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Install overview

Node.js

OpenClaw requires Node 22.16 or newer. Node 24 is the default and recommended runtime for installs, CI, and release workflows. Node 22 remains supported via the active LTS line. The installer script will detect and install Node automatically - this page is for when you want to set up Node yourself and make sure everything is wired up correctly (versions, PATH, global installs).

Check your version

node -v

If this prints v24.x.x or higher, you're on the recommended default. If it prints v22.16.x or higher, you're on the supported Node 22 LTS path, but we still recommend upgrading to Node 24 when convenient. If Node isn't installed or the version is too old, pick an install method below.

Install Node

macOS

Homebrew (recommended):

brew install node

Or download the macOS installer from nodejs.org.

Linux

Ubuntu / Debian:

curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_24.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt-get install -y nodejs

Fedora / RHEL:

sudo dnf install nodejs

Or use a version manager (see below).

Windows

winget (recommended):

winget install OpenJS.NodeJS.LTS

Chocolatey:

choco install nodejs-lts

Or download the Windows installer from nodejs.org.

Using a version manager (nvm, fnm, mise, asdf)

Version managers let you switch between Node versions easily. Popular options:

  • fnm - fast, cross-platform
  • nvm - widely used on macOS/Linux
  • mise - polyglot (Node, Python, Ruby, etc.)

Example with fnm:

fnm install 24
fnm use 24

Troubleshooting

openclaw: command not found

This almost always means npm's global bin directory isn't on your PATH.

  • Find your global npm prefix

    npm prefix -g

  • Check if it's on your PATH

    echo "$PATH"

    Look for <npm-prefix>/bin (macOS/Linux) or <npm-prefix> (Windows) in the output.

  • Add it to your shell startup file

    macOS / Linux

    Add to ~/.zshrc or ~/.bashrc:

    export PATH="$(npm prefix -g)/bin:$PATH"

    Then open a new terminal (or run rehash in zsh / hash -r in bash).

    Windows

    Add the output of npm prefix -g to your system PATH via Settings → System → Environment Variables.

    • Permission errors on npm install -g (Linux)

    If you see EACCES errors, switch npm's global prefix to a user-writable directory:

    mkdir -p "$HOME/.npm-global"
npm config set prefix "$HOME/.npm-global"
export PATH="$HOME/.npm-global/bin:$PATH"

    Add the export PATH=... line to your ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc to make it permanent.