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Lesson 2. What You Need to Get Started#

Why this lesson?#

Before installing OpenClaw, you need to prepare your computer. Don’t worry — you only need to install one thing: Node.js. In this lesson, we’ll explain what it is and walk you through installing it on your system step by step.

What is Node.js?#

Node.js is a program that lets you run applications written in the JavaScript language. OpenClaw is written in JavaScript, so it won’t work without Node.js.

Think of it this way: to open a Word file, you need Microsoft Word. To run OpenClaw, you need Node.js. It’s simply the “engine” for running the program.

Important: you need Node.js version 22 or newer.

How to check if you already have Node.js#

Open a terminal (we’ll explain what that is in detail in the next lesson) and type:

node --version
  • If you see something like v22.12.0 — great, Node.js is already installed!
  • If you get an error like “command not found” — you need to install it.

Installing Node.js#

Choose your operating system and follow the instructions.

🍎 macOS (Mac)#

Method 1: Download from the website (easiest)

  1. Open your browser and go to: https://nodejs.org
  2. Click the green button with version 22.x LTS (LTS means “Long-Term Support” — a stable version)
  3. A .pkg file will download — open it
  4. Follow the installer instructions: “Continue” → “Continue” → “Install”
  5. Done!

Method 2: Using Homebrew (if you know what that is)

brew install node@22

🪟 Windows#

Recommendation from OpenClaw developers: on Windows, it’s best to use WSL2 — a way to run Linux right inside Windows. But if that sounds complicated, you can start without it.

Simple method: download the installer

  1. Open your browser and go to: https://nodejs.org
  2. Click the button with version 22.x LTS
  3. A .msi file will download — open it
  4. Follow the installer steps: “Next” → “Next” → “Install”
  5. Important: check the box “Automatically install the necessary tools” if it appears
  6. Done!

Advanced method: using WSL2 (recommended)

WSL2 (Windows Subsystem for Linux) is a built-in Windows feature that lets you run Linux. OpenClaw works best with it.

  1. Open PowerShell as Administrator (right-click the Start button → “Terminal (Admin)”)
  2. Type: 
    wsl --install
  3. Restart your computer
  4. After restart, an Ubuntu window will open — create a username and password
  5. Now install Node.js in Ubuntu: 
    curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_22.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt-get install -y nodejs

🐧 Linux (Ubuntu / Debian)#

Open a terminal and run:

curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_22.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt-get install -y nodejs

sudo is a command that runs an action as an administrator. The system will ask for your password — that’s normal. When you type your password, the characters won’t appear on screen — just type it and press Enter.

Verifying the installation#

After installation, open a terminal and type:

node --version

You should see a version number, for example:

v22.12.0

If the number starts with v22 or higher — everything is great! ✅

Also check that npm was installed (a package manager — a program for installing other programs):

npm --version

You should see a number like 10.9.0.

What else you’ll need#

  • 🌐 Internet connection — OpenClaw communicates with AI models over the internet
  • 🔑 AI service subscription — Anthropic (Claude) or OpenAI (ChatGPT). More on this in Lesson 4
  • ⏱️ 15–20 minutes of free time — for installation and setup

Lesson summary#

  • OpenClaw requires Node.js version 22 or newer
  • Node.js is the “engine” that runs OpenClaw
  • You can install Node.js in 2 minutes by downloading it from nodejs.org
  • On Windows, it’s recommended to use WSL2 for better compatibility
  • After installation, check the version with the node --version command

In the next lesson, we’ll install OpenClaw itself — with a single command!