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docs/platforms/windows.md

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

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

Download the latest stable installer from the OpenClaw releases page or directly via releases/latest/download:

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

After install, launch OpenClaw Companion from the Start menu or 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, talk, 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 an OpenClaw node so the agent can use declared Windows-native capabilities through the Gateway. Node commands must be declared by the node and allowed by Gateway policy before they run; see Nodes for the full allow/deny model.

Common commands:

FamilyCommands
Canvascanvas.present, canvas.hide, canvas.navigate, canvas.eval, canvas.snapshot
Screenscreen.snapshot; screen.record requires explicit opt-in
Cameracamera.list; camera.snap, camera.clip require explicit opt-in
Systemsystem.notify, system.run, system.run.prepare, system.which
Devicelocation.get, device.info, device.status
Talktalk.ptt.start, talk.ptt.stop, talk.ptt.cancel, talk.ptt.once, talk.speak

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

powershell
openclaw devices list
openclaw devices approve <requestId>
openclaw nodes status

The Gateway only forwards commands the node declares and server policy allows. Privacy-sensitive commands such as screen.record, camera.snap, and camera.clip need 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, so local MCP clients can 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 once the server is enabled.

Mode matrix:

Node modeMCP serverBehavior
offoffOperator-only desktop app
onoffGateway-connected Windows node
offonLocal MCP server only
ononGateway node plus local MCP server

Native Windows CLI and Gateway

For terminal-first use, install OpenClaw from PowerShell:

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

Verify:

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

Managed startup uses Windows Scheduled Tasks when available. The task keeps the readable gateway.cmd script in the OpenClaw state dir but launches it through a generated gateway.vbs WScript wrapper, so the background Gateway does not open a visible console window. If task creation is denied, OpenClaw falls back to a per-user Startup-folder login item.

Install the Gateway service:

powershell
openclaw gateway install
openclaw gateway status --json

For CLI-only use without a managed Gateway service:

powershell
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 install manually inside your own distro.

Manual setup:

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

Enable systemd inside WSL:

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

Restart WSL from PowerShell:

powershell
wsl --shutdown

Then install OpenClaw inside WSL with the Linux quickstart:

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

Gateway auto-start before Windows login

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

Inside WSL:

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

In PowerShell as Administrator:

powershell
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:

powershell
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) idle-terminates the distro 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, so the task appears to run but the distro never starts. Running as your own account avoids this; Windows prompts for your password when the task is created.
</Note>

After reboot, verify from WSL:

bash
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:

powershell
$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, e.g. 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, 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 not, launch OpenClaw Companion from the Start menu.

Local setup fails

Open the setup log from Windows Hub or inspect:

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

Common causes: 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:

powershell
openclaw devices list
openclaw devices approve <requestId>

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:

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

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