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openclaw/docs/start/wizard-cli-reference.md
Josh Lehman 0a8e3604ba refactor: flip sessions and transcripts to sqlite storage (#98236) 
* refactor(sessions): migrate runtime storage to sqlite

* test(sessions): fix sqlite CI regressions

* test(sessions): align remaining sqlite fixtures

* fix(codex): require sqlite trajectory recorder

* test(sessions): align orphan recovery sqlite fixture

* test(sessions): align sqlite rebase fixtures

* fix(sessions): finish current-main integration of the sqlite flip

Resolve the whole-store SDK removal across its owner boundary: drop the
loadSessionStore re-export and the registry whole-store wrappers, wire
hasTrackedActiveSessionRun into gateway chat, complete the
preserveLockedHarnessIds cleanup contract, flip the codex thread-history
import to storePath targets, and port remaining main-side tests from
file-store helpers to session accessor reads.

* chore: drop committed pebbles log, revert plugin-inspector bump, refresh generated docs

Remove the 1.8k-line .pebbles/events.jsonl work log from the branch, restore
the plugin-inspector advisory lane to main's pinned 0.3.10 so the supply-chain
bump gets its own review, and regenerate docs_map, the plugin SDK API baseline,
and the export-surface ratchet for the merged tree.

* feat(sessions): keep archived transcripts by default with zstd cold storage

Codex-style retention: deleting or resetting a session archives its
transcript as a zstd-compressed JSONL artifact (plain when the runtime
lacks node:zlib zstd) and keeps it until the disk budget evicts oldest
first. resetArchiveRetention now governs both deleted and reset archives
and defaults to keep; maxDiskBytes defaults to 2gb so retention stays
bounded, with archives evicted before live sessions. The cron reaper
follows the same knob instead of deleting archives on its own timer.

* fix(state): converge agent DB migration lineages and bound database growth

Merge coherence: run both structure-gated legacy memory-schema repairs
(flip-lineage drop, main-lineage identity rebuild) before the flip
migration so pre-flip v1/v2 and pre-merge flip v1/v4 databases all
converge, and hoist foreign_keys=OFF outside the schema transaction
where the pragma was silently ignored and the v1 sessions rebuild
cascade-deleted session_entries.

Growth guards: fresh agent DBs enable auto_vacuum=INCREMENTAL, WAL
maintenance releases freed pages in bounded passes (never a blocking
full VACUUM), and doctor reports state/agent DB bloat from freelist
stats.

* fix(codex): resolve the store path for thread-history import via the SDK

The supervision catalog passed the legacy sessionFile locator to the
storePath-targeted transcript mirror; resolve the agent store path with
the session-store SDK helper instead of a runtime-object seam so test
fakes and headless callers need no extra surface. Drop the obsolete
missing-session-id preprocessing case: sessions rows are NOT NULL on
session_id and upsert repairs id-less patches at write time.

* fix(sessions): fail safe on malformed disk-budget config and doctor stat errors

A malformed explicit maxDiskBytes disables the budget instead of
falling back to the destructive 2gb default the user never chose, and
the doctor bloat check skips databases whose paths stat-fail instead of
aborting doctor.

* fix(sessions): complete sqlite conflict translations

* test(sqlite): align hardening checks with maintenance

* test(sessions): inspect compressed transcript archives

* fix(tests): await session seeds and drop unused helpers flagged by CI lint

The five unawaited writeSessionStoreSeed calls raced their SQLite seeds
against the assertions, failing compact shards; the bloat probe drops a
useless initializer and the merged tests drop now-unused helpers.

* test(sessions): type legacy proof events directly

* test(sessions): align hardening contracts

* perf(sessions): read usage transcript sizes from SQL aggregates

Usage/cost scans walked every session and materialized every transcript
event just to re-stringify it for a byte estimate — the #86718 stall
class reborn on the DB. readTranscriptStatsSync sums stored JSON bytes
in SQLite without loading a single row.

* fix(sessions): re-root foreign-root transcript paths onto the current sessions dir

Restored backups, moved OPENCLAW_STATE_DIR, and rehearsal copies carry
absolute sessionFile paths from the old root; the containment fallback
kept those foreign paths, so migration read (and would archive) files in
the original root and reported local copies missing. Re-root the
canonical agents/<id>/sessions suffix onto the current dir when the file
exists there; genuine cross-root layouts still fall through unchanged.

* test(agents): seed harness admission through sqlite

* fix(sqlite): close agent db on pragma setup failure

* fix(doctor): compact and retrofit incremental auto-vacuum after session import

The migration is the sanctioned offline window: post-import compact
reclaims import churn and applies auto_vacuum=INCREMENTAL to databases
created before the fresh-DB pragma existed, so runtime maintenance can
release pages in bounded passes on every install.

---------

Co-authored-by: Peter Steinberger <steipete@gmail.com>
2026-07-11 14:50:37 -07:00

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---
summary: "Step-by-step behavior for openclaw onboard: what each step does, config it writes, and internals"
read_when:
- You need detailed behavior for a specific openclaw onboard step
- You are debugging onboarding results or integrating onboarding clients
title: "CLI setup reference"
sidebarTitle: "CLI reference"
---
This page covers step-by-step onboarding behavior, outputs, and internals.
For a walkthrough, see [Onboarding (CLI)](/start/wizard). For the full CLI flag
reference (every `--flag`, non-interactive examples, provider-specific
commands), see [`openclaw onboard`](/cli/onboard).
## What the wizard does
Local mode (default) walks you through:
- Model and auth setup (Anthropic, OpenAI Code subscription OAuth, xAI, OpenCode, custom endpoints, and more provider-owned auth flows)
- Workspace location and bootstrap files
- Gateway settings (port, bind, auth, Tailscale)
- Channels and providers (Discord, Feishu, Google Chat, iMessage, Mattermost, Microsoft Teams, QQ Bot, Signal, Slack, Telegram, WhatsApp, and other bundled or plugin channels)
- Web search provider (optional)
- Daemon install (LaunchAgent, systemd user unit, or native Windows Scheduled Task with Startup-folder fallback)
- Health check
- Skills setup
Remote mode configures this machine to connect to a Gateway elsewhere. It does
not install or modify anything on the remote host.
## Local flow details
<Steps>
<Step title="Existing config detection">
- If `~/.openclaw/openclaw.json` exists, choose **Keep current values**, **Review and update**, or **Reset before setup**.
- Re-running the wizard does not wipe anything unless you explicitly choose Reset (or pass `--reset`).
- CLI `--reset` defaults to `config+creds+sessions`; use `--reset-scope full` to also remove the workspace.
- If config is invalid or contains legacy keys, the wizard stops and asks you to run `openclaw doctor` before continuing.
- Reset moves state to Trash (never deletes directly) and offers scopes:
- Config only
- Config + credentials + sessions
- Full reset (also removes the workspace)
</Step>
<Step title="Model and auth">
- Full option matrix is in [Auth and model options](#auth-and-model-options).
</Step>
<Step title="Workspace">
- Default `~/.openclaw/workspace` (configurable).
- Seeds workspace files needed for first-run bootstrap.
- Workspace layout: [Agent workspace](/concepts/agent-workspace).
</Step>
<Step title="Gateway">
- Prompts for port, bind, auth mode, and Tailscale exposure.
- Recommended: keep token auth enabled even for loopback so local WS clients must authenticate.
- In token mode, interactive setup offers:
- **Generate/store plaintext token** (default)
- **Use SecretRef** (opt-in)
- In password mode, interactive setup also supports plaintext or SecretRef storage.
- Non-interactive token SecretRef path: `--gateway-token-ref-env <ENV_VAR>`.
- Requires a non-empty env var in the onboarding process environment.
- Cannot be combined with `--gateway-token`.
- Disable auth only if you fully trust every local process.
- Non-loopback binds still require auth.
</Step>
<Step title="Channels">
- [WhatsApp](/channels/whatsapp): optional QR login
- [Telegram](/channels/telegram): bot token
- [Discord](/channels/discord): bot token
- [Google Chat](/channels/googlechat): service account JSON + webhook audience
- [Mattermost](/channels/mattermost): bot token + base URL
- [Signal](/channels/signal): optional `signal-cli` install + account config
- [iMessage](/channels/imessage): `imsg` CLI path + Messages DB access; use an SSH wrapper when the Gateway runs off-Mac
- DM security: default is pairing. First DM sends a code; approve via
`openclaw pairing approve <channel> <code>` or use allowlists.
</Step>
<Step title="Web search">
- Pick a provider (Brave, DuckDuckGo, Exa, Firecrawl, Gemini, Grok, Kimi, MiniMax Search, Ollama Web Search, Perplexity, SearXNG, Tavily) or skip.
- Skip this step with `--skip-search`; reconfigure later with `openclaw configure --section web`.
</Step>
<Step title="Daemon install">
- macOS: LaunchAgent
- Requires logged-in user session; for headless, use a custom LaunchDaemon (not shipped).
- Linux and Windows via WSL2: systemd user unit
- Wizard attempts `loginctl enable-linger <user>` so gateway stays up after logout.
- May prompt for sudo (writes `/var/lib/systemd/linger`); it tries without sudo first.
- Native Windows: Scheduled Task first
- If task creation is denied, OpenClaw falls back to a per-user Startup-folder login item and starts the gateway immediately.
- Scheduled Tasks remain preferred because they provide better supervisor status.
- Runtime selection: only Node is offered interactively. Bun can corrupt memory on WhatsApp/Telegram reconnect and is not a supported daemon runtime for those channels; pass `--daemon-runtime bun` only outside that combination.
</Step>
<Step title="Health check">
- Starts gateway (if needed) and runs `openclaw health`.
- `openclaw status --deep` adds the live gateway health probe to status output, including channel probes when supported.
</Step>
<Step title="Skills">
- Reads available skills and checks requirements.
- Lets you choose node manager: npm, pnpm, or bun.
- Installs optional dependencies for trusted bundled skills when the required
installer is available.
- Skips unavailable Homebrew, uv, and Go installers, then groups the affected
skills with manual setup guidance. Run `openclaw doctor` after installing
the missing prerequisites.
</Step>
<Step title="Finish">
- Summary and next steps, including iOS, Android, and macOS app options.
</Step>
</Steps>
<Note>
If no GUI is detected, the wizard prints SSH port-forward instructions for the Control UI instead of opening a browser.
If Control UI assets are missing, the wizard attempts to build them; fallback is `pnpm ui:build` (auto-installs UI deps).
</Note>
## Remote mode details
Remote mode configures this machine to connect to a Gateway elsewhere. It does
not install or modify anything on the remote host.
What you set:
- Remote gateway URL (`ws://...` or `wss://...`)
- Token, password, or no auth, matching the remote Gateway's configuration
<Steps>
<Step title="Discovery (optional)">
If `dns-sd` (macOS) or `avahi-browse` (Linux) is available, onboarding
offers to search for Bonjour/mDNS gateway beacons before falling back to
manual URL entry. Wide-area DNS-SD discovery is also attempted when
configured. Docs: [Gateway discovery](/gateway/discovery), [Bonjour](/gateway/bonjour).
</Step>
<Step title="Connection method">
When a beacon is selected, choose direct WebSocket or an SSH tunnel:
- **Direct**: connects over `wss://` and prompts to trust the discovered
TLS fingerprint (trust-on-first-use pinning; only pinned if you accept).
- **SSH tunnel**: prints an `ssh -N -L 18789:127.0.0.1:18789 <user>@<host>`
command to run first, then connects to the local tunnel endpoint.
</Step>
<Step title="Auth">
Choose token (recommended), password, or no auth, then optionally store it
as a SecretRef instead of plaintext.
</Step>
</Steps>
<Note>
If the gateway is loopback-only and not discoverable, use SSH tunneling or a tailnet manually.
Plaintext `ws://` is accepted for loopback, private IP literals, `.local`, and Tailnet `*.ts.net` URLs; other private-DNS names need `OPENCLAW_ALLOW_INSECURE_PRIVATE_WS=1`.
</Note>
## Auth and model options
If a provider setup step fails in interactive onboarding (for example a CLI reuse option
without a local sign-in), the wizard shows the error and returns to the provider picker
instead of exiting. Explicit `--auth-choice` runs still fail fast for automation.
<AccordionGroup>
<Accordion title="Anthropic API key">
Uses `ANTHROPIC_API_KEY` if present or prompts for a key, then saves it for daemon use.
</Accordion>
<Accordion title="Anthropic Claude CLI">
Preferred local path in interactive onboarding/configure; reuses an existing Claude CLI sign-in when available.
</Accordion>
<Accordion title="OpenAI Code subscription (OAuth)">
Browser flow; paste `code#state`.
On a fresh setup with no primary model, sets `agents.defaults.model` to
`openai/gpt-5.6-sol` through the Codex runtime.
</Accordion>
<Accordion title="OpenAI Code subscription (device pairing)">
Browser pairing flow with a short-lived device code.
On a fresh setup with no primary model, sets `agents.defaults.model` to
`openai/gpt-5.6-sol` through the Codex runtime.
</Accordion>
<Accordion title="OpenAI API key">
Uses `OPENAI_API_KEY` if present or prompts for a key, then stores the credential in auth profiles.
On a fresh setup with no primary model, sets `agents.defaults.model` to
`openai/gpt-5.6`; the bare direct-API model id resolves to the Sol tier.
Adding or reauthenticating OpenAI preserves an existing explicit primary
model, including `openai/gpt-5.5`. If the account does not expose GPT-5.6,
select `openai/gpt-5.5` explicitly; OpenClaw does not silently downgrade it.
</Accordion>
<Accordion title="xAI (Grok) OAuth">
Browser sign-in for eligible SuperGrok or X Premium accounts. This is the
recommended xAI path for most users. OpenClaw stores the resulting auth
profile for Grok models, Grok `web_search`, `x_search`, and `code_execution`.
</Accordion>
<Accordion title="xAI (Grok) device code">
Remote-friendly browser sign-in with a short code instead of a localhost
callback. Use this from SSH, Docker, or VPS hosts.
</Accordion>
<Accordion title="xAI (Grok) API key">
Prompts for `XAI_API_KEY` and configures xAI as a model provider. Use this
when you want an xAI Console API key instead of subscription OAuth.
</Accordion>
<Accordion title="OpenCode">
Prompts for `OPENCODE_API_KEY` (or `OPENCODE_ZEN_API_KEY`) and lets you choose the Zen or Go catalog (one API key covers both).
Setup URL: [opencode.ai/auth](https://opencode.ai/auth).
</Accordion>
<Accordion title="API key (generic)">
Stores the key for you.
</Accordion>
<Accordion title="Vercel AI Gateway">
Prompts for `AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY`.
More detail: [Vercel AI Gateway](/providers/vercel-ai-gateway).
</Accordion>
<Accordion title="Cloudflare AI Gateway">
Prompts for account ID, gateway ID, and `CLOUDFLARE_AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY`.
More detail: [Cloudflare AI Gateway](/providers/cloudflare-ai-gateway).
</Accordion>
<Accordion title="MiniMax">
Config is auto-written. Hosted default is `MiniMax-M3`; API-key setup uses
`minimax/...`, and OAuth setup uses `minimax-portal/...`.
More detail: [MiniMax](/providers/minimax).
</Accordion>
<Accordion title="StepFun">
Config is auto-written for StepFun standard or Step Plan on China or global endpoints.
Standard currently includes `step-3.5-flash`, and Step Plan also includes `step-3.5-flash-2603`.
More detail: [StepFun](/providers/stepfun).
</Accordion>
<Accordion title="Synthetic (Anthropic-compatible)">
Prompts for `SYNTHETIC_API_KEY`.
More detail: [Synthetic](/providers/synthetic).
</Accordion>
<Accordion title="Ollama (Cloud and local open models)">
Prompts for `Cloud + Local`, `Cloud only`, or `Local only` first.
`Cloud only` uses `OLLAMA_API_KEY` with `https://ollama.com`.
The host-backed modes prompt for base URL (default `http://127.0.0.1:11434`), discover available models, and suggest defaults.
`Cloud + Local` also checks whether that Ollama host is signed in for cloud access.
More detail: [Ollama](/providers/ollama).
</Accordion>
<Accordion title="Moonshot and Kimi Coding">
Moonshot (Kimi K2) and Kimi Coding configs are auto-written.
More detail: [Moonshot AI (Kimi + Kimi Coding)](/providers/moonshot).
</Accordion>
<Accordion title="Custom provider">
Works with OpenAI-compatible, OpenAI Responses-compatible, and Anthropic-compatible endpoints.
Interactive onboarding supports the same API key storage choices as other provider API key flows:
- **Paste API key now** (plaintext)
- **Use secret reference** (env ref or configured provider ref, with preflight validation)
Onboarding infers image support for common vision model IDs (GPT-4o/4.1/5.x, Claude 3/4, Gemini, Qwen-VL, LLaVA, Pixtral, and similar) and only asks when the model name is unknown.
Non-interactive flags:
- `--auth-choice custom-api-key`
- `--custom-base-url`
- `--custom-model-id`
- `--custom-api-key` (optional; falls back to `CUSTOM_API_KEY`)
- `--custom-provider-id` (optional)
- `--custom-compatibility <openai|openai-responses|anthropic>` (optional; default `openai`)
- `--custom-image-input` / `--custom-text-input` (optional; override inferred model input capability)
</Accordion>
<Accordion title="Skip">
Leaves auth unconfigured.
</Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>
Model behavior:
- Pick default model from detected options, or enter provider and model manually.
- When onboarding starts from a provider auth choice, the model picker prefers
that provider automatically. For Volcengine and BytePlus, the same preference
also matches their coding-plan variants (`volcengine-plan/*`,
`byteplus-plan/*`).
- If that preferred-provider filter would be empty, the picker falls back to
the full catalog instead of showing no models.
- Wizard runs a model check and warns if the configured model is unknown or missing auth.
Credential and profile paths:
- Auth profiles (API keys + OAuth): `~/.openclaw/agents/<agentId>/agent/auth-profiles.json`
- Legacy OAuth import: `~/.openclaw/credentials/oauth.json`
Credential storage mode:
- Default onboarding behavior persists API keys as plaintext values in auth profiles.
- `--secret-input-mode ref` enables reference mode instead of plaintext key storage.
In interactive setup, you can choose either:
- environment variable ref (for example `keyRef: { source: "env", provider: "default", id: "OPENAI_API_KEY" }`)
- configured provider ref (`file` or `exec`) with provider alias + id
- Interactive reference mode runs a fast preflight validation before saving.
- Env refs: validates variable name + non-empty value in the current onboarding environment.
- Provider refs: validates provider config and resolves the requested id.
- If preflight fails, onboarding shows the error and lets you retry.
- In non-interactive mode, `--secret-input-mode ref` is env-backed only.
- Set the provider env var in the onboarding process environment.
- Inline key flags (for example `--openai-api-key`) require that env var to be set; otherwise onboarding fails fast.
- For custom providers, non-interactive `ref` mode stores `models.providers.<id>.apiKey` as `{ source: "env", provider: "default", id: "CUSTOM_API_KEY" }`.
- In that custom-provider case, `--custom-api-key` requires `CUSTOM_API_KEY` to be set; otherwise onboarding fails fast.
- Gateway auth credentials support plaintext and SecretRef choices in interactive setup:
- Token mode: **Generate/store plaintext token** (default) or **Use SecretRef**.
- Password mode: plaintext or SecretRef.
- Non-interactive token SecretRef path: `--gateway-token-ref-env <ENV_VAR>`.
- Existing plaintext setups continue to work unchanged.
<Note>
Headless and server tip: complete OAuth on a machine with a browser, then copy
that agent's `auth-profiles.json` (for example
`~/.openclaw/agents/<agentId>/agent/auth-profiles.json`, or the matching
`$OPENCLAW_STATE_DIR/...` path) to the gateway host. `credentials/oauth.json`
is only a legacy import source.
</Note>
## Outputs and internals
Typical fields in `~/.openclaw/openclaw.json`:
- `agents.defaults.workspace`
- `agents.defaults.skipBootstrap` when `--skip-bootstrap` is passed
- `agents.defaults.model` / `models.providers` (if Minimax chosen)
- `tools.profile` (local onboarding defaults to `"coding"` when unset; existing explicit values are preserved)
- `gateway.*` (mode, bind, auth, tailscale)
- `session.dmScope` (local onboarding defaults this to `per-channel-peer` when unset; existing explicit values are preserved)
- `channels.telegram.botToken`, `channels.discord.token`, `channels.matrix.*`, `channels.signal.*`, `channels.imessage.*`
- Channel allowlists (Discord, iMessage, Signal, Slack, Telegram, WhatsApp) when you opt in during prompts; Discord and Slack also resolve entered names to IDs
- `skills.install.nodeManager`
- The `setup --node-manager` flag accepts `npm`, `pnpm`, or `bun`.
- Manual config can still set `skills.install.nodeManager: "yarn"` later.
- `wizard.lastRunAt`
- `wizard.lastRunVersion`
- `wizard.lastRunCommit`
- `wizard.lastRunCommand`
- `wizard.lastRunMode`
- `wizard.securityAcknowledgedAt`
`openclaw agents add` writes `agents.list[]` and optional `bindings`.
WhatsApp credentials go under `~/.openclaw/credentials/whatsapp/<accountId>/`.
Active sessions and transcripts are stored in
`~/.openclaw/agents/<agentId>/agent/openclaw-agent.sqlite`. The
`~/.openclaw/agents/<agentId>/sessions/` directory is used for legacy migration
inputs and archive/support artifacts.
<Note>
Some channels are delivered as plugins. When selected during setup, the wizard
prompts to install the plugin (npm or local path) before channel configuration.
</Note>
## Non-interactive setup
`--non-interactive` requires `--accept-risk` (acknowledges that agents are
powerful and full system access is risky):
```bash
openclaw onboard --non-interactive --accept-risk \
--auth-choice apiKey \
--anthropic-api-key "$ANTHROPIC_API_KEY"
```
Full flag reference and provider-specific examples: [`openclaw onboard`](/cli/onboard), [CLI automation](/start/wizard-cli-automation).
## Gateway wizard RPC
- `wizard.start`
- `wizard.next`
- `wizard.cancel`
- `wizard.status`
Clients (macOS app and Control UI) can render steps without re-implementing onboarding logic.
## Signal setup behavior
- Downloads the appropriate release asset from the official `signal-cli` GitHub releases (native build, Linux x86-64 only)
- On other platforms (macOS, non-x64 Linux), installs via Homebrew instead
- Stores the release-asset install under `~/.openclaw/tools/signal-cli/<version>/`
- Writes `channels.signal.cliPath` in config
- Native Windows is not supported yet; run onboarding inside WSL2 to get the Linux install path
## Related docs
- Onboarding hub: [Onboarding (CLI)](/start/wizard)
- Automation and scripts: [CLI Automation](/start/wizard-cli-automation)
- Command reference: [`openclaw onboard`](/cli/onboard)
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