How to Install OpenClaw on Windows: The Complete WSL2 Setup Guide

#OpenClaw on Windows: Yes, It Works

OpenClaw was built on macOS and Linux, and most of the community runs it there. But Windows is fully supported — you just need to know the right path.

That path is WSL2 (Windows Subsystem for Linux). WSL2 gives you a real Linux environment running inside Windows, with full access to the Windows filesystem and near-native performance. OpenClaw runs inside WSL2 exactly the same way it runs on a native Linux machine.

This guide takes you from a fresh Windows installation to a working OpenClaw agent. No prior Linux experience needed.

#Why WSL2 (and Not Native Windows)?

OpenClaw technically has a PowerShell installer, but the official recommendation — and what actually works reliably — is WSL2. Here is why:

• Shell compatibility: OpenClaw's tools and skills assume a Unix-like shell (bash/zsh). Many commands, scripts, and skills simply do not work in PowerShell or CMD.
• Node.js behavior: Some Node.js packages that OpenClaw depends on behave differently on native Windows (path separators, file permissions, signal handling). WSL2 eliminates these issues.
• Tool ecosystem: Most OpenClaw skills expect Unix tools (curl, git, ssh, grep). WSL2 provides all of these natively.
• Community support: When you ask for help in the OpenClaw Discord, most answers assume a Unix environment. Running WSL2 means those answers work for you.

The good news: WSL2 is not a compromise. It is a full Linux system with excellent performance and seamless Windows integration. You can access your Windows files from WSL2 and vice versa.

#Step 1: Enable WSL2

Open PowerShell as Administrator (right-click the Start menu → Terminal (Admin)) and run:

wsl --install

This command:

• Enables the required Windows features
• Installs the WSL2 kernel
• Downloads and installs Ubuntu (the default distribution)

When it finishes, restart your computer.

After restarting, Ubuntu will open automatically and ask you to create a username and password. These are for your Linux environment — they do not need to match your Windows credentials.

Already have WSL1? Upgrade to WSL2 with wsl --set-default-version 2. WSL1 will work but is slower and has compatibility issues.

#Step 2: Update Your Linux Environment

Open your Ubuntu terminal (search for "Ubuntu" in the Start menu) and run:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

This ensures your Linux packages are current. It might take a minute or two.

#Step 3: Install Node.js 22+

OpenClaw requires Node.js 22 or newer. The easiest way to install it in WSL2:

curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_22.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt install -y nodejs

Verify the installation:

node --version  # Should show v22.x.x or higher
npm --version   # Should show 10.x.x or higher

Alternative: If you prefer version management, install nvm first, then run nvm install 22.

#Step 4: Install OpenClaw

Now the straightforward part. Run the official installer:

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

This script will:

1. Detect your Node.js installation
2. Install the OpenClaw CLI globally via npm
3. Launch the onboarding wizard

#The Onboarding Wizard

The wizard walks you through:

1. API key setup: You need at least one AI model provider. The wizard supports:

   • Anthropic (Claude) — recommended for best agent performance
   • OpenAI (GPT models) — widely available
   • Google (Gemini) — good free tier
   • Ollama (local models) — free, runs on your hardware. See our Ollama guide.

2. Messaging channel: How you will talk to your agent. Telegram is the most popular choice — see our Telegram setup guide. You can also skip this and use the terminal initially.

3. Daemon installation: The wizard can set up OpenClaw to run as a background service that starts automatically.

#Step 5: Start the Gateway

If the wizard set up the daemon, OpenClaw is already running. Check with:

openclaw status

If you need to start it manually:

openclaw gateway

You should see output confirming the gateway is running and any configured channels are connected.

#Step 6: Talk to Your Agent

If you configured a messaging channel (Telegram, Discord, etc.), message your agent there.

If you did not set up a channel yet, you can talk to your agent directly from the terminal:

openclaw chat

Try sending something like "Hello, what can you do?" to verify everything is working.

#Windows-Specific Configuration

#Accessing Windows Files from WSL2

Your Windows drives are mounted under /mnt/ in WSL2:

ls /mnt/c/Users/YourName/Documents

If you want your agent to work with files on your Windows filesystem, you can either:

• Reference them directly via /mnt/c/... paths
• Create symbolic links in your workspace: ln -s /mnt/c/Users/YourName/Documents ~/documents

Performance note: File operations on /mnt/c/ are slower than operations within the WSL2 filesystem. For best performance, keep your OpenClaw workspace inside WSL2 (the default ~/.openclaw/workspace/).

#Starting WSL2 Automatically at Boot

If you want OpenClaw to run 24/7, WSL2 needs to start when Windows boots. Create a scheduled task:

1. Open Task Scheduler (search in Start menu)
2. Click "Create Basic Task"
3. Name it "Start WSL2"
4. Trigger: "When the computer starts"
5. Action: "Start a program"
6. Program: wsl
7. Arguments: -d Ubuntu -- bash -c "openclaw gateway &"

Alternatively, add this to your Windows startup folder:

wsl -d Ubuntu -- bash -c "nohup openclaw gateway > /dev/null 2>&1 &"

#Windows Terminal Integration

Windows Terminal (the modern terminal app) is the best way to interact with WSL2. It supports multiple tabs, custom profiles, and good Unicode rendering.

To create a dedicated OpenClaw profile:

1. Open Windows Terminal Settings
2. Add a new profile
3. Set the command line to: wsl -d Ubuntu
4. Optional: set a custom icon and name

#Firewall Considerations

If your OpenClaw agent needs to receive incoming connections (for example, webhook-based channel integrations), you may need to add a Windows Firewall rule:

# Run in PowerShell as Admin
New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "OpenClaw Gateway" -Direction Inbound -LocalPort 3456 -Protocol TCP -Action Allow

Most users do not need this — Telegram and Discord use outbound connections that work without firewall changes.

#Running Local Models on Windows

If you have an NVIDIA GPU, you can run local language models through Ollama inside WSL2 with GPU acceleration:

curl -fsSL https://ollama.com/install.sh | sh
ollama pull llama3.2

NVIDIA's CUDA drivers pass through to WSL2 automatically on recent Windows versions. Verify GPU access with:

nvidia-smi

If this shows your GPU, Ollama will automatically use it for inference. For a complete local model setup, see our Ollama guide.

NVIDIA published an official guide for running OpenClaw on RTX GPUs that covers WSL2 + Ollama in detail.

#Troubleshooting

"WSL2 requires an update to its kernel component": Run wsl --update in PowerShell as Admin, then restart.

Node.js installation fails: If the NodeSource script fails, try installing Node.js directly: sudo apt install nodejs npm, then verify the version is 22+. If your distribution ships an older version, use nvm.

OpenClaw cannot connect to the internet: WSL2 networking occasionally has DNS issues. Try:

echo "nameserver 8.8.8.8" | sudo tee /etc/resolv.conf

Slow file access on /mnt/c/: This is expected. WSL2 file access to Windows drives goes through a translation layer. Keep your workspace inside the WSL2 filesystem for best performance.

Agent cannot find tools (git, curl, etc.): Install them: sudo apt install -y git curl wget jq

"Permission denied" errors: Make sure your OpenClaw workspace has correct permissions: chmod -R 755 ~/.openclaw/

#Next Steps

Your OpenClaw agent is running on Windows. From here:

• Connect to Telegram to message your agent from your phone
• Customize your agent's personality with SOUL.md and IDENTITY.md
• Set up automated cron jobs for recurring tasks
• Run it for free with Ollama if you have a capable GPU
• Explore the best skills to extend your agent's capabilities

Windows users are a growing part of the OpenClaw community. If you run into issues not covered here, the OpenClaw Discord has an active support channel where Windows-specific questions get answered quickly.