adolf/docs/cli/setup.md

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CLI reference for `openclaw setup` (alias for onboarding, with baseline setup available by flag)	You're doing first-run setup with the CLI onboarding wizard You want to set the default workspace path You need the baseline-only setup flag for scripts	Setup

openclaw setup

openclaw setup runs the same guided onboarding flow as openclaw onboard (auth, workspace, Gateway, channels, skills, health). Use --baseline when you only need to initialize config/workspace folders without the wizard.

setup accepts the same onboarding flags as openclaw onboard, including auth (--auth-choice, --token, provider key flags), Gateway (--gateway-port, --gateway-bind, --gateway-auth, --install-daemon), Tailscale (--tailscale), reset (--reset, --reset-scope), flow (--flow quickstart|advanced|manual|import), and skip flags (--skip-channels, --skip-skills, --skip-bootstrap, --skip-search, --skip-health, --skip-ui, --skip-hooks). See Onboard and CLI automation for the full flag reference and non-interactive examples; openclaw onboard --modern (the Crestodian conversational assistant) has no setup equivalent.

`openclaw setup` is for mutable config installs. In Nix mode (`OPENCLAW_NIX_MODE=1`) OpenClaw refuses setup writes because the config file is managed by Nix. Use the first-party [nix-openclaw Quick Start](https://github.com/openclaw/nix-openclaw#quick-start) or the equivalent source config for another Nix package.

Options

Flag	Description
--workspace <dir>	Agent workspace directory (default ~/.openclaw/workspace; stored as agents.defaults.workspace).
--baseline	Create baseline config/workspace/session folders without onboarding.
--wizard	Accepted for compatibility; setup runs onboarding by default.
--non-interactive	Run onboarding without prompts.
--accept-risk	Acknowledge full-system agent access risk; required with --non-interactive.
--mode <mode>	Onboarding mode: local or remote.
--flow <flow>	Onboard flow: quickstart, advanced, manual, or import.
--reset	Reset config + credentials + sessions before onboarding (workspace only with --reset-scope full).
--reset-scope <scope>	Reset scope: config, config+creds+sessions, or full.
--import-from <provider>	Migration provider to run during onboarding.
--import-source <path>	Source agent home for --import-from.
--import-secrets	Import supported secrets during onboarding migration.
--remote-url <url>	Remote Gateway WebSocket URL.
--remote-token <token>	Remote Gateway token (optional).
--json	Output a JSON summary.

Baseline mode

openclaw setup --baseline preserves the older baseline-only behavior: it creates the config, workspace, and session directories, then exits without running onboarding.

Examples

openclaw setup
openclaw setup --baseline
openclaw setup --workspace ~/.openclaw/workspace
openclaw setup --import-from hermes --import-source ~/.hermes
openclaw setup --non-interactive --accept-risk --mode remote --remote-url wss://gateway-host:18789 --remote-token <token>

Notes

• After baseline setup, run openclaw setup or openclaw onboard for the full guided journey, openclaw configure for targeted changes, or openclaw channels add to add channel accounts.
• If Hermes state is detected, interactive onboarding can offer migration automatically. Import onboarding requires a fresh setup; use Migrate for dry-run plans, backups, and overwrite mode outside onboarding.

Related

• CLI reference
• Onboard
• Onboarding (CLI)
• Getting started
• Install overview