Skip to main content

​
Overview

After completing the automated setup, you must run the openclaw onboard command to configure your OpenClaw installation. This process sets up your credentials, preferences, and initial configuration.
CRITICAL: During onboarding, you will be asked to install a daemon or system service. On Android, you must say NO to this option. The setup script has already configured a compatible service manager.

​
Running Onboarding

Start the onboarding process with: 
openclaw onboard
The interactive CLI will guide you through several configuration steps.

​
Why You Must Reject Daemon Installation

​
The Android Limitation

OpenClaw’s standard onboarding process offers to install itself as a system service using systemd, which is the service manager used on most Linux distributions. However, Android does not support systemd. Android’s architecture:
  • Uses init (not systemd) for system services
  • Termux operates in userspace without root access
  • Cannot install or manage systemd services

​
What We’ve Already Done

The setup_claw.sh script already configured a background service using runit (via termux-services), which is the Android-compatible service manager. 
# Service already created at:
$PREFIX/var/service/openclaw/run

# Log management configured at:
$PREFIX/var/service/openclaw/log/run
Runit is a lightweight, cross-platform service supervision suite that works perfectly in Termux’s non-root environment.

​
What Happens If You Say Yes

If you accidentally accept the daemon installation:
  1. OpenClaw will attempt to use systemd
  2. The installation will fail (systemd not available)
  3. You’ll need to reconfigure manually
If this happens: 
# Stop any conflicting processes
sv down openclaw

# Run onboarding again
openclaw onboard

# This time, reject the daemon installation

​
Onboarding Steps

During the onboarding process, you’ll be prompted for:
1

Account Configuration

Provide your OpenClaw credentials or create a new account:
  • Email address
  • Password
  • Organization name (if applicable)
If you don’t have an OpenClaw account yet, the onboarding process will guide you through creating one.
2

Gateway Configuration

Configure how the OpenClaw gateway operates:
  • Port: Default is 18789 (recommended to keep default)
  • Host: Default is localhost/127.0.0.1
  • Auto-start: Choose whether to start on boot
On Android, you’ll manually control the service using sv up/down openclaw commands.
3

Daemon/Service Installation

This is the critical step.When prompted:
Would you like to install OpenClaw as a system service?
Install daemon/service? [Y/n]
Type: n or no and press Enter.
DO NOT accept this option. Android does not support systemd. The runit service is already configured for you.
4

Additional Configuration

Complete any remaining configuration:
  • API integrations
  • Default settings
  • Feature preferences
Accept the defaults for most options unless you have specific requirements.
5

Configuration Complete

Onboarding will confirm successful configuration:
✓ Configuration saved
✓ OpenClaw is ready to use
Your configuration is saved to ~/.openclaw/config.json (or similar path).

​
Verification

After onboarding completes, verify your configuration: 
# Check that OpenClaw binary is accessible
which openclaw

# Verify configuration exists
ls -la ~/.openclaw/

# Check service is enabled (but not running yet)
sv status openclaw
Expected output for sv status openclaw: 
down: openclaw: 0s, normally up
The service showing “down” is normal. You’ll start it in the next step after reloading your shell environment.

​
Common Issues

​
”Command not found: openclaw”

If the openclaw command isn’t found: 
# Check if npm global bin is in PATH
echo $PATH | grep "$PREFIX/bin"

# Reload shell configuration
source ~/.bashrc

# Try again
openclaw --version

​
“Permission denied” errors

Ensure environment variables are set: 
# Check temporary directory configuration
echo $TMPDIR
# Should output: /data/data/com.termux/files/usr/tmp

# If empty, reload shell
source ~/.bashrc

​
Accidentally installed daemon

If you accepted the daemon installation: 
# Remove any systemd-related files (they won't work anyway)
rm -rf ~/.config/systemd/user/openclaw.service

# The runit service is still configured correctly
# Just proceed to the finalization step

​
Next Steps

With onboarding complete, you’re ready to start the OpenClaw service:

Finalize Installation

Start the service and access the OpenClaw web UI

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get started for freeTalk to us