OpenClaw setup and verification
Updated October 30, 2026. Educational guidance; use current official documentation and your installed version.
Choose a deployment boundary first
Read Native, VM, or Docker? before installing. The gateway, selected tool sandboxes, and any host app bridges are different boundaries. Start with sample data; do not assume Docker is required, that a VM supports every native app, or that sandboxing is enabled by default.
Use the installed product, not an old configuration example
Begin with the official getting-started guide and installation documentation. Platform support and runtime requirements change.
After installation:
openclaw --version
openclaw onboard --help
openclaw onboard
openclaw status
The guided setup handles the choices supported by your release. Check each command's --help before using advanced flags. Do not paste old examples of openclaw configure --provider ..., openclaw init, or generic agents/*.yaml into a new installation without verifying support.
Configuration, identity, and memory are different
- Product configuration and account authentication belong in supported OpenClaw settings and auth storage. Do not put tokens into public repositories.
- Workspace instructions describe behavior, scope, and the person being supported. Files such as
AGENTS.md,SOUL.md, andUSER.mdare conventions in Adam's workspace, not interchangeable with product settings. - Durable notes preserve decisions and facts. Keep them concise, dated, and scoped. A model does not remember a fact indefinitely merely because you mentioned it in a chat.
- Session history, long-term notes, and searchable indexes serve different purposes. A search result is a pointer to evidence, not proof that the referenced state is still current.
Avoid publishing your actual workspace files: they can contain sensitive information even when they contain no passwords.
Connect one channel, privately
Choose a supported channel and follow its current setup guide. Complete pairing as the intended user. Test a direct message before trying groups. Keep approval codes private, restrict who may interact with the assistant, and avoid exposing an admin dashboard directly to the internet.
Verify a useful tool end to end
- Select the exact account and source.
- Retrieve one known item with read-only access.
- Compare it with the source application.
- Generate one small result locally for review; do not write to the source account.
- If saving to the source application is explicitly authorized, perform that separate write and read it back. Verify unsent status for a mailbox draft. Saving is not sending.
Then test failure: an unavailable source must produce a visible unknown or blocker, not an invented empty inbox.
Operate reliably
Back up configuration and persistent data before upgrades. After runtime or package-manager upgrades, test the background service and an actual agent launch. A running server can still launch workers with an obsolete executable path. Prefer supported service management, and avoid starting a second copy to work around a failure.
Inspect logs without publishing tokens, mailbox content, or student records. Use the product's supported health and recovery tools; do not solve authentication problems by turning off access controls.