stuck install Win10 PS admin | Friends of the Crustacean 🦞🤝 | Page 1

near peak Feb 10, 2026, 11:29 PM

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trying to install via windows powershell admin. I am stuck. this is what i get. Help pls.

PS C:\Windows\system32> iwr -useb https://openclaw.ai/install.ps1 | iex

OpenClaw Installer

[OK] Windows detected
[OK] Node.js v24.13.0 found
[*] Installing OpenClaw (openclaw@latest)...
node.exe : npm error code ENOENT
At line:1 char:1

& "C:\Program Files\nodejs/node.exe" "C:\Program Files\nodejs/node_mo ...

  + CategoryInfo          : NotSpecified: (npm error code ENOENT:String) [], RemoteExcepti
 on
  + FullyQualifiedErrorId : NativeCommandError

ornate perchBOT Feb 10, 2026, 11:29 PM

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To help others find answers, you can mark your question as solved via Right click solution message -> Apps -> ✅ Mark Solution

near peak Feb 10, 2026, 11:32 PM

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krill?

gloomy prismBOT Feb 10, 2026, 11:33 PM

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near peak krill?

Hey niclaw — what’s stuck / what error are you seeing?

If you paste these, I can usually diagnose fast:

openclaw --version
what command you ran (PowerShell) + the full error output
whether this is installing OpenClaw, starting the gateway, or connecting a channel (Discord/Telegram/etc.)
(if it’s a gateway issue) last ~50 lines of the gateway log / console output where it fails

near peak Feb 10, 2026, 11:41 PM

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gloomy prism Hey niclaw — what’s stuck / what error are you seeing? If you paste these, I ca...

i tried to run the install by entering the code in windows powershell (PS):
iwr -useb https://openclaw.ai/install.ps1 | iex

I copy pasted what i got back in PS in the post above. if you need me to be more specific, pls give more detailed instructions, i am a noob

gloomy prismBOT Feb 10, 2026, 11:42 PM

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near peak i tried to run the install by entering the code in windows powershell (PS): iwr...

No worries — I actually can’t see the PowerShell output you mentioned (Discord sometimes eats earlier paste / scrollback). Can you paste it again verbatim?

1) Please run these commands in PowerShell and paste the full output

Copy/paste this block into PowerShell:

openclaw --version
node -v
npm -v
git --version
npm prefix -g
where.exe openclaw
where.exe node
where.exe npm
where.exe git

#

Then paste what it prints here (wrap it in a code block like I did).

2) The 2 most common Windows failures (so you can self-check quickly)

A) “git not found” / spawn git ENOENT
→ Install Git for Windows, then close & reopen PowerShell and re-run the installer.
https://git-scm.com/download/win

B) “openclaw is not recognized” after it “installed”
→ Your npm global bin folder isn’t on PATH.

Run: npm prefix -g
Take that path and add \bin (or the printed path, depending on what it shows) to Windows PATH, then reopen PowerShell.

Docs for this exact thing:
https://docs.openclaw.ai/help/faq#windows-install-says-git-not-found-or-openclaw-not-recognized

3) Heads-up (recommended path on Windows)

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OpenClaw is recommended on Windows via WSL2 (much fewer weird toolchain/PATH issues):
https://docs.openclaw.ai/platforms/windows

But paste the outputs above first and I’ll tell you the fastest fix for your exact error.

near peak Feb 10, 2026, 11:49 PM

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'''openclaw : The term 'openclaw' is not recognized as the name of a cmdlet, function, script file, or operable program. C
heck the spelling of the name, or if a path was included, verify that the path is correct and try again.
At line:1 char:1

openclaw --version

  + CategoryInfo          : ObjectNotFound: (openclaw:String) [], CommandNotFoundException
  + FullyQualifiedErrorId : CommandNotFoundException

v24.13.0
11.6.2
git : The term 'git' is not recognized as the name of a cmdlet, function, script file, or operable program. Check the s
pelling of the name, or if a path was included, verify that the path is correct and try again.
At line:4 char:1

git --version

  + CategoryInfo          : ObjectNotFound: (git:String) [], CommandNotFoundException
  + FullyQualifiedErrorId : CommandNotFoundException

C:\Users\Oxfam\AppData\Roaming\npm
INFO: Could not find files for the given pattern(s).
C:\Program Files\nodejs\node.exe
C:\Program Files\nodejs\npm
C:\Program Files\nodejs\npm.cmd
INFO: Could not find files for the given pattern(s).
PS C:\Windows\system32>'''

gloomy prismBOT Feb 10, 2026, 11:49 PM

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near peak '''openclaw : The term 'openclaw' is not recognized as the name of a cmdlet, fun...

Perfect — your output tells us exactly what’s wrong:

Node + npm are installed (node v24.13.0, npm 11.6.2) ✅
Git is NOT installed / not on PATH (git is not recognized) ❌
OpenClaw command is NOT found (openclaw is not recognized) ❌
Your npm global prefix looks like it’s C:\Users\Oxfam\AppData\Roaming\npm (it got line-broken in Discord)

Let’s fix this in the most “noob-proof” way.

Step 1) Install Git for Windows

Download + install Git:
https://git-scm.com/download/win

During install, keep the default option that adds Git to PATH (usually “Git from the command line…”).

Then close PowerShell completely and open a new one.

#

Test:

git --version

Step 2) Re-install OpenClaw (simple way)

In the NEW PowerShell window:

npm install -g openclaw@latest

Then test:

where.exe openclaw
openclaw --version

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Step 3) If it still says “openclaw not recognized” → fix your PATH

Your global npm “bin” folder on Windows is typically:

%APPDATA%\npm

Which for you is likely:

C:\Users\Oxfam\AppData\Roaming\npm

Quick check:

npm prefix -g

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Whatever that prints, make sure that exact folder is in your Windows PATH.

Fastest noob-friendly way:

Start menu → search “Environment Variables”
Open “Edit the system environment variables”
Environment Variables…
Under User variables → select Path → Edit
New → paste: C:\Users\Oxfam\AppData\Roaming\npm
OK → OK
Close PowerShell, open again

Then:

openclaw --version

Docs reference (same issue): https://docs.openclaw.ai/help/faq#windows-install-says-git-not-found-or-openclaw-not-recognized

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If you do Step 1–3 and paste the output of:

git --version
npm list -g --depth=0 openclaw
where.exe openclaw

…I’ll tell you exactly what’s left (usually it’s just PATH).

near peak Feb 11, 2026, 12:00 AM

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'''PS C:\Windows\system32> git --version

npm list -g --depth=0 openclaw
where.exe openclaw
git version 2.53.0.windows.1
C:\Users\Oxfam\AppData\Roaming\npm
`-- openclaw@2026.2.9

C:\Users\Oxfam\AppData\Roaming\npm\openclaw
C:\Users\Oxfam\AppData\Roaming\npm\openclaw.cmd'''

gloomy prismBOT Feb 11, 2026, 12:01 AM

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near peak '''PS C:\Windows\system32> git --version >> npm list -g --depth=0 openclaw >> wh...

Nice — that output means Git is installed and OpenClaw is installed + on your PATH:

openclaw@2026.2.9 ✅
where.exe openclaw shows ...\npm\openclaw.cmd ✅

Next, run these (in PowerShell) and paste output

openclaw --version
openclaw status

Then do the actual setup

Run:

openclaw onboard

Follow the wizard prompts to pick a model/auth + set up the gateway/dashboard.

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If you hit weird issues on native Windows

OpenClaw is recommended on Windows via WSL2 (Ubuntu) (it avoids a ton of PATH/service/tooling pain). Guide:
https://docs.openclaw.ai/platforms/windows

(Also: in Discord, use triple backticks ``` for code blocks — the ''' formatting is what’s causing those weird line breaks.)

near peak Feb 11, 2026, 12:12 AM

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this is what i get back in PS when i inquire for status.

''' Gateway │ local · ws://127.0.0.1:18789 (local loopback) · unreachable (connect failed: connect ECONNREFUSED 127.0.0.1:18789)'''

and also this

'''Security audit
Summary: 1 critical · 1 warn · 1 info
CRITICAL Gateway auth missing on loopback
gateway.bind is loopback but no gateway auth secret is configured. If the Control UI is exposed through a reverse proxy, unauthenticated access is possible.
Fix: Set gateway.auth (token recommended) or keep the Control UI local-only.
WARN Reverse proxy headers are not trusted
gateway.bind is loopback and gateway.trustedProxies is empty. If you expose the Control UI through a reverse proxy, configure trusted proxies so local-client c…
Fix: Set gateway.trustedProxies to your proxy IPs or keep the Control UI local-only.
Full report: openclaw security audit
Deep probe: openclaw security audit --deep'''

do i need to do extra steps before i run the onboard procedure?

gloomy prismBOT Feb 11, 2026, 12:14 AM

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near peak this is what i get back in PS when i inquire for status. ''' Gateway │ ...

That’s normal right now: ECONNREFUSED 127.0.0.1:18789 just means the Gateway isn’t running yet, so openclaw status can’t connect.

And the security audit warnings are because you haven’t run onboarding yet, so there’s no gateway.auth.token configured.

Do you need extra steps before onboarding?

No — onboarding is the next step.

Do this (PowerShell)

Run the wizard (recommended):

openclaw onboard --install-daemon

This will:

generate a gateway token (fixes the “Gateway auth missing on loopback” critical)
set up config
(tries to) install/start the background gateway service

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After the wizard finishes, check:

openclaw gateway status
openclaw status

If the Gateway still isn’t running

Start it manually:

openclaw gateway start

If that fails (or service install is weird on native Windows), run it in the foreground in one PowerShell window and leave it open:

openclaw gateway --port 18789 --verbose

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About the “trusted proxies” warning

Ignore it unless you’re putting the dashboard behind a reverse proxy (nginx/cloudflare/etc). For local-only 127.0.0.1, it’s fine.

If you paste the output of:

openclaw onboard --install-daemon
openclaw gateway status

…I’ll tell you exactly what to click/answer next.

#stuck install Win10 PS admin