Install OpenClaw on macOS

Set up OpenClaw on Apple silicon or Intel macOS, install the LaunchAgent, and verify the local Gateway.

Last verified

August 9, 2026

Reviewed against

OpenClaw 2026.7.1-2 documentation

Difficulty

Beginner

Time

~8 minutes

Verified against the official documentation listed below

The hosted installer is the shortest supported path on both Apple silicon and Intel Macs.

Install from Terminal

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

Review any shell prompt before approving it. The installer can provision Node, install the CLI, and launch onboarding.

Install the background service

During onboarding, choose the managed service option. You can also install it later:

openclaw gateway install

On macOS, OpenClaw uses a per-user LaunchAgent. This means the Gateway runs in your user context rather than as an unrestricted system daemon.

Verify the local Gateway

openclaw gateway status
openclaw gateway probe
openclaw doctor

Expected result

Gateway status should report Runtime: running and Connectivity probe: ok. The probe should report that the endpoint is reachable.

Common macOS issues

If the terminal cannot find openclaw, close and reopen the terminal so it loads the updated PATH. If the service is installed but stopped, read the logs before reinstalling:

openclaw logs --follow

For local models, verify Ollama independently before configuring OpenClaw. A model server and the OpenClaw Gateway are separate processes, so one can be healthy while the other is not.

Source notes

Technical facts on this page were checked against primary sources.

OpenClaw installation documentation