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Install OpenClaw on WSL

This guide walks you through installing Ubuntu 24.04 via WSL2 on Windows and deploying OpenClaw inside it. Perfect if you want to run OpenClaw on your Windows machine with a full Linux environment.

Prerequisites

Section titled “Prerequisites”
  • OS: Windows 10 2004+ or Windows 11
  • Memory: 8 GB or more recommended (WSL2 consumes a share of it)
  • CPU: Virtualization enabled (VT-x / SVM in BIOS)

Step 1: Enable WSL2 and install Ubuntu 24.04

Section titled “Step 1: Enable WSL2 and install Ubuntu 24.04”

Open PowerShell or Windows Terminal as Administrator and run:

Terminal window
wsl --install -d Ubuntu-24.04

The first run enables WSL2 and downloads Ubuntu 24.04. Reboot when it finishes.

After reboot, Ubuntu starts automatically — set up your username and password.

To verify the WSL version, run in PowerShell:

Terminal window
wsl --status

Default Version: 2 means WSL2 is ready.

Step 2: Update the system

Section titled “Step 2: Update the system”

Inside the Ubuntu terminal:

Terminal window
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Step 3: Install OpenClaw

Section titled “Step 3: Install OpenClaw”

The official installer detects your OS, provisions the required Node runtime, and installs OpenClaw:

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

Re-login (or run source ~/.bashrc) and verify:

Terminal window
openclaw --version

Skip the onboarding wizard with: curl -fsSL https://openclaw.ai/install.sh | bash -s -- --no-onboard

Step 4: Initialize and start

Section titled “Step 4: Initialize and start”

Run the setup wizard — pick your model provider and paste your API key:

Terminal window
openclaw onboard --install-daemon

--install-daemon registers the Gateway as a systemd service with auto-start on boot. Modern WSL2 enables systemd by default.

Check the status:

Terminal window
openclaw status

Step 5: Access from Windows (optional)

Section titled “Step 5: Access from Windows (optional)”

WSL2 forwards localhost ports to Windows automatically, so open in your browser:

http://localhost:18789

Troubleshooting

Section titled “Troubleshooting”

WSL default version is not 2?

Section titled “WSL default version is not 2?”

Force it in PowerShell:

Terminal window
wsl --set-default-version 2

openclaw: command not found?

Section titled “openclaw: command not found?”

Run source ~/.bashrc or re-login. Still missing? Check Node:

Terminal window
node -v

Uninstall?

Section titled “Uninstall?”

Run openclaw uninstall inside WSL, or remove the whole distro from PowerShell:

Terminal window
wsl --unregister Ubuntu-24.04

Next steps

Section titled “Next steps”