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CLI commands

CLI reference

openclaw is the main CLI entry point. Each core command has a dedicated reference page or is documented with the command it aliases; this index lists the commands, global flags, and output styling rules that apply across the CLI.

Setup commands by intent:

  • openclaw setup and openclaw onboard verify inference first, then start OpenClaw for Gateway, workspace, channels, skills, and health setup.
  • openclaw setup --baseline creates the baseline config and workspace without walking the guided onboarding flow.
  • openclaw configure changes targeted parts of an existing setup: model auth, gateway, channels, plugins, or skills.
  • openclaw channels add configures channel accounts after the baseline exists; a channel selection alone uses guided setup, while account, credential, or channel-config flags use the direct path for scripts.

Command pages

Area Commands
Setup and onboarding openclaw · setup · onboard · configure · config · completion · doctor · dashboard
Reset, backup, and migration backup · migrate · reset · uninstall · update
Messaging and agents message · agent · agents · attach · acp · mcp
Health and sessions status · health · triage · sessions · resume · audit
Gateway and logs fleet · gateway · logs · system
Models and inference models · promos · infer · capability (alias for infer) · memory · wiki
Network and nodes connect · directory · nodes · devices · node · worker
Runtime and sandbox approvals · exec-policy (see approvals) · sandbox · tui · chat/terminal (aliases for tui --local) · browser
Automation cron · tasks · hooks · webhooks · transcripts
Discovery and docs dns · docs
Pairing and channels pairing · qr · channels
Security and plugins security · secrets · skills · plugins · proxy
Legacy aliases daemon (gateway service) · clawbot (namespace)
Plugins (optional) path · policy · voicecall · workboard (if installed)

Global flags

Flag Purpose
--dev Isolate state under ~/.openclaw-dev, default gateway port 19001, and shift derived ports
--profile <name> Isolate state under ~/.openclaw-<name> (OPENCLAW_STATE_DIR/OPENCLAW_CONFIG_PATH)
--container <name> Run the CLI inside a running Podman/Docker container named <name> (default: env OPENCLAW_CONTAINER)
--log-level <level> Override the global log level for file + console output
--no-color Disable ANSI colors (NO_COLOR=1 is also respected)
--update Shorthand for openclaw update; works for both source checkouts and package installs
-V, --version, -v Print version and exit

A named --profile replaces canonical state and config paths inherited from another profile, including a running Gateway service. Explicitly customized state directories and config paths remain unchanged.

Output modes

  • ANSI colors and progress indicators render only in TTY sessions.
  • OSC-8 hyperlinks render as clickable links where supported; otherwise the CLI falls back to plain URLs.
  • On bounded reporting commands, --json reserves stdout for one JSON document; styling and progress output are suppressed, and warnings and diagnostics stay on stderr.
  • Interactive UIs and wizards, long-running servers and streams, shell integration, and pure side-effect commands may omit --json when they have no meaningful report to return.
  • Long-running commands show a progress indicator (OSC 9;4 when supported).

JSON failures

Successful JSON payloads remain command-specific. When a command in JSON output mode fails, it exits nonzero and writes one JSON document to stdout with this envelope:

json
{  "ok": false,  "error": {    "type": "cli_error",    "message": "Description of the failure"  }}

A command may add domain-specific fields, such as per-item results, beside this envelope. Failure messages are sanitized. Human-readable diagnostics may also be written to stderr, so scripts should parse stdout and still check the exit status.

Color palette

OpenClaw uses a lobster palette for CLI output:

Token Hex Used for
accent #FF5A2D Headings, labels, primary highlights
accentBright #FF7A3D Command names, emphasis
accentDim #D14A22 Secondary highlight text
info #FF8A5B Informational values
success #2FBF71 Success states
warn #FFB020 Warnings, option flags, fallbacks
error #E23D2D Errors, failures
muted #8B7F77 De-emphasis, metadata

Palette source of truth: packages/terminal-core/src/palette.ts.

Command tree

Full command tree

This map covers core commands and their primary subcommands. Plugin-added subcommands (for example under skills, plugins, and wiki) evolve independently; run <command> --help for the authoritative, current list.

Code
openclaw [--dev] [--profile <name>] <command>openclawsetuponboardconfigureconfig  get  set  patch  unset  file  schema  validatecompletiondoctortriagedashboardbackup  create  verify  restore  sqlite    create    list    verify    restore  git    init    create    log    verify    restore  enable  disablemigrate  list  plan <provider>  apply <provider>security  auditsecrets  reload  audit  configure  applyresetuninstallupdate  wizard  status  repairchannels  list  status  capabilities  resolve  logs  dead-letters list|resubmit  add  remove  login  logoutdirectory  self  peers list  groups list|membersskills  search  install  update  verify  workshop list|inspect|propose-create|propose-update|revise|apply|reject|quarantine  list  info  checkplugins  list  search  inspect  install  uninstall  update  enable  disable  doctor  build  validate  init  registry  marketplace list|entries|refreshworkboard  list  create  show  dispatchmemory  status  index  searchtranscripts  list  show  pathpath  resolve  find  set  validate  emitwiki  status  doctor  init  compile  lint  ingest  okf import  search  get  apply synthesis|metadata  bridge import  unsafe-local import  chatgpt import|rollback  obsidian status|search|open|command|dailymessage  send  broadcast  poll  react  reactions  read  edit  delete  pin  unpin  pins  permissions  search  thread create|list|reply  emoji list|upload  sticker send|upload  role info|add|remove  channel info|list  member info  voice status  event list|create  timeout  kick  banagentagents  list  add  delete  bindings  bind  unbind  set-identityattachacpmcp  serve  list  show  set  unsetstatushealthsessions  cleanupaudittasks  list  audit  maintenance  show  notify  cancel  flow list|show|cancelgateway  call  usage-cost  health  stability  diagnostics export  status  probe  discover  install  uninstall  start  stop  restart  runfleet  create  backup  restore  doctor  list  status  logs  start  stop  restart  upgrade  rmdaemon  status  install  uninstall  start  stop  restartlogssystem  event  heartbeat last|enable|disable  presencemodels  list  status  set  set-image  aliases list|add|remove  fallbacks list|add|remove|clear  image-fallbacks list|add|remove|clear  scan  auth list|add|login|setup-token|paste-token|paste-api-key|login-github-copilot  auth order get|set|clearpromos  list  claim <slug>infer (alias: capability)  list  inspect  model run|list|inspect|providers|auth login|logout|status  image generate|edit|describe|describe-many|providers  audio transcribe|providers  tts convert|voices|personas|providers|status|enable|disable|set-provider|set-persona  video generate|describe|providers  web search|fetch|providers  embedding create|providerssandbox  list  recreate  explaincron  status  list  get  add  edit  rm  enable  disable  runs  runnodes  status  describe  list  pending  approve  reject  rename  invoke  notify  push  canvas present|hide|navigate  camera list|snap|clip  screen record  location getdevices  list  remove  clear  approve  reject  rotate  revokenode  run  status  install  uninstall  stop  restartconnectworkerapprovals  get  set  allowlist add|removeexec-policy  show  preset  setbrowser  status  start  stop  reset-profile  tabs  open  focus  close  profiles  create-profile  delete-profile  screenshot  snapshot  navigate  resize  click  type  press  hover  drag  select  upload  fill  dialog  wait  evaluate  console  pdfhooks  list  info  check  enable  disable  install  updatewebhooks  gmail setup|runproxy  start  run  coverage  sessions  query  blob  purgepairing  list  approveqrclawbot  qrdocsdns  setupresumetuichat (alias: tui --local)terminal (alias: tui --local)

Plugins can add additional top-level commands, such as openclaw workboard or openclaw voicecall.

Chat slash commands

Chat messages support /... commands. See slash commands.

Highlights:

  • /status - quick diagnostics.
  • /trace - session-scoped plugin trace/debug lines.
  • /config - persisted config changes.
  • /debug - runtime-only config overrides (memory, not disk; requires commands.debug: true).

Usage tracking

openclaw status --usage and the Control UI surface provider usage/quota when OAuth/API credentials are available. Data comes directly from provider usage endpoints and is normalized to X% left. Providers with current usage windows: Anthropic, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot, MiniMax, OpenAI Codex, Xiaomi, and z.ai.

See Usage tracking for details.

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