Choose a safe installation path

Verifiedon 2026-07-302026.7.1-2

The outcome: a bounded decision, not a download

A safe installation starts with a decision record. Your goal is not to get a prompt on screen as quickly as possible. Your goal is to be able to answer, before any installer runs, where OpenClaw will live, what data it may see, which identity owns the work, how a provider credential will be limited, and how you will return the host to its prior state. If any answer is “I will work that out later”, this lesson has found its stop condition.

The official installation guide at the reviewed OpenClaw revision lists the supported operating-system routes and the current Node requirement for this course. The course is verified against OpenClaw 2026.7.1-2, revision 1237c0cf8157a6ad4a900d6b165ea8c830449e78; it is not a promise that a future installer has the same flags. Keep that version receipt beside your pre-flight card.

Select one platform path

Choose one path and record why it fits. Do not combine a local Gateway, a WSL workspace, and a remote VPS simply because each command looks familiar. A hybrid setup can be valid later, but a first exercise needs one source of truth.

For remote work, read the official VPS guidance in the same revision. A VPS is not inherently safer: it increases the importance of SSH hygiene, network exposure, backups, and a clear destroy procedure. For this beginner course, a local disposable account or VM is usually the smallest useful boundary.

Lab: make the pre-flight card

Create a local file outside the future agent workspace. Use placeholders rather than real identities, hostnames, or keys. The card is a learner artifact: it should let a second operator review the plan without receiving access.

Course: Safe Installation and First Agent
OpenClaw target: 2026.7.1-2 (revision 1237c0c...)
Platform path: <macOS | Linux | Windows | WSL2 | VPS>
Host/account owner: <team or role, not a personal secret>
Workspace: <new test-only path>
Allowed input: synthetic brief only
Provider: <provider name>; credential: revocable test budget
Real channels/recipients: none
Stop conditions: unsupported runtime; shared host; unknown script; no removal owner
Rollback: stop before install; delete empty workspace; revoke test credential if created
Evidence location: <private local path, not repository or agent workspace>
Review owner: <named person or role>

Do a second pass specifically for accidental authority. “Local” does not mean isolated if the account can read SSH keys, browser profiles, cloud credentials, work repositories, or a synced home directory. Put the lab under a fresh user or VM when possible. If you must use a normal account, choose a workspace path and agent configuration that excludes sensitive directories, and record that this is a residual risk rather than calling it isolated.

Checkpoint: can another operator stop you?

Ask a peer—or use the questions below—without opening your shell:

1. What exact host and user will run the installer?
2. What exact directory may the first task read and write?
3. Which provider credential is allowed, what is its budget, and who can revoke it?
4. What external actions are forbidden even if the model suggests them?
5. What command or platform procedure stops the Gateway and removes the test state?

An answer such as “my laptop”, “the usual folder”, or “my API key” fails the checkpoint because it cannot be audited or rolled back. Replace it with a path, role, ownership statement, and time-bounded credential plan.

Expected result, failure mode, and rollback

Expected result: a reviewer can approve the next lesson using only the redacted card, and you can identify exactly what will be installed and deleted. Do not continue merely because the card exists; all five checklist controls must be true.

Failure mode: you discover that the target user is shared, a mounted folder contains personal data, the runtime is unsupported, or no one owns removal. Treat that as a successful safety detection. Do not “temporarily” continue. Rollback is to stop before installation, delete only the empty test directory, remove any downloaded installer artifact, and choose a new disposable boundary. If a credential was already created during planning, revoke it now and record only the revocation result.

Primary source receipt

• OpenClaw installation guide, reviewed revision
• OpenClaw VPS guide, reviewed revision

Learner artifact: the redacted pre-flight card. Keep it with the eventual verification ledger; never put a provider key, private hostname, or raw command output containing secrets into either artifact.