Setting Up OpenClaw for the First Time

openclaw setup

Got OpenClaw running locally today. Here are the key steps that tripped me up:

  1. Clone the repo and make sure you have the right Node.js version. The .nvmrc file has you covered if you use nvm.

  2. Environment variables are critical. Copy .env.example to .env and fill in your API keys before doing anything else.

  3. First run will download model weights, so expect it to take a few minutes. Don’t kill the process early.

  4. The debug flag (--verbose) is your friend. It shows the full chain of reasoning which makes it much easier to understand what the agent is doing.

The docs are solid but assume some familiarity with agent frameworks. If you’re coming from a traditional web dev background like me, just take it one step at a time.