How to Install OpenClaw on Windows 11 and 10

Choose Your Installation Method

Method 1: The PowerShell Installer

This is the official one-liner for Windows. It installs the OpenClaw CLI and Gateway directly on Windows.

1. Open PowerShell (a normal window is fine) and run:

   iwr -useb https://openclaw.ai/install.ps1 | iex

   If PowerShell says running scripts is disabled, see the execution policy fix.
2. Follow onboarding. When the install finishes, the installer runs openclaw onboard, which walks you through choosing an AI model and a chat app. To skip it and run it later, set OPENCLAW_NO_ONBOARD=1 before installing.
3. Check that it worked:

   openclaw --version
   openclaw doctor
   openclaw gateway status

4. Keep it running. On native Windows, OpenClaw starts the Gateway in the background when you sign in, using a Scheduled Task with no console window. If task creation is denied, it falls back to a Startup-folder item. If an update leaves an older launcher in place, run openclaw gateway install --force.

Method 2: The Windows Hub App

Windows Hub is OpenClaw's own Windows app, and it is what the OpenClaw docs recommend for most Windows users. It runs on Windows 10 20H2 or later and Windows 11, installs without administrator rights, and ships signed installers for x64 and ARM64 from the Windows Hub releases page.

On first launch, Set up locally creates a separate WSL distro just for OpenClaw, installs the Gateway inside it, and pairs the app, without touching any Linux distro you already have. If you already run a Gateway, on this PC or on a server, use Advanced setup to connect to it instead. The tray icon turns green when everything is connected. Our Windows Hub guide covers the app in detail.

Method 3: WSL2

OpenClaw's docs call WSL2 the most Linux-compatible way to run the Gateway on Windows. Pick it if skills or tools you use expect a Linux shell.

1. Install WSL from an Administrator PowerShell, then restart if asked:

   wsl --install

2. Turn on systemd inside your Linux distro, so the Gateway can run as a service. Open the file with sudo nano /etc/wsl.conf and make sure it contains this section, keeping any other settings already there:

   [boot]
   systemd=true

   Then run wsl --shutdown in PowerShell and open the distro again.
3. Install OpenClaw inside WSL with the Linux installer:

   curl -fsSL https://openclaw.ai/install.sh | bash
   openclaw gateway status

4. Open the dashboard at http://localhost:18789 in your Windows browser.

WSL only runs while something keeps it awake. If you want the Gateway up before anyone logs into Windows, follow the auto-start steps in our OpenClaw on WSL2 guide.

Method 4: Docker

OpenClaw publishes official images at ghcr.io/openclaw/openclaw. The supported route is the setup script in the OpenClaw repository, which needs a Linux shell, so on Windows run it inside WSL2 with Docker Desktop's WSL integration turned on:

git clone https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw.git
cd openclaw
OPENCLAW_IMAGE=ghcr.io/openclaw/openclaw:2026.9.8 ./scripts/docker/setup.sh

Then open http://127.0.0.1:18789/ and paste the token the script wrote to .env. Pin a version tag as above rather than latest, so an update never arrives unannounced. Our Docker Compose guide goes further.

Node.js Requirements

Both installers set up Node.js for you when it is missing. If you install with npm yourself, OpenClaw 2026.9.8 requires Node 24.16 or newer within 24.x, or Node 26.1 or newer (the package declares >=24.16.0 <25 || >=26.1.0). Node 25 is not supported, and neither is Node 22 or older. Run node -v to check. See OpenClaw system requirements for memory and disk.

Common Windows Issues

"Running scripts is disabled on this system"

PowerShell's execution policy is blocking the installer. Our execution policy guide shows the narrowest fix.

openclaw is not recognized

Close and reopen PowerShell so it picks up the new PATH. If it still fails, npm's global folder is not on your PATH: run npm prefix -g and add that folder.

The Gateway does not start after a reboot

Run openclaw doctor and openclaw gateway status to see what is wrong. On native Windows, openclaw gateway install --force recreates the launcher, which fixes most startup problems after an update. On WSL2, see the auto-start section of the WSL2 guide.

Port 18789 is already in use

Another program is using the Gateway's port. Find it with netstat -ano | findstr 18789 in PowerShell, then close it or run the Gateway on a different port.

WSL is slow

Keep OpenClaw's files inside the Linux file system (for example ~/.openclaw) rather than under /mnt/c/. Reading Windows files from WSL is much slower.

Skip the Setup

A Windows PC is fine for trying OpenClaw, but your agent is offline whenever the PC sleeps. OpenClaw Launch runs it in the cloud instead: pick a model and a chat app, and it is live in under 30 seconds. There is a free 30-minute trial, then $3 for the first month for new customers.

What's Next?

• Choose your AI model — Compare Claude, GPT, Gemini, DeepSeek, and more
• Browse thousands of skills — Add web search, coding tools, automation, and more to your agent
• Connect to Telegram — Set up your agent as a Telegram bot
• Browse tools — Discover what others build with OpenClaw agents