Overview

Use this page for the base sandbox setup before adding channels.

1. Install OpenClaw

Install OpenClaw in the sandbox terminal:

npm install -g openclaw@latest

Verify the CLI is available:

command -v openclaw
openclaw --version

Expected:

• command -v openclaw returns a path
• openclaw --version prints a version like 2026.3.8

2. Run Non-Interactive Onboarding

Run onboarding with sandbox-safe flags only:

openclaw onboard \
  --non-interactive \
  --accept-risk \
  --mode local \
  --gateway-port 18789 \
  --gateway-bind loopback \
  --skip-skills \
  --skip-channels \
  --skip-daemon \
  --skip-health \
  --json

Why these flags matter:

• --accept-risk is required in non-interactive mode
• --skip-daemon is required because systemd is not available in the sandbox container
• --skip-health avoids a false failure before the gateway is started manually
• auth is configured in a separate step so you can choose Anthropic API key or OpenAI Codex OAuth cleanly

Expected output:

• Updated ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json
• Workspace OK: ~/.openclaw/workspace
• a JSON summary with mode: "local" and installDaemon: false

3. Configure Model Auth

After onboarding, continue to Model Auth.

That page covers:

• Anthropic API key setup
• OpenAI Codex OAuth login
• reusing an existing Codex auth store in a sandbox

Next

• Continue to Model Auth
• Continue to Discord
• Continue to Telegram
• Continue to WhatsApp
• Or continue to Feishu / Lark
• See Troubleshooting if something isn't working