OpenClaw cheat sheet

Every command, flag and slash command for openclaw — A local-first, multi-channel AI gateway with an embedded agent — route one agent across chat channels + MCP. 9+ commands, verified July 2026.

More than a coding CLI: a local Gateway that routes an agent across channels (Slack / Telegram / Discord / …) and both exposes and consumes MCP. Needs Node 22+.

Install

npm install -g openclaw@latest
openclaw onboard --install-daemon    # guided setup (Gateway daemon, channels, skills)

Start & run

openclaw agent --message "Ship checklist" --thinking high   # one-shot agent turn
openclaw agent --agent ops --model openai/gpt-5.4 --message "Summarize logs"
openclaw gateway status                                     # the local control plane
openclaw mcp serve --url wss://…                            # bridge OpenClaw to an MCP client

`agent` flags

Flag	What it does
`-m, --message <text>`	The prompt (`--message-file <path>` for a file)
`--agent <id>` / `--model <id>`	Agent / model override
`--thinking <level>`	`off` · `minimal` · `low` · `medium` · `high`
`--session-id <id>`	Continue a specific session
`--local`	Force the embedded agent (skip the Gateway)
`--json` · `--deliver`	JSON output · send the reply back to its channel

In-session commands

Command	What it does
`/status` · `/new` · `/reset`	Session status · new · reset
`/compact` · `/think <level>`	Compact history · set thinking level
`/usage` · `/verbose on\|off`	Usage · verbosity

Config

// ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json  (JSON5 — comments + trailing commas allowed)
// sections: gateway, agents, channels, models, mcp, skills, plugins, hooks, cron…

// env: ANTHROPIC_API_KEY · OPENAI_API_KEY · OPENROUTER_API_KEY · OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN

Common one-liners

openclaw onboard --install-daemon
openclaw agent --message "Draft the release notes" --thinking high
openclaw agent --agent ops --model openai/gpt-5.4 --message "Summarize logs" --deliver
openclaw mcp serve --url wss://gateway:18789 --token-file ~/.openclaw/gateway.token