Quick Reference

All essential OpenClaw commands, config options, slash commands, API endpoints, and shortcuts in one place. Bookmark this page.

CLI Commands

Setup & Installation

# Install OpenClaw
npm install -g openclaw

# Initialize a new config
openclaw init

# Start the gateway
openclaw start

# Start with a specific config file
openclaw start --config /path/to/openclaw.json

# Start in background (daemon)
openclaw start --daemon

# Stop the daemon
openclaw stop

# Check current status
openclaw status

# Show current version
openclaw --version

Configuration

# Open config in default editor
openclaw config edit

# Get a config value
openclaw config get agents.default.model

# Set a config value
openclaw config set agents.default.model claude-sonnet-4-6

# Validate config without starting
openclaw config validate

# Show resolved config (with env vars substituted)
openclaw config show --resolved

Channels

# List all connected channels
openclaw channels list

# Check channel status
openclaw channels status

# Enable a channel
openclaw channels enable telegram

# Disable a channel
openclaw channels disable whatsapp

# Test a channel connection
openclaw channels test telegram

# View channel logs
openclaw channels logs telegram --tail 50

Workspaces

# List all workspaces
openclaw workspaces list

# Create a workspace
openclaw workspaces create --id my-team --label "My Team"

# Delete a workspace
openclaw workspaces delete my-team

# Add user to allowlist
openclaw workspaces allow my-team telegram:123456789

# Remove user from allowlist
openclaw workspaces deny my-team telegram:123456789

# Migrate user between workspaces
openclaw workspace migrate-user U01 from:old-team to:new-team

# Suspend a workspace
openclaw workspace suspend my-team

# Show workspace stats
openclaw stats workspace my-team

Sessions

# List active sessions
openclaw sessions list

# Clear a specific session
openclaw sessions clear {sessionId}

# Clear all sessions in a workspace
openclaw sessions clear --workspace my-team

# View session history
openclaw sessions history {sessionId}

Skills

# List installed skills
openclaw skills list

# Search ClawHub
openclaw skills search github

# Install a skill
openclaw skills install github

# Install a specific version
openclaw skills install github@2.1.0

# Update all skills
openclaw skills update

# Remove a skill
openclaw skills remove github

# Show skill info
openclaw skills info github

API Keys

# Create an API key
openclaw api-key create --label "My App" --workspaces team,admins

# List all keys
openclaw api-key list

# Revoke a key
openclaw api-key revoke oclaw_live_abc123...

# Rotate a key
openclaw api-key rotate oclaw_live_abc123...

Logs & Monitoring

# Stream all logs
openclaw logs

# Stream logs for a specific channel
openclaw logs --channel telegram

# View last 100 lines
openclaw logs --tail 100

# Filter by log level
openclaw logs --level error

# Export logs
openclaw logs export --from 2026-04-01 --to 2026-04-30 > logs.json

# Show usage stats
openclaw stats

# Stats for a date range
openclaw stats --from 2026-04-01 --to 2026-04-30

# Compare workspace usage
openclaw stats workspaces --compare

Canvas

# List saved canvases
openclaw canvas list

# Open a canvas
openclaw canvas open {id}

# Export a canvas
openclaw canvas export {id} --format png --output diagram.png

# Delete a canvas
openclaw canvas delete {id}

# Start canvas server
openclaw canvas-server --port 4000

Slash Commands (In Chat)

These commands are typed directly in your messaging app:

General

Command	Description
`/help`	Show all available commands
`/status`	Check gateway status
`/version`	Show OpenClaw version
`/ping`	Check response time
`/whoami`	Show your user ID and workspace

Session Control

Command	Description
`/clear`	Clear the current session (fresh start)
`/history`	Show recent conversation summary
`/export`	Export conversation as a text file
`/session`	Show current session info

Agent Control

Command	Description
`/model haiku`	Switch to Claude Haiku for this session
`/model sonnet`	Switch to Claude Sonnet
`/model opus`	Switch to Claude Opus
`/think`	Enable extended thinking mode
`/fast`	Enable fast/brief response mode
`/verbose`	Enable detailed response mode

Canvas

Command	Description
`/canvas new`	Create a new blank canvas
`/canvas clear`	Clear the current canvas
`/canvas save`	Save canvas permanently
`/canvas link`	Get the canvas URL
`/canvas share`	Get a read-only link
`/canvas export png`	Download as PNG
`/canvas export svg`	Download as SVG
`/canvas export pdf`	Download as PDF
`/canvas history`	List canvases from this session

Workspace & Pairing

Command	Description
`/workspace`	Show current workspace
`/workspace list`	List available workspaces
`/workspace switch {id}`	Switch to a different workspace
`/pair {code}`	Pair your account with the gateway
`/unpair`	Remove your account from this gateway

Skills

Command	Description
`/skills`	List active skills
`/skills enable github`	Enable a skill for this session
`/skills disable github`	Disable a skill for this session

Config File Structure

{
  "agents": {
    "default": {
      "provider": "anthropic",
      "model": "claude-sonnet-4-6",
      "apiKey": "${ANTHROPIC_API_KEY}",
      "systemPrompt": "You are a helpful assistant.",
      "maxContextTokens": 80000,
      "temperature": 0.7
    }
  },
  "channels": {
    "telegram": {
      "enabled": true,
      "token": "${TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN}",
      "defaultWorkspace": "default"
    },
    "slack": {
      "enabled": true,
      "botToken": "${SLACK_BOT_TOKEN}",
      "appToken": "${SLACK_APP_TOKEN}",
      "defaultWorkspace": "team"
    }
  },
  "workspaces": [
    {
      "id": "default",
      "label": "Default",
      "agent": "default",
      "allowlist": ["*"],
      "skills": ["web-search", "memory"],
      "sessionTimeout": 1800
    }
  ],
  "api": {
    "enabled": true,
    "keys": [{ "key": "${API_KEY}", "label": "My App" }]
  },
  "canvas": {
    "enabled": true,
    "storageType": "file"
  }
}

API Quick Reference

Base URL: http://localhost:3000/api/v1
Auth: Authorization: Bearer your-api-key

Method	Endpoint	Description
`GET`	`/health`	Gateway health check
`POST`	`/messages`	Send a message
`POST`	`/messages/stream`	Send message (SSE stream)
`GET`	`/sessions`	List sessions
`GET`	`/sessions/{id}`	Get session
`GET`	`/sessions/{id}/history`	Session history
`DELETE`	`/sessions/{id}`	Clear session
`GET`	`/workspaces`	List workspaces
`POST`	`/workspaces`	Create workspace
`PATCH`	`/workspaces/{id}/allowlist`	Update allowlist
`DELETE`	`/workspaces/{id}`	Delete workspace
`GET`	`/stats`	Usage statistics
`GET`	`/stats/workspaces`	Per-workspace stats

Environment Variables

Variable	Description
`ANTHROPIC_API_KEY`	Anthropic API key for Claude
`OPENAI_API_KEY`	OpenAI API key
`TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN`	Telegram bot token
`SLACK_BOT_TOKEN`	Slack bot token (xoxb-...)
`SLACK_APP_TOKEN`	Slack app token (xapp-...)
`DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN`	Discord bot token
`WHATSAPP_NUMBER`	WhatsApp number for pairing
`REDIS_URL`	Redis connection URL
`OPENCLAW_CONFIG`	Path to openclaw.json
`OPENCLAW_PORT`	Gateway port (default: 3000)
`OPENCLAW_LOG_LEVEL`	Log level: debug, info, warn, error
`API_KEY`	REST API bearer token

Docker Quick Reference

# Run with Docker
docker run -d --name openclaw --restart unless-stopped \
  -p 3000:3000 \
  -v ~/.openclaw:/app/data \
  -e ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-... \
  openclaw/openclaw:latest

# Docker Compose
docker compose up -d          # Start
docker compose down           # Stop
docker compose restart openclaw  # Restart
docker compose logs -f openclaw  # Logs
docker compose pull           # Pull new images
docker compose up -d --remove-orphans  # Update

# Check container health
docker inspect --format='{{.State.Health.Status}}' openclaw

Keyboard Shortcuts (Control UI)

Shortcut	Action
`Ctrl+K`	Focus search / command palette
`Ctrl+L`	Clear current session
`Ctrl+Enter`	Send message
`↑`	Edit last message
`Esc`	Cancel / close modal
`Ctrl+/`	Toggle sidebar
`Ctrl+Shift+C`	Copy last response

Common Config Patterns

Public Bot (Anyone Can Use)

{ "allowlist": ["*"] }

Team Only (Specific Users)

{
  "allowlist": [
    "telegram:123456789",
    "slack:U01ABC123",
    "whatsapp:+12125550100"
  ]
}

Rate Limited Workspace

{
  "rateLimiting": {
    "maxRequestsPerMinute": 5,
    "maxRequestsPerHour": 50,
    "maxRequestsPerDay": 200
  }
}

High-Security Sandbox

{
  "agent": "default",
  "sandbox": true,
  "skills": ["web-search"],
  "allowlist": ["*"],
  "sessionTimeout": 600
}

Cost-Optimized (Haiku by Default)

{
  "agents": {
    "cheap": {
      "provider": "anthropic",
      "model": "claude-haiku-4-5-20251001",
      "apiKey": "${ANTHROPIC_API_KEY}"
    }
  }
}