Downloading Openclaw | Friends of the Crustacean 🦞🤝 | Page 1

runic flame Apr 30, 2026, 4:51 AM

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I need help downloading and setting up an agent for the first time. I have little to no experience with all of this and I am finding it very hard. When I try to download Openclaw in my terminal everything works until Openclaw starts downloading. It stop loading and eventually it fails.

indigo kiteBOT Apr 30, 2026, 4:51 AM

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viral sapphire Apr 30, 2026, 7:18 AM

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runic flame I need help downloading and setting up an agent for the first time. I have littl...

Hey esc! The download failing mid-way is usually one of two things either your Node.js version is too old (needs to be 18 or higher) or your internet connection dropped during the npm install.

Try these:

Run node --version in your terminal — what does it say?
Try running the install again with npm install -g openclaw --verbose so you can see exactly where it's failing

Let me know what you see and I'll help you get it working.

runic flame Apr 30, 2026, 12:18 PM

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My node version is v22.22.2. It fails at [2/3] for installing openclaw, it says npm. Here is the exact error message: [2/3] Installing OpenClaw ✓ Git already installed · Installing OpenClaw (latest) ! npm install failed for openclaw@latest Command: env SHARP_IGNORE_GLOBAL_LIBVIPS=1 npm --loglevel error --silent --no-fund --no-audit install -g openclaw@latest Installer log: /var/folders/3z/c6mlmhhs79lfgm9t69k1ykfc0000gn/T/tmp.Y2Qw40emkx ! npm install failed; showing last log lines ! npm install failed; retrying ! npm install failed for openclaw@latest Command: env SHARP_IGNORE_GLOBAL_LIBVIPS=1 npm --loglevel error --silent --no-fund --no-audit install -g openclaw@latest Installer log: /var/folders/3z/c6mlmhhs79lfgm9t69k1ykfc0000gn/T/tmp.Y8qWikEgvp ! npm install failed; showing last log lines charliekilian@charlies-MacBook-Pro-2 ~ %

viral sapphire Apr 30, 2026, 2:43 PM

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Hey! Your Node version is fine. The issue is with the sharp/libvips image library failing to install on Mac. Try this fix:

npm install -g openclaw --ignore-scripts

If that works, OpenClaw should install. If it still fails, try:
brew install vips first, then run the install again.

Let me know how it goes!

runic flame Apr 30, 2026, 3:33 PM

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It is now just continually spinning dots in a rectangle. is this an issue with my mac book pro i’ve never really used it and it’s a 2022 model

viral sapphire May 1, 2026, 1:34 AM

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runic flame It is now just continually spinning dots in a rectangle. is this an issue with m...

The spinning dots usually means OpenClaw installed but the gateway isn't starting properly on Mac. Try this:

Open a new terminal window
Run openclaw gateway start
Then in another terminal run openclaw dashboard

If it still spins, your Mac is probably fine — this is a common setup issue. Let me know what happens!

runic flame May 1, 2026, 1:45 PM

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It get stuck at 2/3 Git already installed, then it says installing openclaw but it just sits there. i tired trouble shooting with chatgpt but nothing works

#Downloading Openclaw