openclaw/docs/platforms/windows.md

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Windows support: Windows Hub, native CLI and Gateway, WSL2 gateway setup, node mode, and troubleshooting	Installing OpenClaw on Windows Choosing between Windows Hub, native Windows, and WSL2 Setting up the Windows companion app or Windows node mode	Windows

OpenClaw ships a native Windows Hub companion app plus Windows CLI support. Use Windows Hub when you want a desktop app with setup, tray status, chat, Command Center diagnostics, and Windows node capabilities. Use the PowerShell installer when you want the CLI/Gateway directly. Use WSL2 when you want the most Linux-compatible Gateway runtime.

Recommended: Windows Hub

Windows Hub is the native WinUI companion app for Windows 10 20H2+ and Windows 11. It installs without administrator privileges and is published with signed x64 and ARM64 installers on OpenClaw releases.

Download the latest stable installer from the OpenClaw releases page:

• OpenClawCompanion-Setup-x64.exe
• OpenClawCompanion-Setup-arm64.exe
• Checksums

If a download link above returns a 404, visit the releases page and look for the OpenClawCompanion-Setup-* assets on the latest release.

After install, launch OpenClaw Companion from the Start menu or the system tray. The installer also adds shortcuts for Gateway Setup, Chat, Settings, Check for Updates, and uninstall.

What Windows Hub includes

• system tray status and launch-at-login
• first-run setup for a local app-owned WSL Gateway
• connection settings for local, remote, and SSH-tunneled Gateways
• native chat window plus access to the browser Control UI
• Command Center diagnostics for sessions, usage, channels, nodes, pairing, and repair commands
• Windows node mode for agent-controlled canvas, screen, camera, notifications, device status, text-to-speech, speech-to-text, and controlled system.run
• local MCP server mode for MCP clients such as Claude Desktop, Claude Code, and Cursor

First launch

On first launch, Windows Hub opens setup when there is no usable saved Gateway. The fastest path is Set up locally, which provisions an app-owned OpenClawGateway WSL distro, installs the Gateway inside it, and pairs the app. This does not export or mutate your existing Ubuntu distro.

Choose Advanced setup or open the Connections tab when you already have a Gateway. You can connect to:

• a local Gateway on this PC
• a WSL Gateway on this PC
• a remote Gateway by URL and token or setup code
• a Gateway reached through an SSH tunnel

When setup finishes, the tray icon turns green. Open Command Center from the tray to confirm connection, pairing, node status, and channel health.

Windows node mode

Windows Hub can register as a first-class OpenClaw node. The agent can then use declared Windows-native capabilities through the Gateway.

Common commands include:

• canvas.present, canvas.hide, canvas.navigate, canvas.eval, canvas.snapshot
• screen.snapshot and, with explicit opt-in, screen.record
• camera.list and, with explicit opt-in, camera.snap, camera.clip
• system.notify, system.run, system.run.prepare, system.which
• location.get, device.info, device.status
• stt.transcribe, tts.speak

Node mode requires Gateway pairing. If the app shows a pairing request, approve it from the Gateway host:

openclaw devices list
openclaw devices approve <request-id>
openclaw nodes status

The Gateway only forwards commands that the node declares and server policy allows. Privacy-sensitive commands such as screen.record, camera.snap, and camera.clip require explicit gateway.nodes.allowCommands opt-in.

Local MCP mode

Windows Hub can expose the same Windows-native capability registry as a local MCP server on loopback. This is useful when you want local MCP clients to drive Windows capabilities without a running OpenClaw Gateway.

Enable it in Windows Hub Settings under the developer/advanced section. The app shows the loopback endpoint and bearer token after the server is enabled.

Mode matrix:

Node mode	MCP server	Behavior
off	off	Operator-only desktop app
on	off	Gateway-connected Windows node
off	on	Local MCP server only
on	on	Gateway node plus local MCP server

Native Windows CLI and Gateway

For terminal-first use, install OpenClaw from PowerShell:

iwr -useb https://openclaw.ai/install.ps1 | iex

Verify:

openclaw --version
openclaw doctor
openclaw gateway status --json

Native Windows CLI and Gateway flows are supported and continue to improve. Managed startup uses Windows Scheduled Tasks when available and falls back to a per-user Startup-folder login item if task creation is denied.

To install the Gateway service:

openclaw gateway install
openclaw gateway status --json

If you only want CLI use without a managed Gateway service:

openclaw onboard --non-interactive --skip-health
openclaw gateway run

WSL2 Gateway

WSL2 remains the most Linux-compatible Gateway runtime on Windows. Windows Hub can set up an app-owned WSL Gateway for you, or you can install manually inside your own distro.

Manual setup:

wsl --install
# Or pick a distro explicitly:
wsl --list --online
wsl --install -d Ubuntu-24.04

Enable systemd inside WSL:

sudo tee /etc/wsl.conf >/dev/null <<'EOF'
[boot]
systemd=true
EOF

Restart WSL from PowerShell:

wsl --shutdown

Then install OpenClaw inside WSL with the Linux quickstart:

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

Gateway auto-start before Windows login

For headless WSL setups, ensure the full boot chain runs even when no one logs into Windows.

Inside WSL:

sudo apt-get install -y dbus-x11
sudo loginctl enable-linger "$(whoami)"
openclaw gateway install

In PowerShell as Administrator:

schtasks /create /tn "WSL Boot" /tr "wsl.exe -d Ubuntu --exec dbus-launch true" /sc onstart /ru "$env:USERNAME"

Replace Ubuntu with your distro name from:

wsl --list --verbose

Note: Two changes from older recipes:

• dbus-launch true instead of /bin/true — On WSL ≥ 2.6.1.0 a regression (microsoft/WSL #13416) causes the distro to idle-terminate 15–20 seconds after the last client exits, even with linger enabled. dbus-launch true keeps a child-of-init process alive as a workaround (community discussion, microsoft/WSL #9245).
• /ru "$env:USERNAME" instead of /ru SYSTEM — Per-user WSL distros (the default setup) are not visible to the SYSTEM account; the task appears to run but the distro is never started. Running as your own account avoids this. Windows will prompt for your password when the task is created.

After reboot, verify from WSL:

systemctl --user is-enabled openclaw-gateway.service
systemctl --user status openclaw-gateway.service --no-pager

Expose WSL services over LAN

WSL has its own virtual network. If another machine must reach a service inside WSL, forward a Windows port to the current WSL IP. The WSL IP can change after restarts, so refresh the forwarding rule when needed.

Example in PowerShell as Administrator:

$Distro = "Ubuntu-24.04"
$ListenPort = 2222
$TargetPort = 22

$WslIp = (wsl -d $Distro -- hostname -I).Trim().Split(" ")[0]
if (-not $WslIp) { throw "WSL IP not found." }

netsh interface portproxy add v4tov4 listenaddress=0.0.0.0 listenport=$ListenPort `
  connectaddress=$WslIp connectport=$TargetPort

New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "WSL SSH $ListenPort" -Direction Inbound `
  -Protocol TCP -LocalPort $ListenPort -Action Allow

Notes:

• SSH from another machine targets the Windows host IP, for example ssh user@windows-host -p 2222.
• Remote nodes must point at a reachable Gateway URL, not 127.0.0.1.
• Use listenaddress=0.0.0.0 for LAN access. Use 127.0.0.1 for local-only access.

Troubleshooting

The tray icon does not appear

Check Task Manager for OpenClaw.Tray.WinUI.exe. If it is running, open the hidden tray-icons area and pin it. If it is not running, launch OpenClaw Companion from the Start menu.

Local setup fails

Open the setup log from Windows Hub or inspect:

notepad "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\OpenClawTray\Logs\Setup\easy-setup-latest.txt"

Common causes are disabled WSL, blocked virtualization, stale app-owned WSL state, or a network failure while installing the Gateway package.

The app says pairing is required

Approve the operator or node request from the Gateway:

openclaw devices list
openclaw devices approve <request-id>

If the device already had a token, reconnect from the Connections tab after approval.

Web chat cannot reach a remote Gateway

Remote web chat needs HTTPS or localhost. For self-signed certificates, trust the certificate in Windows, or use an SSH tunnel to a localhost URL.

screen.snapshot, camera, or audio commands fail

Confirm Windows permissions for camera, microphone, screen capture, and notifications. Packaged installs declare the protected capabilities, but Windows may still prompt the first time a command uses them.

Git or GitHub connectivity fails

Some networks block or throttle HTTPS to GitHub. If git clone or gh auth login fails, try another network, a VPN, or an HTTP/HTTPS proxy.

For token-based gh auth in the current session:

$env:GH_TOKEN="<your-token>"
gh auth status
gh auth setup-git

Never commit tokens or paste them into issues or pull requests.

Related

• Install overview
• Node.js setup
• Nodes
• Control UI
• Gateway configuration