Other update methods

Install-type switching, the source-server reference script, the installer, and manual package-manager updates. Part of the Updating guide.

Switch between npm and git installs

Installer-driven switches verify the replacement before the working owner is retired. Source wrappers are published atomically; same-path npm shim transitions use an identity-checked backup that is restored on failure, so a failed candidate leaves the previous command runnable. Before retiring an old source wrapper, the updater rechecks its identity and contents and confirms that it still owns the update. The openclaw update command prints its final success result only after post-core convergence and requested restart health checks succeed.

Candidate validation failures leave the old Gateway serving. After activation, package recovery can restore the retained previous package only when the shared and affected pre-existing per-agent database schema versions are unchanged and configuration has not changed since the candidate’s activation Doctor pass. A database first created by the candidate is neutral only at its supported schema version for that database kind. The restored Gateway must pass the same runtime checks before recovery is reported as complete. A schema migration prevents automatic package rollback; replacing code cannot undo migrated state. Incomplete file rollback retains its backups for inspection. See Automatic rollback. If an older target does not support preserving the service definition, automatic recovery stops and reports the error without retrying with weaker options. Repair the reported failure, rerun openclaw update, and check openclaw gateway status --deep. See Failed update recovery.

On macOS, if Doctor reports an installed but unloaded and disabled Gateway LaunchAgent after an interrupted update, finish update verification or Doctor and triage first. Then use the printed openclaw gateway start command, preserving its profile and state/config or custom-label overrides. doctor --fix diagnoses the disabled label but leaves an already-stopped Gateway stopped.

Use channels to change the install type. The updater keeps your state, config, credentials, and workspace in ~/.openclaw; it only changes which OpenClaw code install the CLI and gateway use.

# npm package install -> editable git checkout
openclaw update --channel dev

# git checkout -> npm package install
openclaw update --channel stable

Preview the install-mode switch first:

openclaw update --channel dev --dry-run
openclaw update --channel stable --dry-run

dev ensures a git checkout, builds it, and installs the global CLI from that checkout. The stable, extended-stable, and beta channels use package installs. Extended-stable is rejected on a git checkout without mutating or converting it. If the gateway is already installed, openclaw update refreshes the service metadata and restarts it unless you pass --no-restart.

Automatic package-to-Git conversion currently requires an npm-owned package symlink. A pnpm- or Bun-owned install rejects --channel dev before stopping the Gateway; use the Git installer when changing that installation's owner. Normal package-to-package updates keep using pnpm or Bun.

Git updates build the complete runtime, including plugins and the Control UI, in a temporary candidate worktree. Dev updates preserve local commits by rebasing the candidate before its build. The updater publishes that prepared runtime during activation instead of repeating the build while stopped. It preserves the build timestamps, so ordinary CLI commands keep using that validated runtime without regenerating it after the move. Candidate installs and nested build commands use a private pnpm virtual store, so preparing an update cannot prune dependencies used by the serving Gateway. The candidate's temporary workspace settings are restored before checking for source changes; the live checkout's workspace settings are preserved. Candidate commands keep the qualified Node first among Node providers on PATH, while preserving launcher-only prefixes such as scoped pnpm shims ahead of it. This also applies when the selected Node directory was already on PATH; its package-manager executables do not displace those scoped launchers.

Before activating a package or Git update, the updater also checks discoverable managed Gateways that share the physical installation. An observed live sibling blocks the update before the selected Gateway is stopped; the updater checks again at publication. Stop the sibling through its own service manager or exact Startup entry, then retry. The updater does not stop or restart sibling services. Package --no-restart still permits the selected service to keep running, but that exception does not cover another service or Startup entry using the same files. The Gateway's installation-change watcher can still restart it. If update Doctor maintenance stops the selected service, finalization restores the matching service and reports the maintenance restart, including with --no-restart. If its current identity cannot be inspected, recovery remains pending. This is a check of observed consumers, not a lock against new service starts; unavailable inspection does not prove that the installation has no consumers. Already-running older updaters retain their own activation and finalization behavior.

For package installs with an owned managed Bun Gateway at a different root, openclaw update targets the Gateway's package root and leaves the invoking CLI installation unchanged. It validates the service's actual Bun executable for Bun 1.4+ and WAL-safe node:sqlite, and retains its recorded runtime pin through service installation and restart. Bun's emulated Node version is never compared to the target's engines.node requirement. When the updater runs on Node, its Node must also pass the target's engine and SQLite checks before package replacement, because finalization runs under the updater runtime.

Node services keep the existing routing: a writable owned definition normally moves to the invoking CLI installation; Windows, overridden or nonwritable definitions, and --no-restart retain the service-root route. The selected Node must satisfy the target release's engines.node requirement. See managed-service updates for ownership checks and older-updater limitations.

Source-checkout servers (reference script)

Before manually rebuilding a source checkout, stop every Gateway serving its dist files. Build entry points inspect discoverable managed Gateways, including sibling profiles, and refuse when a live service shares that output. On systemd, this includes processes remaining in the service cgroup after its main PID exits. Use an external terminal, outside the running Gateway's agent session. Follow the reported service/profile stop commands, rebuild, then start those same services. For the default profile, run these commands from the source checkout:

openclaw gateway stop &&
pnpm build &&
openclaw gateway start

Stop every listed sibling before building and start each one afterward. Preserve its profile and custom service overrides, or use the matching native service commands. For a listed launchd job, use its named domain, job, and loaded plist to select those controls; the profile name alone can identify a different definition. A Startup-only sibling must be stopped using the exact Startup-file guidance and restarted through that same Startup entry; updating the selected service cannot stop that sibling. Start services only after the build succeeds. If this checkout's built runtime is missing and the CLI cannot run, use those native controls before rebuilding. By default, source-runner gateway stop and gateway restart use the existing built CLI so recovery does not rebuild first. To apply source changes, use the stop, build, and start sequence above. openclaw update can apply an available update, but skipped / already-current does not rebuild stale dist; use the external stop, rebuild, and start sequence for that case.

A separate candidate checkout with independent output can build while the installed Gateway continues serving. This check observes current services; it does not prevent a service from starting during compilation, and unavailable inspection does not prove that no Gateway is running.

Discovery uses installed service definitions and the invoking service selector. A bare systemd template is checked for the current OS account. Other active template instances without an installed instance definition or an explicit selector are not enumerated. Stop those instances with their native service commands before building. Discovered macOS LaunchDaemons are inspected in the system domain; global LaunchAgents remain in the invoking user’s GUI domain. This observation does not grant the updater control of a system LaunchDaemon.

Teams running a gateway directly from a git checkout on a server can update it with scripts/update-gateway.sh from inside that checkout. It is the reference for a source-server update: it refuses tracked local changes, including build outputs, and prepares the fetched target in a private checkout. It checks that main can fast-forward, or rebases the local server branch with --rebase-merges. Dependencies install with a frozen lockfile and the candidate builds before the serving checkout changes. A preparation failure leaves the existing service running. After preparation, the script stops its selected service and checks for other observed managed consumers before publishing source, dependencies, and generated output together. Stop any shared-install siblings through their own service owners first; this script does not stop or restart them for you. The consumer check precedes the first source change; it does not lock out new service starts during source and runtime publication.

Like openclaw update, the script builds runtime JavaScript, plugin assets, and the Control UI without generating TypeScript declarations by default. Set OPENCLAW_RUN_NODE_SKIP_DTS_BUILD=0 when invoking the script if this checkout also needs fresh declarations for plugin development.

This reference script requires Corepack and creates temporary shims without global activation before fetching. After fetching, it freezes the target commit and checks that its exact pnpm pin can run through those shims in a private check workspace. The check contains only package-manager metadata, not the target's dependencies, hooks, or configuration. Missing or invalid metadata, provisioning failure, or a version mismatch stops before checkout update or restart; repair the target pin or install a compatible Corepack, then retry.

The same fetched commit is used for fast-forward or rebase. The resulting candidate's pnpm pin is checked separately, so local branch overrides remain in effect. The same scoped shim directory leads nested commands' PATH, and each operation uses its own workspace and lockfile roots. Accepted untracked build inputs are copied into the candidate and checked again before publication. References resolving inside the checkout follow the candidate's corresponding files. Genuinely external links remain operator-owned references: their target identity is checked, but external directory contents are not recursively frozen. Retained runtime transaction directories remain recovery material and are excluded from candidate build inputs on retry.

If publication fails after stopping the service, the script restores and verifies the previous Git revision and retained dependencies/output before restarting it. It preserves the original failure. Configuration and external operator data are outside this runtime transaction. Changed source or unverified child cleanup prevents destructive recovery; retained paths are reported for inspection. If restart of a verified new runtime fails, that runtime stays in place because a new process may already be using it, and previous artifacts remain available for operator recovery. Failed automatic invocations also retain their small scoped pnpm launcher directory; remove the reported directory only after all update children have stopped. The hosted installers also support npm-owned temporary provisioning when Corepack is unavailable; this server script deliberately requires Corepack.

Already-running source-server scripts that call the older three-argument build adapter still own their earlier Git and dependency changes. That compatibility path retains its output-only recovery; loading a newer adapter cannot move an old shell's completed install behind the stop boundary.

The published 2026.9.4 source-server script also builds before its final restart. Candidate build entry points recognize its existing update marker only when the selected, natively owned Gateway serves this checkout's physical dist. The existing source-build transaction stops that Gateway before writing. On a settled build failure, it restores the previous output and restarts the selected service through its native owner, preserving its definition and rechecking its binding. The original build failure remains visible; a custom shell restart command runs only after a successful build in the old caller. A separate candidate checkout or a sibling-only match never grants permission to stop another service. If that native stop partially succeeds and then fails, the candidate revalidates and restarts the original service through its native owner, without running a custom shell command or starting the build. The original stop failure is still reported, including any failure to complete recovery.

For that first hop, the old script still owns its one successful restart, including an authored custom restart command. Its empty or whitespace-only restart setting remains manual and does not trigger an automatic stop. The old script cannot receive the candidate process's recovery state: after a successful build, the candidate settles native autostart and retires its build backup before returning. A subsequent old-script restart failure therefore requires operator recovery; it does not gain the newer script's retained-backup guarantee. Unjoined build writers or failed output restoration leave the Gateway stopped and retain recovery material.

Generated output roots such as dist, dist-runtime, and package-local dist directories must be real directories. Builds refuse symbolic-link roots before reading or mutating their contents so cleanup cannot affect the link target. Replace an output-root symlink with a real directory before updating or building a source checkout.

ssh you@server 'cd /path/to/openclaw && scripts/update-gateway.sh'

The default stop command is openclaw gateway stop --force, so non-interactive SSH updates can stop the service. Override both commands for custom service units:

OPENCLAW_UPDATE_STOP_CMD='systemctl --user stop openclaw-gateway.service' \
OPENCLAW_UPDATE_RESTART_CMD='systemctl --user restart openclaw-gateway.service' \
  scripts/update-gateway.sh

Custom automatic commands must be provided together and must not be blank. An exactly empty restart command keeps the operator-owned manual lifecycle: stop the Gateway yourself before invoking the script, then restart it yourself after resolving any failure. Do not also set a stop override in this mode. The script performs no automatic stop, restart, or build-output rollback:

OPENCLAW_UPDATE_RESTART_CMD='' scripts/update-gateway.sh

For a plain single-user source install, prefer openclaw update --channel dev instead — it manages the checkout, build, and gateway restart for you.

Alternative: re-run the installer

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

Add --no-onboard to skip onboarding. To force a specific install type, pass --install-method git --no-onboard or --install-method npm --no-onboard.

If openclaw triage cannot start after a failed npm package replacement, re-run the installer. It runs the global package install directly and can recover a partially updated npm install. Keep an unverified Gateway stopped while repairing it.

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

Pin the recovery to a specific version or dist-tag with --version:

curl -fsSL https://openclaw.ai/install.sh | bash -s -- --install-method npm --version <version-or-dist-tag>

Homebrew formula installs

For brew install openclaw-cli, update through Homebrew:

brew upgrade openclaw-cli
openclaw gateway restart

openclaw update leaves the formula unchanged and prints these commands. Existing profiles retain that skipped outcome and guidance in openclaw update status --json and the update report. Stop a running Gateway before a manual upgrade to avoid loading files from a removed keg; back up first and run openclaw doctor --fix before restarting.

New or refreshed service definitions use Homebrew's stable opt/openclaw-cli path. To repair a service still pointing at a versioned Cellar path, run openclaw gateway install --force from the upgraded CLI. Global npm packages under the Homebrew prefix continue to use npm.

Alternative: manual npm, pnpm, or bun

The npm command below is for npm 12 or npm 11.16+. On npm 11.15 and earlier, omit --allow-scripts=openclaw.

npm i -g openclaw@latest --allow-scripts=openclaw

Prefer openclaw update for supervised installs: it can coordinate the package swap with the running Gateway service. If you update manually on a supervised install, stop the managed Gateway first. Package managers replace files in place, and a running Gateway can otherwise try to load core or plugin files mid-swap. Restart the Gateway after the package manager finishes so it picks up the new install.

Gateways with installation-replacement detection also check the installed build on their maintenance tick. If the running and installed builds differ, the Gateway records the replacement, stops accepting new work, and gives active work its existing bounded shutdown window before handing over to its service manager. A foreground Gateway exits with instructions to run openclaw gateway run again. Status and Doctor report the replacement while the Gateway drains. Afterward, openclaw gateway status --deep, openclaw update status, and Doctor show the recorded replacement as historical information until the next Gateway shutdown. This record does not by itself confirm that the new Gateway is healthy. If a reply's delivery module disappears before sending starts, the reply remains eligible for recovery instead of being treated as an uncertain send. This recovery cannot prevent every failure during a package manager's in-place swap, and older running Gateways do not gain it from files installed underneath them. openclaw update remains the supported path for coordinating replacement.

Release packages include generated compatibility files for lazy imports from updaters in the supported upgrade window, including the 2026.9.1 service restart path. These files let the old updater finish after its installation is replaced. They do not preserve a running Gateway's old module state, cover arbitrary plugin imports, or make rollback into an older published package safe without restarting.

For a root-owned Linux system-global install, if openclaw update fails with EACCES, recover with system npm while keeping the Gateway stopped for the manual replacement. Use the same profile flags/environment you normally use for that Gateway. Replace /usr/bin/npm with the system npm that owns the root-owned global prefix on your host:

The npm command below follows the same version contract: use the flag on npm 12 or npm 11.16+, and omit it on npm 11.15 and earlier.

openclaw gateway stop
sudo /usr/bin/npm i -g openclaw@latest --allow-scripts=openclaw
openclaw gateway install --force
openclaw gateway restart

Then verify:

openclaw --version
curl -fsS http://127.0.0.1:18789/readyz
openclaw plugins list --json
openclaw gateway status --deep --json
openclaw doctor --lint --json

When openclaw update manages a global npm install, it installs the target into a temporary npm prefix first. The candidate package validates the host Node version during preinstall; OpenClaw verifies the packaged dist inventory before swapping the clean package tree into the real global prefix. Pending lifecycle work is recorded in .openclaw-lifecycle-pending at the package root, outside the dist inventory. postinstall removes that marker after completion. If package scripts were skipped, the CLI completes the pending lifecycle before running any command, including --version; failure stops the command with reinstall guidance. The updater checks the owning npm before mutation. On npm 11.15 and earlier it omits the unsupported lifecycle-policy flag. On npm 12 and npm 11.16+, it approves only the candidate OpenClaw lifecycle; transitive dependency scripts remain unapproved. This avoids npm overlaying a new package onto stale files from the old one. If the install command fails, OpenClaw retries once with --omit=optional, which helps hosts where native optional dependencies cannot compile. The packaged lifecycle restores the matching precompiled fs-safe dependency when that retry omitted it. It uses the version declared by the installed fs-safe package and does not run dependency build scripts. Repair works on Node and Bun and preserves any existing native package. A working native binding needs no extra download. Unsupported hosts or failed downloads produce a warning and allow installation to finish; explicitly disabling fs-safe native support also skips this repair.

For local tarball targets on npm 12, the archive filename and every parent directory must be comma-free. See Installer path requirements.

OpenClaw-managed npm update and plugin-update commands also clear npm's min-release-age supply-chain quarantine (or the older before config key) for the child npm process. That policy exists for general protection, but an explicit OpenClaw update means "install the selected release now."

pnpm add -g --allow-build=openclaw openclaw@latest

If pnpm 11 installed OpenClaw 2026.7.1, run that manual command once. That release predates pnpm 11's isolated global-package layout, so its updater can mistake another npm installation for the running CLI. Later releases retain pnpm ownership and follow the replacement package root during updates. They also use the owning manager's reported global bin directory and stop before mutation when the available pnpm command reports another global root, or when the invoking package is orphaned or not the only active OpenClaw install there.

pnpm 12 retains the global/v11 layout; the layout number does not need to match the pnpm CLI major version. Staged pnpm updates isolate both the global project and its launchers. OpenClaw sets the staging bin through CLI configuration for pnpm 10/11 and child-process environment configuration for pnpm 12, then verifies both destinations before installation. A manager that still reports a live destination stops the update before activation.

If OpenClaw shares a pnpm global install group with another package, the automatic updater stops before changing the group. Update the original comma-separated group manually so its sibling packages and build policy stay intact.

bun add -g --trust openclaw@latest

--trust allows OpenClaw's lifecycle scripts. The canonical openclaw update path applies the same OpenClaw-only Bun trust when it owns the install. For Bun-owned updates, package-manager checks and installs use the verified service Bun when updating a managed service root. Otherwise they use process.execPath when the updater runs under Bun, with bare bun from PATH only as the final fallback. A missing or different PATH Bun does not replace an explicitly selected executable. Package-manager ownership detection is unchanged; locating an installation under ~/.openclaw does not make it Bun-owned. On Windows, the staged updater rejects Bun installs before stopping the Gateway because it cannot relocate Bun's binary launchers. Run bun add -g --trust openclaw@<resolved-target-version> manually, then openclaw gateway restart; verify with openclaw update status.

Package lifecycle and operator state

Package lifecycle hooks validate the Node runtime and update only package-local artifacts: the installed dist tree and lifecycle markers. Plugin-registry and operator-state migration belong to Doctor, not package installation. Doctor also removes genuinely dangling global plugin-runtime links, but preserves shared and versioned runtime caches and valid links to them: other installs or profiles may still use them. openclaw update still runs Doctor after installing the candidate; after a manual package replacement, run openclaw doctor --fix before restarting the Gateway.

During a marked Windows 2026.9.4 update, package lifecycle also asks Doctor's read-only schema preflight to reject an incompatible shared-state upgrade before activation. It does not migrate operator state. Independent package installation does not run this legacy-updater check.

The fresh post-core continuation runs repairing Doctor before plugin convergence, including when an older updater already ran Doctor without --fix. This completes pending legacy state even when the configuration itself needs no repair.

Doctor also brings drifted active official npm plugins to the installed OpenClaw release, honoring recorded non-default tags and pins newer than its plugin cohort. It uses the same plugin updater as openclaw update and leaves third-party plugins unchanged. An unavailable plugin produces a warning with the reason; it does not prevent the other repairs from completing. Restore registry access or wait for the missing package, then rerun openclaw doctor --fix.

OPENCLAW_DISABLE_BUNDLED_PLUGIN_POSTINSTALL=1 skips package-local postinstall cleanup, but still completes the lifecycle marker. Doctor migrations remain enabled.

Stuck on 2026.9.3

The published 2026.9.3 updater has a fixed five-minute limit that can stop an upgrade before it finishes. A timeout fix in the target release cannot replace the updater already running. Bypass that older updater once with a manual package installation.

Create a verified backup first. Keep the same service account, npm prefix, profile, and state/config overrides. Stop the Gateway through its owning supervisor before replacing the package. For a managed npm install:

openclaw gateway stop
npm install -g openclaw@latest --allow-scripts=openclaw
openclaw doctor --fix
openclaw gateway restart
openclaw gateway status --deep

Omit --allow-scripts=openclaw on npm 11.15 and earlier. For an external supervisor, use its stop and restart commands. Doctor keeps an already-stopped Gateway stopped, so complete the restart after reviewing its repair results.

Automatic official-plugin drift repair was added after 2026.9.5. If the installed release still prints Fix each drifted plugin, run its printed openclaw plugins update commands before restarting. Once installed, a build with automatic drift repair performs those official-plugin updates during doctor --fix; any remaining readiness warning names the plugin that still needs attention.

Advanced npm install topics

ReadWritePaths=/var/lib/openclaw /home/openclaw/.openclaw /tmp