adolf/docs/install/uninstall.md

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Uninstall OpenClaw completely (CLI, service, state, workspace)	You want to remove OpenClaw from a machine The gateway service is still running after uninstall	Uninstall

Two paths:

• Easy path if openclaw is still installed.
• Manual service removal if the CLI is gone but the service is still running.

Easy path (CLI still installed)

Recommended: use the built-in uninstaller:

openclaw uninstall

State removal preserves configured workspace directories unless you also select --workspace.

Preview what will be removed (safe):

openclaw uninstall --dry-run --all

Non-interactive (automation / npx). Use with caution and only after confirming scopes:

openclaw uninstall --all --yes --non-interactive
npx -y openclaw uninstall --all --yes --non-interactive

Flags: --service, --state, --workspace, --app select individual scopes; --all selects all four.

Manual steps (same result):

1. Stop the gateway service:

openclaw gateway stop

2. Uninstall the gateway service (launchd/systemd/schtasks):

openclaw gateway uninstall

3. Delete state + config:

rm -rf "${OPENCLAW_STATE_DIR:-$HOME/.openclaw}"

If you set OPENCLAW_CONFIG_PATH to a custom location outside the state dir, delete that file too. If you want to keep a workspace inside the state dir, such as ~/.openclaw/workspace, move it aside before running rm -rf or delete state contents selectively.

4. Delete your workspace (optional, removes agent files):

rm -rf ~/.openclaw/workspace

5. Remove the CLI install (pick the one you used):

npm rm -g openclaw
pnpm remove -g openclaw
bun remove -g openclaw

6. If you installed the macOS app:

rm -rf /Applications/OpenClaw.app

Notes:

• If you used profiles (--profile / OPENCLAW_PROFILE), repeat step 3 for each state dir (defaults are ~/.openclaw-<profile>).
• In remote mode, the state dir lives on the gateway host, so run steps 1-4 there too.

Manual service removal (CLI not installed)

Use this if the gateway service keeps running but openclaw is missing.

macOS (launchd)

Default label is ai.openclaw.gateway (or ai.openclaw.<profile> with a profile):

launchctl bootout gui/$UID/ai.openclaw.gateway
rm -f ~/Library/LaunchAgents/ai.openclaw.gateway.plist

If you used a profile, replace the label and plist name with ai.openclaw.<profile>.

Linux (systemd user unit)

Default unit name is openclaw-gateway.service (or openclaw-gateway-<profile>.service). A pre-rename clawdbot-gateway.service unit may still exist on machines upgraded from very old installs; openclaw uninstall / openclaw gateway uninstall detects and removes it automatically.

systemctl --user disable --now openclaw-gateway.service
rm -f ~/.config/systemd/user/openclaw-gateway.service
systemctl --user daemon-reload

Windows (Scheduled Task)

Default task name is OpenClaw Gateway (or OpenClaw Gateway (<profile>)). The task launches a windowless gateway.vbs script under your state dir, which in turn runs gateway.cmd; remove both.

schtasks /Delete /F /TN "OpenClaw Gateway"
Remove-Item -Force "$env:USERPROFILE\.openclaw\gateway.cmd" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
Remove-Item -Force "$env:USERPROFILE\.openclaw\gateway.vbs" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

If you used a profile, delete the matching task name and the gateway.cmd / gateway.vbs files under ~\.openclaw-<profile>.

Normal install vs source checkout

Normal install (install.sh / npm / pnpm / bun)

If you used https://openclaw.ai/install.sh or install.ps1, the CLI was installed with npm install -g openclaw@latest. Remove it with npm rm -g openclaw (or pnpm remove -g / bun remove -g if you installed that way).

Source checkout (git clone)

If you run from a repo checkout (git clone + openclaw ... / bun run openclaw ...):

1. Uninstall the gateway service before deleting the repo (use the easy path above or manual service removal).
2. Delete the repo directory.
3. Remove state + workspace as shown above.

Related

• Install overview
• Migration guide