CLI Reference

openclaw [options] COMMAND

Options:
  --config, -c PATH    Config file path (default: ./openclaw.yaml)
  --log-level LEVEL    Override log level: DEBUG, INFO, WARNING, ERROR
  --format FORMAT      Output format: text, json (default: text)
  --no-color           Disable ANSI color in output
  --version            Show version and exit
  --help               Show this message and exit

openclaw run [OPTIONS] TASK

Options:
  --agent NAME         Agent name from config to use (default: first configured)
  --output FILE        Write output to file instead of stdout
  --timeout SECONDS    Override task timeout
  --max-tokens N       Override max tokens for this task
  --dry-run            Validate task and config without executing

Examples:
  openclaw run "Summarize the news from today"
  openclaw run --output report.md "Research competitor pricing"
  openclaw run --agent code-reviewer "Review the changes in diff.txt"
  echo "my task" | openclaw run -   # read task from stdin

openclaw start [OPTIONS]
  --port PORT          Port to listen on (default: 8080)
  --host HOST          Host to bind to (default: 0.0.0.0)
  --workers N          Number of worker processes (default: 4)
  --daemon             Run as background daemon (detach from terminal)

openclaw stop          # Graceful shutdown; finish in-progress tasks
openclaw status        # Show running status, uptime, and task statistics
openclaw restart       # Graceful restart (zero-downtime for queued tasks)

openclaw config validate        # Validate config file; exit 0 if valid
openclaw config show            # Show effective config (with env var overrides)
openclaw config init            # Interactive wizard to generate a starter config
openclaw config get KEY         # Get a specific config value (e.g., llm.model)
openclaw config set KEY VALUE   # Override config value in the local config file

openclaw task list              # List recent tasks (status, duration, task IDs)
openclaw task status TASK_ID    # Get status of a specific task
openclaw task output TASK_ID    # Print the output of a completed task
openclaw task cancel TASK_ID    # Cancel a queued or running task
openclaw task retry TASK_ID     # Re-run a failed task with the same input

openclaw plugin list            # List installed plugin packages and their tools
openclaw plugin install PKG     # Install a plugin package (pip install + register)
openclaw plugin uninstall PKG   # Remove a plugin package
openclaw plugin validate PKG    # Validate that a plugin package loads correctly

# Bash (add to ~/.bashrc)
eval "$(_OPENCLAW_COMPLETE=bash_source openclaw)"

# Zsh (add to ~/.zshrc)
eval "$(_OPENCLAW_COMPLETE=zsh_source openclaw)"

# Fish (save to ~/.config/fish/completions/openclaw.fish)
_OPENCLAW_COMPLETE=fish_source openclaw > ~/.config/fish/completions/openclaw.fish

# Get the output of the most recent failed task
openclaw task list --format json | jq -r '[.[] | select(.status=="failed")] | first | .task_id' | xargs openclaw task output

# Run a task and extract just a JSON field from the output
openclaw run --format json "Return a JSON object with keys name and version" | jq '.output | fromjson | .version'

# Batch-run tasks from a file and check all succeeded
while IFS= read -r task; do
  openclaw run --format json "$task" | jq -e '.status == "completed"' || echo "FAILED: $task"
done < tasks.txt