Tutorial

Installing OpenClaw on Ubuntu/Debian: Complete Guide

February 14, 20266 min readReviewed March 8, 2026

            February 14, 2026
            6 min read
        

Complete guide to installing OpenClaw on Ubuntu and Debian Linux. Follow step-by-step instructions from prerequisites to first chat.

Prerequisites

Ubuntu 20.04+ or Debian 11+ installed
Root or sudo access
Internet connection for downloading packages

Step 1: Install Node.js

            # Update package list and install Node.js
curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_20.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt-get install -y nodejs
        

Step 2: Install OpenClaw

            # Install via npm
npm install -g @openclaw/cli

# Verify installation
openclaw --version
        

Step 3: Configure OpenClaw

After installation, configure OpenClaw with your preferred LLM and settings:

            # Initialize configuration
openclaw init

# Start the daemon
openclaw daemon start
        

Step 4: Verify Installation

            # Check OpenClaw is running
openclaw status

# Test a simple command
openclaw help
        

Troubleshooting

Node.js Not Found

If Node.js is not found, you may need to install it first:

            # Using NodeSource
curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_20.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt-get install -y nodejs
        

Permission Denied

If you get permission errors, use sudo for npm global installs:

sudo npm install -g @openclaw/cli

Daemon Won't Start

Check logs with:

openclaw daemon logs

Next Steps

References

OpenClaw Official Documentation - Getting Started Guide - Accessed February 2026
OpenClaw GitHub Repository - https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw - Accessed February 2026
Node.js Official Downloads - https://nodejs.org/en/download/ - Accessed February 2026
OpenClaw Installation Script - https://openclaw.ai/install.sh - Accessed February 2026

Get started with OpenClaw on Linux

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