OpenClaw Commands Reference

The gateway is the core OpenClaw process that powers everything.

# Start the gateway (foreground)
openclaw gateway

# Start the gateway (force kill existing instance first)
openclaw gateway --force

# Run gateway as background service
openclaw gateway run

# Restart the gateway (apply config changes)
openclaw gateway restart

# Check gateway health
openclaw gateway health

# Detailed gateway status
openclaw gateway status

# Install as a system service (auto-start on boot)
openclaw gateway install

# Start on a custom port
openclaw gateway --port 18790

Read and write OpenClaw settings. Changes take effect after gateway restart.

# Get a config value
openclaw config get gateway.auth.token
openclaw config get agents.defaults.model

# Set a config value
openclaw config set agents.defaults.model deepseek/deepseek-chat
openclaw config set channels.telegram.botToken YOUR_BOT_TOKEN

# View entire config
openclaw config get

# Reset to defaults
openclaw config reset

Common config paths: gateway.auth.token, agents.defaults.model, channels.telegram.botToken.

Connect messaging platforms to your OpenClaw agent.

# Add a Telegram bot
openclaw channels add telegram --bot-token YOUR_BOT_TOKEN

# Add WhatsApp (requires Meta Business setup)
openclaw channels add whatsapp

# Add Discord
openclaw channels add discord --bot-token YOUR_DISCORD_TOKEN

# List connected channels
openclaw channels list

# Remove a channel
openclaw channels remove telegram

Built-in diagnostic tool that checks your environment and fixes common issues.

# Run full health check
openclaw doctor

# Generate a gateway token
openclaw doctor --generate-gateway-token

# Fix common issues automatically
openclaw doctor --fix

The doctor checks: Node.js version, gateway connectivity, config validity, provider authentication, and channel status.

Open the web-based Control UI in your browser.

# Open dashboard (copies URL to clipboard)
openclaw dashboard

# Get the dashboard URL without opening browser
openclaw dashboard --url-only

Default URL: http://localhost:18789. On headless machines, it shows an SSH tunnel command instead. See our Dashboard guide for remote access setup.

Manage LLM provider API keys and model configuration.

# Authenticate with a provider (interactive)
openclaw models auth paste-token --provider deepseek
openclaw models auth paste-token --provider openai
openclaw models auth paste-token --provider anthropic

# Set up Claude via setup token
openclaw models auth setup-token --provider anthropic

# List available models
openclaw models list

# Set default model
openclaw config set agents.defaults.model deepseek/deepseek-chat

Skills are SKILL.md files that give your agent specialized capabilities.

# List installed skills
openclaw skills list

# Install a skill from the marketplace
openclaw skills install <skill-name>

# Create a new skill template
openclaw skills create my-skill

Create and restore snapshots of your OpenClaw configuration.

# Create a backup
openclaw backup create

# List backups
openclaw backup list

# Restore from backup
openclaw backup restore <backup-id>

Always run openclaw backup create before major changes or before running openclaw uninstall.

# Check OpenClaw version
openclaw --version

# Update to latest version
npm update -g openclaw

# Uninstall (keeps CLI, removes gateway data)
openclaw uninstall

# Full uninstall (removes everything)
openclaw uninstall --all --yes

# Preview what uninstall would remove
openclaw uninstall --dry-run