Installation not working - NPM Error

[onyx mist]

I tried installing openclaude without scripts active before, that's why it says it's downloaded but for some reason it tells me this and I'm unable to fix it.

OpenClaw Installer

[OK] Windows detected
[] Existing OpenClaw installation detected
[OK] Node.js v24.15.0 found
[] Installing OpenClaw (openclaw@latest)...
npm.cmd : npm error code ERR_INVALID_ARG_VALUE
In Zeile:718 Zeichen:9

•     & $CommandPath @Arguments
  

•     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  

  • CategoryInfo : NotSpecified: (npm error code ERR_INVALID_ARG_VALUE:String) [], RemoteException
  • FullyQualifiedErrorId : NativeCommandError

[spare vault]

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[proper sleet]

That looks like npm failing before OpenClaw itself gets to do much. Node v24 is fine per the docs; the suspicious bit is the earlier “scripts inactive” install, which can leave npm configured with scripts disabled.

Try this in a fresh PowerShell:

node -v
npm -v
openclaw --version
npm config get ignore-scripts
npm config delete ignore-scripts
npm config set ignore-scripts false
npm cache verify
npm install -g openclaw@latest --foreground-scripts --no-audit --no-fund

If that direct npm install works, run onboarding after:

[proper sleet]

openclaw onboard --install-daemon

If it still throws ERR_INVALID_ARG_VALUE, rerun the installer with tracing so we can see the real npm line around the failure:

Set-PSDebug -Trace 1
& ([scriptblock]::Create((iwr -useb https://openclaw.ai/install.ps1))) -NoOnboard
Set-PSDebug -Trace 0

Please also paste the output of openclaw --version if it exists, plus npm -v. Don’t paste a full npm config list publicly; it can contain private registry/auth details.

Docs refs: https://docs.openclaw.ai/help/faq-first-run and https://docs.openclaw.ai/install/installer.

[onyx mist]

npm -v
11.16.0

node -v
v24.15.0

openclaw --version
OpenClaw 2026.5.27 (27ae826)

Installer now didn't return errr but onboarding command did:
openclaw onboard --install-daemon
node:child_process:1008
throw new ERR_INVALID_ARG_VALUE(propName, arg, 'must be a string without null bytes');
^

TypeError [ERR_INVALID_ARG_VALUE]: The property 'options.env['steam_master_ipc_name_override']' must be a string without null bytes. Received 'Console\x00'
at validateArgumentNullCheck (node:child_process:1008:11)
at normalizeSpawnArguments (node:child_process:735:7)
at Object.spawn (node:child_process:789:13)
at runCliRespawnPlan (file:///C:/Users/Timmy%20Vollmer/AppData/Roaming/npm/node_modules/openclaw/dist/entry.js:293:24)
at ensureCliRespawnReady (file:///C:/Users/Timmy%20Vollmer/AppData/Roaming/npm/node_modules/openclaw/dist/entry.js:436:4)
at file:///C:/Users/Timmy%20Vollmer/AppData/Roaming/npm/node_modules/openclaw/dist/entry.js:440:8
at ModuleJob.run (node:internal/modules/esm/module_job:437:25)
at async node:internal/modules/esm/loader:639:26
at async tryImport (file:///C:/Users/Timmy%20Vollmer/AppData/Roaming/npm/node_modules/openclaw/openclaw.mjs:303:5)
at async file:///C:/Users/Timmy%20Vollmer/AppData/Roaming/npm/node_modules/openclaw/openclaw.mjs:491:9 {
code: 'ERR_INVALID_ARG_VALUE'
}

Node.js v24.15.0

This is the Debug Output

[proper sleet]

Good, install is fixed. This one is a separate Windows/Node environment issue.

The crash is coming from this inherited env var:

steam_master_ipc_name_override = Console\x00

Node refuses to spawn() any child process when an env var contains a null byte. OpenClaw’s Windows startup path respawns itself with a bigger stack, so it trips over that bad Steam env var before onboarding starts.

Try this in the same PowerShell window:

Remove-Item Env:steam_master_ipc_name_override -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
$env:OPENCLAW_NO_RESPAWN = "1"
openclaw onboard --install-daemon

If that works, close Steam / don’t launch PowerShell from anything Steam-related, open a fresh PowerShell, and run:

[proper sleet]

Remove-Item Env:steam_master_ipc_name_override -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("OPENCLAW_NO_RESPAWN", "1", "User")
openclaw doctor

OPENCLAW_NO_RESPAWN=1 is an existing OpenClaw startup knob used to avoid the self-respawn path, so it’s a reasonable workaround here.

This also looks worth a GitHub issue because OpenClaw could probably sanitize inherited env vars before respawning on Windows: https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/issues

Docs refs: https://docs.openclaw.ai/help/faq and https://docs.openclaw.ai/install/installer.

[proper sleet]

Yep, this debug output lines up with the same root cause: the installer reaches the actual npm install step, then npm.cmd dies with Node’s ERR_INVALID_ARG_VALUE. Given your later onboarding stack named steam_master_ipc_name_override = Console\x00, npm is probably inheriting that same bad env var too.

Run the installer/onboarding from a PowerShell where that env var is removed first:

Remove-Item Env:steam_master_ipc_name_override -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
$env:OPENCLAW_NO_RESPAWN = "1"

npm install -g openclaw@latest --foreground-scripts --no-audit --no-fund
openclaw onboard --install-daemon

If that works, make the respawn workaround persistent:

[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("OPENCLAW_NO_RESPAWN", "1", "User")

[proper sleet]

Also: close Steam and open a brand-new PowerShell before retrying. That env var is coming from outside OpenClaw, and Node/npm are strict about null bytes in inherited environment variables.

[onyx mist]

This works, Onboarding has started! Thanks!

[proper sleet]

Nice, glad we found it.

If that fixed the thread, please right-click the solution message -> Apps -> ✅ Mark Solution so Answer Overflow indexes it for the next Windows/Steam env var casualty. 🦞

[spare vault]

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