Open Claw Setup: The Complete 2026 Install Guide

Step-by-step guide to installing, configuring, and optimizing Open Claw: Docker, model setup, extensions, team config, and performance tuning.

Prerequisites

Installation Methods

Initial Configuration

Model Provider Setup

Model Routing Configuration

Extension Management

Team-Wide Configuration

Performance Tuning

Troubleshooting

Security Best Practices

Your First Session

Next Steps

Method 1: npm (Universal)

Method 2: Bun (Recommended — Fastest)

Method 3: Homebrew (macOS / Linux)

Method 4: Docker (Isolated Environment)

Method 5: Build from Source

Full Annotated Config File

Anthropic (Claude) — Most Popular

OpenAI (GPT)

Google (Gemini) — Best for Large Context

Ollama (Local Models — Free, Private)

Provider Comparison

Recommended Extension Stacks

You have read about Open Claw, you are convinced it is worth trying, and now you want to get it running. This guide takes you from zero to a fully optimized installation — not just the basic setup from a README, but the advanced configuration that power users rely on for production-grade AI-assisted development.

We cover everything: prerequisites, five installation methods (including Docker and source builds), model provider configuration, extension management, team-wide setup, performance tuning, and troubleshooting the most common issues. Bookmark this page — you will reference it every time you set up Open Claw on a new machine.

Docker is the best choice when you want complete isolation, need to run Open Claw on a shared server, or want a reproducible environment across your team.

Model routing is Open Claw's most powerful cost-saving feature. It automatically sends different task types to appropriate models:

For teams, commit your config to the repo (without API keys) and use environment variable references:

With everything installed and configured, here is how to verify your setup works:

Need help setting up Open Claw for your team? Let's design a configuration optimized for your stack and budget.

• Never commit API keys. Use environment variables and reference them with {"
  quot;} syntax in config files.
• Enable terminal sandboxing. Set tools.terminal.sandbox: true to prevent destructive commands.
• Whitelist commands. Only permit commands you have explicitly approved in allowed_commands.
• Use read-only database credentials for the database extension during development. Never give the agent write access to production data.
• Review generated code before committing — especially for authentication, payment processing, and data handling.
• Enable audit logging. Track what the agent does for accountability and security review.
• Write your AGENTS.md — Define project conventions and coding standards
• Configure model routing — Optimize cost vs. quality for different task types
• Install framework extensions — Add extensions for your tech stack
• Try it on real work — Do not start with a toy project. Use Open Claw on real tasks from day one
• Read our extensions guide to build custom extensions for your specific workflow
• Compare with alternatives — See how Open Claw stacks up in our Open Claw vs Claude Code comparison