Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

Getting started

Install OpenClaw, run onboarding, and chat with your AI assistant — all in about 5 minutes. By the end you will have a running Gateway, configured auth, and a working chat session.

What you need

Node.js — Node 24 recommended (Node 22.14+ also supported)
An API key from a model provider (Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, etc.) — onboarding will prompt you

tip

Check your Node version with `node --version`. **Windows users:** both native Windows and WSL2 are supported. WSL2 is more stable and recommended for the full experience. See [Windows](/platforms/windows). Need to install Node? See [Node setup](/install/node).

Quick setup

Install OpenClaw

```bash} curl -fsSL https://openclaw.ai/install.sh | bash ```


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    <img src="https://mintcdn.com/clawdhub/U8jr7qEbUc9OU9YR/assets/install-script.svg?fit=max&auto=format&n=U8jr7qEbUc9OU9YR&q=85&s=50706f81e3210a610262f14facb11f65" alt="Install Script Process" className="rounded-lg" width="1370" height="581" data-path="assets/install-script.svg" />
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Windows (PowerShell)">
    ```powershell}
    iwr -useb https://openclaw.ai/install.ps1 | iex
    ```
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

<Note>
  Other install methods (Docker, Nix, npm): [Install](/install).
</Note>

Run onboarding

```bash} openclaw onboard --install-daemon ```


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The wizard walks you through choosing a model provider, setting an API key,
and configuring the Gateway. It takes about 2 minutes.

See [Onboarding (CLI)](/start/wizard) for the full reference.

Verify the Gateway is running

```bash} openclaw gateway status ```


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You should see the Gateway listening on port 18789.

Open the dashboard

```bash} openclaw dashboard ```


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This opens the Control UI in your browser. If it loads, everything is working.

Send your first message

Type a message in the Control UI chat and you should get an AI reply.


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Want to chat from your phone instead? The fastest channel to set up is
[Telegram](/channels/telegram) (just a bot token). See [Channels](/channels)
for all options.

What to do next

Connect a channel

Discord, Feishu, iMessage, Matrix, Microsoft Teams, Signal, Slack, Telegram, WhatsApp, Zalo, and more.

Pairing and safety

Control who can message your agent.

Configure the Gateway

Models, tools, sandbox, and advanced settings.

Browse tools

Browser, exec, web search, skills, and plugins.

OpenClaw Docs