Fully wipe my current OpenClaw/Clawd setup on my Mac

[fair roost]

Hi Kirill — I want to fully wipe my current OpenClaw/Clawd setup on my Mac and start from a completely clean state, as if I were installing it on a brand new Mac for the first time.

My goal is not to repair the existing setup, but to remove everything old so nothing can conflict with a fresh install.

What I want removed:

• OpenClaw/Clawd itself
• all local state/session data
• WhatsApp linking/session data
• chats, caches, logs
• background processes / auto-start items
• ~/.openclaw
• any old workspace/config leftovers

A few questions:

1. What is the safest full clean uninstall flow on macOS?
2. Is openclaw uninstall --all --yes enough, or are there still common leftovers I should manually remove?
3. Are there any launch agents / services / profile-specific folders that often remain behind?
4. For WhatsApp, is deleting local state and re-pairing later enough for a true clean start?
5. After wipe + reinstall, what is the best way to make sure I only use one workspace and do not end up with parallel folders again?

I’m happy to re-pair WhatsApp and rebuild everything from scratch. I’d rather over-delete than leave any ghost state behind.

If useful, I can also paste:

• current install method
• which openclaw
• launch agent entries
• remaining files found under my home folder

[sour bay]

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[winged relic]

Yep. For a true “brand new Mac” reset, I’d treat openclaw uninstall --all --yes as step 1, not the whole job.

1. Safest macOS full-wipe flow

• First inspect what it wants to remove:

  openclaw uninstall --all --dry-run
  

• Then run the real uninstall for each profile you ever used:

  openclaw uninstall --all --yes --non-interactive
  openclaw --profile <name> uninstall --all --yes --non-interactive
  

• Then remove the install itself:

  npm rm -g openclaw
  # or
  

  pnpm remove -g openclaw

• If you used the git installer, also delete the checkout, usually:
  • ~/openclaw
• If you used OpenClaw.app, also remove:
  • /Applications/OpenClaw.app

2. Is openclaw uninstall --all --yes enough?
No, not always.

It removes the current service + current state + current workspace + app.
It does not guarantee removal of:

• the global CLI install
• old profiles like ~/.openclaw-<profile>
• custom OPENCLAW_STATE_DIR / OPENCLAW_CONFIG_PATH
• old extra workspaces no longer referenced

• old git checkouts like ~/openclaw
• legacy launch agents

Also, current docs/source explicitly say: the CLI remains installed after uninstall.

3. Common leftovers to check manually

• ~/.openclaw
• ~/.openclaw-*
• ~/.openclaw/workspace*
• ~/openclaw
• ~/Library/LaunchAgents/ai.openclaw.gateway.plist
• ~/Library/LaunchAgents/ai.openclaw.<profile>.plist
• ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.openclaw.*
• ~/Library/LaunchAgents/ai.openclaw.mac.plist
• ~/Library/LaunchAgents/ai.openclaw.ssh-tunnel.plist
• ~/Library/Application Support/OpenClaw
• ~/Library/Caches/OpenClaw

• /tmp/openclaw

4. WhatsApp
Yes, deleting local state is enough for a clean OpenClaw-side reset.

WhatsApp auth lives under:

• ~/.openclaw/credentials/whatsapp/<accountId>/...

For the strictest clean start, I’d do one of these before reinstall:

openclaw channels logout --channel whatsapp

and/or unlink the old Linked Device in WhatsApp, then re-pair.

5. Best way to avoid parallel folders again

• use one profile only, unless you intentionally want isolation
• leave OPENCLAW_STATE_DIR / OPENCLAW_CONFIG_PATH unset unless you really need them

• set one explicit workspace:
  • agents.defaults.workspace: "~/.openclaw/workspace"
• do not use ~/openclaw (repo checkout) as the workspace
• after reinstall, run:

  openclaw doctor
  

  to catch stray workspace/profile mismatches

Docs:

• https://docs.openclaw.ai/install/uninstall
• https://docs.openclaw.ai/help/faq#where-does-openclaw-store-its-data
• https://docs.openclaw.ai/concepts/agent-workspace

If you want, paste:

• openclaw --version
• which openclaw

• openclaw uninstall --all --dry-run
• ls ~/Library/LaunchAgents | grep openclaw

and I’ll tell you exactly what still needs deleting.

[fair roost]

I checked my Mac and here’s what I found on OpenClaw 2026.4.15:

• openclaw --version → OpenClaw 2026.4.15 (041266a)
• which openclaw → /Users/mila/.openclaw/bin/openclaw
• ls ~/Library/LaunchAgents | grep openclaw → ai.openclaw.gateway.plist
• ls -la ~ | grep openclaw → .openclaw still exists

I also checked openclaw uninstall --help, and it explicitly says:

Uninstall the gateway service + local data (CLI remains)

So in my case, that seems correct: uninstall does not remove the CLI itself. At least before cleanup, I still had:

• ~/.openclaw
• ~/Library/LaunchAgents/ai.openclaw.gateway.plist
• CLI at ~/.openclaw/bin/openclaw

Also, one detail: openclaw uninstall --all --dry-run still prompted for confirmation on my version unless I canceled it, so it was not a pure non-interactive preview by default.

My understanding from this is:

1. openclaw uninstall --all --yes --non-interactive removes service/state/workspace/app
2. then I still need to manually remove leftovers like:
   • rm -f ~/Library/LaunchAgents/ai.openclaw.gateway.plist
   • rm -rf ~/.openclaw
   • optionally rm -rf ~/.openclaw-*, rm -rf ~/openclaw, and cache/support dirs if they exist

Does that match the intended behavior on 2026.4.15?

[winged relic]

Yes, that mostly matches 2026.4.15.

A couple of important nuances:

• openclaw uninstall --all --yes --non-interactive is meant to remove the gateway service + state + workspace + app.
• --dry-run still prompting unless you also pass --yes matches the current implementation, so that part is not just you.
• ai.openclaw.gateway.plist is the expected macOS LaunchAgent for the default profile.

The big nuance in your setup is this:

• which openclaw -> /Users/mila/.openclaw/bin/openclaw
• so your CLI is installed under the same local prefix as the default state root

That means if you remove ~/.openclaw, you are not just deleting state, you are also deleting the local-prefix CLI install/wrapper that lives inside it.

So I’d phrase it like this:

1. Intended uninstall scope: service/state/workspace/app
2. In your install layout: deleting ~/.openclaw also wipes the local CLI, because it lives there
3. Manual cleanup after uninstall: still reasonable for anything left behind

So yes, your follow-up cleanup list is sane:

• ~/.openclaw
• ~/Library/LaunchAgents/ai.openclaw.gateway.plist if it still exists after uninstall
• ~/.openclaw-* only if you used profiles
• ~/openclaw only if you used the git installer
• app cache/support dirs only if you used OpenClaw.app

One small refinement: if the LaunchAgent is still loaded, I’d unload it before deleting the plist:

launchctl bootout gui/$UID/ai.openclaw.gateway 2>/dev/null || true

rm -f ~/Library/LaunchAgents/ai.openclaw.gateway.plist

Also, since your CLI lives under ~/.openclaw/bin/openclaw, run the uninstall command before deleting ~/.openclaw, otherwise you delete the tool you’re using.

So short version: yes, your understanding is correct for 2026.4.15, with the extra caveat that “CLI remains installed” is not really true in practice for this local-prefix layout.

If you want, I can turn this into a final exact wipe checklist for your specific machine, in the safest order.

[fair roost]

Yes please do that thank you!

[winged relic]

Yep, here’s the exact wipe checklist for your machine on 2026.4.15.

This is intentionally destructive.

1. While the CLI still exists, uninstall the service/state/workspace/app

openclaw uninstall --all --yes --non-interactive

2. If the LaunchAgent is still present, force-remove it

launchctl bootout gui/$UID/ai.openclaw.gateway 2>/dev/null || true
rm -f ~/Library/LaunchAgents/ai.openclaw.gateway.plist

3. Remove the local-prefix install root

On your Mac, openclaw lives at:

• /Users/mila/.openclaw/bin/openclaw

So this one path is doing double duty: state + workspace + local CLI/tools.

rm -rf ~/.openclaw

After this, openclaw should be gone too. That is expected in your layout.

4. Optional extra sweep, only if you ever used these

If you experimented with profiles, git install, or the macOS app:

rm -rf ~/.openclaw-*
rm -rf ~/openclaw

rm -f ~/Library/LaunchAgents/ai.openclaw.mac.plist
rm -f ~/Library/LaunchAgents/ai.openclaw.ssh-tunnel.plist
rm -f ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.openclaw.*
rm -rf ~/Library/Application\ Support/OpenClaw
rm -rf ~/Library/Caches/OpenClaw
rm -rf /tmp/openclaw

5. WhatsApp

Deleting ~/.openclaw removes the local WhatsApp auth/session data too, including:

• ~/.openclaw/credentials/whatsapp/<accountId>/...

For the strictest clean reset, also unlink the old Linked Device in WhatsApp on your phone before re-pairing.

6. Sanity checks after the wipe

These should come back empty / missing:

which openclaw
ls ~/Library/LaunchAgents | grep openclaw
ls -la ~ | grep openclaw

7. After reinstall, to avoid parallel folders again

• use one install method
• use no profile unless you intentionally want multiple isolated setups
• leave OPENCLAW_STATE_DIR / OPENCLAW_CONFIG_PATH unset unless you really need custom paths
• keep one workspace, ideally:
  • ~/.openclaw/workspace
• do not use ~/openclaw (repo checkout) as your workspace

If you want, after you wipe it, paste the output of those 3 sanity checks and I’ll confirm you’re at a true clean slate. 🦐

[fair roost]

Hi Kirill — I completed the wipe on my Mac and it now looks clean.

I ran:

openclaw uninstall –all –yes –non-interactive
launchctl bootout gui/$UID/ai.openclaw.gateway 2>/dev/null || true
rm -f ~/Library/LaunchAgents/ai.openclaw.gateway.plist
rm -rf ~/.openclaw
rm -rf ~/.openclaw-*
rm -rf ~/openclaw
rm -rf ~/Library/Application\ Support/OpenClaw
rm -rf ~/Library/Caches/OpenClaw
rm -rf /tmp/openclaw

What uninstall reported:

• removed ~/.openclaw
• removed ~/.openclaw/workspace
• removed /Applications/OpenClaw.app
• Gateway service not loaded
• CLI still installed. Remove via npm/pnpm if desired.

But in my install layout, which openclaw had previously pointed to /Users/mila/.openclaw/bin/openclaw, so after removing ~/.openclaw, the CLI disappeared too in practice.

Final checks now:

• which openclaw -> openclaw not found
• ls ~/Library/LaunchAgents | grep openclaw -> no output
• ls -la ~ | grep openclaw -> no output
• find ~/Library -maxdepth 3 2>/dev/null | grep -i openclaw -> no output

So from my side this now looks like a true clean wipe on 2026.4.15.

[winged relic]

Yep, that looks like a true clean wipe to me on 2026.4.15. Nice work. 🎉

Your final checks are exactly what I’d want to see:

• openclaw no longer on PATH
• no openclaw LaunchAgents
• no ~/.openclaw
• no obvious Library leftovers

And yep, this confirms the nuance we hit earlier: for the local-prefix install where the wrapper lived under ~/.openclaw/bin/openclaw, deleting ~/.openclaw removed the CLI in practice even though uninstall still prints the generic “CLI still installed” line.

For the fresh reinstall, I’d keep it simple:

• pick one install method
• use one workspace
• avoid profiles/custom state dirs unless you intentionally want multiple setups

Docs:

• https://docs.openclaw.ai/install
• https://docs.openclaw.ai/install/uninstall
• https://docs.openclaw.ai/concepts/agent-workspace

Glad that helped! 🎉
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