How to reset openclaw | Friends of the Crustacean 🦞🤝 | Page 1

thin tide Apr 29, 2026, 10:17 AM

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I found a good video tutorial, and i already goofed up my current workplace. How can i COMPLETELY reset as if my computrer have never seen openclaw so that i can follow this video from scratch?

fresh fableBOT Apr 29, 2026, 10:17 AM

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rapid nicheBOT Apr 29, 2026, 10:18 AM

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Yep — use the built-in reset/uninstall path instead of hand-deleting first.

First run:

openclaw --version

If you just want a fresh tutorial setup but keep the CLI installed, run:

openclaw onboard --reset --reset-scope full

That resets config, credentials, sessions, and workspace.

If you want the “this computer has never seen OpenClaw” nuke:

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openclaw backup create
openclaw uninstall --dry-run
openclaw uninstall --all --yes

Then remove the CLI depending on how you installed it:

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

Then follow the video from the install step again.

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Docs:

Tiny warning: --all removes local OpenClaw state/workspace/credentials, so don’t do it if there’s anything you want to keep. 🦐

thin tide Apr 29, 2026, 10:19 AM

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Could i still follow a tutorial with the CLI installed? What would change if i took it away?

rapid nicheBOT Apr 29, 2026, 10:20 AM

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Yes — you can absolutely follow the tutorial with the CLI still installed.

What changes if you keep it installed:

You can skip the “install OpenClaw CLI” step.
Start from the fresh setup/onboarding step instead:

openclaw --version
openclaw onboard --reset --reset-scope full

That gives you a clean OpenClaw state/workspace while keeping the openclaw command available.

What changes if you remove the CLI too:

The openclaw command disappears.
You’ll need to repeat the tutorial’s install step first.
This is only useful if you specifically want to test the install process from zero, or if your CLI install itself is broken/outdated.

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My recommendation: keep the CLI installed, run the full onboarding reset, then follow the tutorial from the first openclaw onboard / setup step. Less pain, same clean setup. 🦐

Docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai/start/wizard and https://docs.openclaw.ai/install/uninstall

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Good question — the reset/uninstall steps do change a bit by OS.

If you’re the one resetting OpenClaw, please share:

openclaw --version

and which OS you’re on:

macOS
Windows / WSL
Linux

Then we can give the exact clean-reset commands without guessing. 🦐

thin tide Apr 29, 2026, 10:23 AM

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macOS

rapid nicheBOT Apr 29, 2026, 10:23 AM

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For macOS, I’d do one of these:

Clean slate but keep the CLI installed — best if you want to follow the tutorial from onboarding:

openclaw --version
openclaw onboard --reset --reset-scope full

Full “computer never saw OpenClaw” reset — removes service/state/workspace/app, then CLI separately:

openclaw --version
openclaw backup create
openclaw uninstall --dry-run
openclaw uninstall --all --yes

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Then remove the CLI depending on how you installed it:

npm rm -g openclaw

or, if you used pnpm/bun:

pnpm remove -g openclaw
bun remove -g openclaw

Tiny caution: uninstall --all removes local OpenClaw config, credentials, sessions, workspace, and the macOS app if present. The backup create step is your safety net.

Docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai/install/uninstall

thin tide Apr 29, 2026, 10:24 AM

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@rapid niche my ls .openclaw looks like this –
agents completions devices extensions logs memory openclaw.json.bak.1 openclaw.json.bak.3 openclaw.json.last-good skills update-check.json
canvas delivery-queue exec-approvals.json identity media openclaw.json.bak openclaw.json.bak.2 openclaw.json.bak.4 qqbot tasks
What can i delete here?

rapid nicheBOT Apr 29, 2026, 10:24 AM

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If that’s ~/.openclaw, then for a true clean slate you can delete/move the whole folder — all those entries are OpenClaw state/cache/config/workspace-ish data.

I’d avoid picking individual folders. Safer macOS flow:

openclaw backup create
openclaw gateway stop
openclaw gateway uninstall
mv ~/.openclaw ~/.openclaw-reset-backup-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S)

Then restart the tutorial from onboarding:

openclaw onboard

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This keeps a backup instead of permanently deleting everything. If it all works, you can later remove the backup folder manually.

If you want the CLI-assisted version instead:

openclaw uninstall --dry-run
openclaw uninstall --all --yes

Docs: https://docs.openclaw.ai/install/uninstall

thin tide Apr 29, 2026, 10:26 AM

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no thanks not interested, anyway @rapid niche , i ran these messages, should i do quick start or manual setup, or should i follow the video im watching?

rapid nicheBOT Apr 29, 2026, 10:26 AM

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I’d choose Quick Start / CLI onboarding, not manual setup.

Since you already have the CLI installed, the main change is: skip the install step in the video and start at onboarding.

If you already moved/deleted ~/.openclaw, run:

openclaw --version
openclaw onboard --install-daemon

If you didn’t reset yet, run:

openclaw onboard --reset --reset-scope full --install-daemon

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Use manual setup only if you’re doing something custom, like a weird provider setup, custom gateway config, or you specifically don’t want the normal macOS background service.

Videos can get stale fast, so if the video conflicts with docs, trust the docs:
https://docs.openclaw.ai/start/getting-started
https://docs.openclaw.ai/start/wizard

thin tide Apr 29, 2026, 11:24 AM

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I got an error in onboarding:
◇ OpenAI OAuth complete
│
◇ Model configured ──────────────────────────╮
│ │
│ Default model set to openai-codex/gpt-5.4 │
│ │
│
◇ Default model
│ openai-codex/gpt-5.4
Error: Cannot find module '@larksuiteoapi/node-sdk'

rapid nicheBOT Apr 29, 2026, 11:24 AM

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That error is not your OpenAI OAuth — that part completed. It’s a missing bundled plugin/runtime dependency for Feishu/Lark: @larksuiteoapi/node-sdk.

First, please run:

openclaw --version

Then try the repair path:

openclaw doctor --fix
openclaw onboard --install-daemon

If doctor --fix also errors, paste the output from:

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openclaw --version
openclaw status --all

status --all redacts tokens, so it’s meant to be shareable.

Docs for this path: https://docs.openclaw.ai/cli/doctor and https://docs.openclaw.ai/start/wizard

thin tide Apr 29, 2026, 11:50 AM

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◇ OpenAI OAuth complete
│
◇ Model configured ──────────────────────────╮
│ │
│ Default model set to openai-codex/gpt-5.4 │
│ │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────╯
│
│
◇ Default model
│ Keep current (openai-codex/gpt-5.4)
Error: Cannot find module '@larksuiteoapi/node-sdk'
Require stack:

/Users/vince/.npm-global/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/extensions/feishu/client-yWGpoGkZ.js
(base) vince@Intelicons-Mac-mini ~ %

I already ran openclaw doctor and --install-daemon

rapid nicheBOT Apr 29, 2026, 11:51 AM

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That one looks like a bundled Feishu/Lark dependency staging issue, not your OpenAI setup. OAuth completed fine.

Plain openclaw doctor only checks; the repair flag matters. Try this exact sequence:

openclaw --version
openclaw update
openclaw doctor --fix
openclaw onboard --install-daemon

If you’re not using Feishu/Lark, also disable it before retrying:

openclaw config set channels.feishu.enabled false --strict-json
openclaw config set plugins.entries.feishu.enabled false --strict-json

#How to reset openclaw