How to Install OpenClaw on macOS

Prerequisites

• ✓An Apple Silicon Mac (M1/M2/M3/M4).
• ✓The host Mac running macOS Sequoia or later.
• ✓Around 60 GB free disk space per VM.
• ✓About 20 minutes of setup time.
• ✓npm available on the VM so you can run `npm install -g openclaw@latest`.

Steps

1. 1

   Install Lume on your Apple Silicon Mac

   Lume is the VM runtime that gives you an isolated macOS environment where OpenClaw runs without touching your main system. Install it on the host first, then fix your PATH so the `lume` command works in every terminal, and verify the install before you move on.

   bashCopy

   /bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/trycua/cua/main/libs/lume/scripts/install.sh)"

2. 2

   Add Lume to your PATH and verify the CLI

   local/bin` but that directory isn’t on your PATH, your shell won’t find the `lume` command. Append it to your shell config, reload, and confirm that Lume is available before you try to create a VM.

   bashCopy

   echo 'export PATH="$PATH:$HOME/.local/bin"' >> ~/.zshrc && source ~/.zshrc
   
   lume --version

3. 3

   Create the macOS VM for OpenClaw

   Now you create a dedicated macOS VM named `openclaw` that will host the gateway. This command downloads the latest macOS IPSW, provisions the VM, and opens a VNC window so you can walk through Apple’s Setup Assistant.

   bashCopy

   lume create openclaw --os macos --ipsw latest

4. 4

   Complete macOS Setup Assistant and enable SSH

   Use the VNC window to finish the standard macOS setup so the VM has a user account you can SSH into. At the end, enable Remote Login so the host can connect over SSH; without this, all later steps that run inside the VM will fail.

5. 5

   Get the VM IP address from Lume

   You need the VM’s internal IP to SSH in from your host. x` range) for the next step.

   bashCopy

   lume get openclaw

6. 6

   SSH into the macOS VM

   With SSH enabled and the IP in hand, connect from your host into the VM’s shell. Use the username you created during Setup Assistant and the IP from `lume get` so you’re installing OpenClaw in the right environment.

   bashCopy

   ssh youruser@192.168.64.X

7. 7

   Install OpenClaw inside the VM and run onboarding

   All OpenClaw installation happens inside the VM so the gateway stays sandboxed. Install the latest OpenClaw globally with npm, then run the onboarding flow to configure your model provider and install the daemon that keeps the gateway running.

   bashCopy

   npm install -g openclaw@latest
   openclaw onboard --install-daemon

8. 8

   Configure OpenClaw channels in the VM

   OpenClaw reads its channel configuration from a JSON file in your home directory. Edit this file to add WhatsApp and Telegram (or other channels), then run the login flow from inside the VM so browser-based QR flows happen in the right place.

   bashCopy

   nano ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json

9. 9

   Add WhatsApp and Telegram channel config

   Define which phone numbers can DM your agent on WhatsApp and add your Telegram bot token. This JSON snippet lives in the same config file you opened in the previous step and controls how OpenClaw exposes your agent over chat.

   jsonCopy

   {
     channels: {
       whatsapp: {
         dmPolicy: "allowlist",
         allowFrom: ["+15551234567"],
       },
       telegram: {
         botToken: "YOUR_BOT_TOKEN",
       },
     },
   }

10. 10

    Log in to WhatsApp from inside the VM

    To bind your WhatsApp account, you need to run the login command from the VM so the QR code session is tied to the sandboxed browser. If you run this on the host by mistake, the QR flow won’t connect to the OpenClaw instance that’s actually handling messages.

    bashCopy

    openclaw channels login

11. 11

    Run the macOS VM headlessly with OpenClaw in the background

    Once everything is configured, you can shut down the VNC UI and run the VM without a display. Lume keeps the VM alive in the background, and the OpenClaw daemon inside the VM keeps your gateway up so you can treat it like a small always-on server.

    bashCopy

    lume stop openclaw
    lume run openclaw --no-display
    
    ssh youruser@192.168.64.X "openclaw status"

12. 12

    Snapshot a golden image of your clean OpenClaw VM

    After you have a working OpenClaw setup, clone the VM into a golden image so you can reset quickly if you break something later. You can then delete and recreate the working VM from this snapshot instead of reinstalling macOS and OpenClaw from scratch.

    bashCopy

    lume stop openclaw
    lume clone openclaw openclaw-golden
    
    lume stop openclaw && lume delete openclaw
    lume clone openclaw-golden openclaw
    lume run openclaw --no-display

Configuration

Troubleshooting

lume get openclaw

echo 'export PATH="$PATH:$HOME/.local/bin"' >> ~/.zshrc && source ~/.zshrc

ssh youruser@192.168.64.X
openclaw channels login

Frequently asked questions