CLI reference

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

Use the setup commands by intent:

openclaw setup creates the baseline config and workspace without walking the full guided onboarding flow.
openclaw onboard is the full guided first-run path for gateway, model auth, workspace, channels, skills, and health.
openclaw configure changes targeted parts of an existing setup, such as model auth, gateway, channels, plugins, or skills.
openclaw channels add configures channel accounts after the baseline exists; run it without flags for guided channel setup or with channel-specific flags for scripts.

Command pages

Area	Commands
Setup and onboarding	`crestodian` · `setup` · `onboard` · `configure` · `config` · `completion` · `doctor` · `dashboard`
Reset and uninstall	`backup` · `reset` · `uninstall` · `update`
Messaging and agents	`message` · `agent` · `agents` · `acp` · `mcp`
Health and sessions	`status` · `health` · `sessions`
Gateway and logs	`gateway` · `logs` · `system`
Models and inference	`models` · `infer` · `capability` (alias for `infer`) · `memory` · `commitments` · `wiki`
Network and nodes	`directory` · `nodes` · `devices` · `node`
Runtime and sandbox	`approvals` · `exec-policy` (see `approvals`) · `sandbox` · `tui` · `chat`/`terminal` (aliases for `tui --local`) · `browser`
Automation	`cron` · `tasks` · `hooks` · `webhooks`
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)	`meeting-notes` · `path` · `policy` · `voicecall` (if installed)

Global flags

Flag	Purpose
`--dev`	Isolate state under `~/.openclaw-dev` and shift default ports
`--profile <name>`	Isolate state under `~/.openclaw-<name>`
`--container <name>`	Target a named container for execution
`--no-color`	Disable ANSI colors (`NO_COLOR=1` is also respected)
`--update`	Shorthand for `openclaw update` (source installs only)
`-V`, `--version`, `-v`	Print version and exit

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.
--json (and --plain where supported) disables styling for clean output.
Long-running commands show a progress indicator (OSC 9;4 when supported).

Palette source of truth: src/terminal/palette.ts.

Command tree

Full command tree

openclaw [--dev] [--profile

]

crestodian setup onboard configure config get set unset file schema validate completion doctor dashboard backup create verify security audit secrets reload audit configure apply reset uninstall update wizard status channels list status capabilities resolve logs add remove login logout directory self peers list groups list|members skills search install update list info check plugins list inspect install uninstall update enable disable doctor marketplace list memory status index search meeting-notes list show path path resolve find set validate emit commitments list dismiss wiki status doctor init ingest compile lint search get apply bridge import unsafe-local import obsidian status|search|open|command|daily message 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 ban agent agents list add delete bindings bind unbind set-identity acp mcp serve list show set unset status health sessions cleanup tasks list audit maintenance show notify cancel flow list|show|cancel gateway call usage-cost health status probe discover install uninstall start stop restart run daemon status install uninstall start stop restart logs system event heartbeat last|enable|disable presence models list status set set-image aliases list|add|remove fallbacks list|add|remove|clear image-fallbacks list|add|remove|clear scan 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|providers|status|enable|disable|set-provider video generate|describe|providers web search|fetch|providers embedding create|providers auth add|login|login-github-copilot|setup-token|paste-token auth order get|set|clear sandbox list recreate explain cron status list get add edit rm enable disable runs run nodes status describe list pending approve reject rename invoke notify push canvas snapshot|present|hide|navigate|eval canvas a2ui push|reset camera list|snap|clip screen record location get devices list remove clear approve reject rotate revoke node run status install uninstall stop restart approvals get set allowlist add|remove exec-policy show preset set browser 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 pdf hooks list info check enable disable install update webhooks gmail setup|run proxy start run coverage sessions query blob purge pairing list approve qr clawbot qr docs dns setup tui chat (alias: tui —local) terminal (alias: tui —local)

Plugins can add additional top-level commands (for example `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, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, OpenAI Codex, MiniMax, Xiaomi, and z.ai.

See Usage tracking for details.