lines (color codes, taglines, usage text, completion messages)
Installation ~1000 lines (actual work)

What does it change?

This is a comprehensive installer that can make quite a few changes to your system. Let's walk through what it does — and don't worry, most of it is pretty standard stuff for CLI tools.

Files and folders

  • ~/.openclaw/ — This becomes OpenClaw's home base, storing configuration in openclaw.json
  • ~/.local/bin/openclaw — If you choose the git installation method, a wrapper script lands here
  • ~/.npm-global/ — On Linux systems, npm's global packages get redirected here to avoid permission headaches

Packages installed

The script is quite thorough about dependencies. Here's what might get installed:

  • Homebrew (macOS only) — If you don't have it, the script fetches the official Homebrew installer. This is a well-known and trusted package manager for Mac.
  • Node.js v22+ — The script requires a modern Node.js. On macOS it uses Homebrew (node@22), on Linux it pulls from NodeSource repositories.
  • Git — Needed for both installation methods, installed via your system's package manager.
  • pnpm — If you go the git route, pnpm handles the monorepo's dependencies.
  • openclaw npm package — The main event! Installed globally via npm.

Downloads

Depending on your setup, the script may fetch:

  • The Homebrew installer from raw.githubusercontent.com
  • NodeSource setup scripts for Debian/RHEL-based Linux
  • The OpenClaw git repository (if you choose --git method)

Environment changes

Here's where things get a bit more personal — the script may modify your shell configuration:

  • PATH updates in ~/.bashrc and ~/.zshrc to include:
  • ~/.npm-global/bin (Linux npm installs)
  • ~/.local/bin (git wrapper script)
  • npm prefix gets changed to ~/.npm-global on Linux to avoid needing admin rights for global installs

Services

  • Gateway daemon — If OpenClaw's daemon service is already running, the installer will restart it after upgrading. This is optional and only affects existing users.

Permissions

  • Admin rights on Linux — The script uses sudo for system package installations (Node.js, Git via apt/dnf/yum)
  • File permissions — The wrapper script at ~/.local/bin/openclaw gets execute permissions

Heads up!

Before you yolo this into your terminal, a few things worth noting:

  1. Homebrew installation — If you don't have Homebrew on macOS, this script will install it. That's a significant addition to your system.

  2. NodeSource repositories — On Linux, it adds NodeSource as a package source. This is a trusted source, but it does modify your system's package manager configuration.

  3. Shell config modifications — Your .bashrc and/or .zshrc files may be edited to add PATH entries. The script does check before adding, so no duplicates.

  4. npm global prefix change — On Linux, your npm configuration changes to use a user-local directory. This is actually a good practice, but it might surprise you if you expect global packages elsewhere.

Changed your mind?

No judgment! Here's how to undo things:

Remove OpenClaw itself: 

# If installed via npm:
npm uninstall -g openclaw

# If installed via git:
rm -rf ~/openclaw ~/.local/bin/openclaw

Clean up the config: 

rm -rf ~/.openclaw

Undo shell modifications: Edit your ~/.bashrc and/or ~/.zshrc and remove these lines if present: 

export PATH="$HOME/.npm-global/bin:$PATH"
export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"

Remove npm-global directory (Linux): 

rm -rf ~/.npm-global
npm config delete prefix

Note: If the script installed Homebrew, Node.js, or Git, those are generally useful to keep around. But if you really want them gone:

  • Homebrew: /bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/uninstall.sh)"
  • Node.js via Homebrew: brew uninstall node@22
  • Node.js via NodeSource: Use your package manager (apt remove nodejs or dnf remove nodejs)

Full source

The full script source is saved as scripts/openclaw_ai_install_sh.txt.