Install NemoClaw¶

This page assumes you already completed the NemoClaw Prerequisites and verified that all of the following work:

curl --version
docker version
docker run hello-world
openshell --version
node -v
npm -v
git --version

If any of those commands fail, go back to the prerequisites page first.

1. Install NemoClaw¶

Run the official NVIDIA installer:

curl -fsSL https://www.nvidia.com/nemoclaw.sh | bash

Expected result:

Node.js is detected or installed
the NemoClaw CLI is installed
the command nemoclaw --help becomes available

If you use nvm or fnm and nemoclaw is not found immediately after installation, reload your shell:

source ~/.bashrc
nemoclaw --help

Reference: NemoClaw Quick Start

2. Start onboarding¶

nemoclaw onboard

During onboarding, NemoClaw will typically:

Run preflight checks
Start the OpenShell gateway
Ask you to choose an inference provider
Create your first sandboxed OpenClaw assistant
Show you how to connect to that sandbox

On Ubuntu with Docker Engine, the preflight checks should report Docker as running and reachable.

3. What successful onboarding looks like¶

The exact wording may change over time, but a successful onboarding run should look roughly like this:

NemoClaw Onboarding
===================

[1/7] Preflight checks
✓ Docker is running
✓ Container runtime: docker
✓ openshell CLI: openshell ...
✓ Port 8080 available (OpenShell gateway)
✓ Port 18789 available (NemoClaw dashboard)

[2/7] Starting OpenShell gateway
✓ Checking Docker
✓ Downloading gateway
✓ Initializing environment
✓ Starting gateway
✓ Gateway ready

[3/7] Choose an inference provider
...

[4/7] Creating your first sandbox
✓ Sandbox created

[5/7] Final verification
✓ Gateway healthy
✓ Sandbox reachable

4. Verify the gateway¶

openshell status

Expected:

Server Status

  Gateway: nemoclaw
  Server: https://127.0.0.1:8080
  Status: Connected
  Version: ...

5. List your sandboxes¶

nemoclaw list

Expected:

Sandboxes:
  my-assistant *
    model: claude-haiku-4-5  provider: anthropic-prod  CPU  policies: discord, docker, npm, pypi, telegram

* means the default sandbox.

6. Connect to your sandbox¶

nemoclaw my-assistant connect

Replace my-assistant with the actual sandbox name shown by nemoclaw list.

When connected, your prompt changes:

sandbox@my-assistant:~$

This is no longer your Ubuntu host. You are now inside the sandbox.

Host vs sandbox¶

This distinction is important.

On the host¶

Your prompt looks like this:

randall@your-computer:~$

Use the host for commands like docker version, openshell status, nemoclaw list, nemoclaw onboard.

Inside the sandbox¶

Your prompt looks like this:

sandbox@my-assistant:~$

Use the sandbox for commands like openclaw --version, openclaw update.

Do not confuse the two environments when troubleshooting.

Optional: update OpenClaw inside the sandbox¶

npm config set prefix ~/.local
export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"
npm i -g openclaw@latest

To make the path persistent:

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

Troubleshooting¶

`nemoclaw: command not found`¶

source ~/.bashrc
nemoclaw --help

Permission denied on Docker socket¶

Your user is probably not yet active in the docker group.

groups

If docker is missing:

sudo usermod -aG docker $USER

Then log out and log back in before retrying.

Stale Docker credential configuration¶

If Docker fails with a missing credential helper, check ~/.docker/config.json. If it contains "credsStore": "desktop", remove that line and retry:

docker run hello-world

Sandbox listed locally but not present in the gateway¶

Check the live gateway, then list sandboxes again:

openshell status
nemoclaw list

If necessary, rerun onboarding:

nemoclaw onboard

When you are ready¶

If all of the following work, your NemoClaw installation is successful:

openshell status
nemoclaw list
nemoclaw my-assistant connect

You are now ready to configure providers, connect channels, and continue with the next steps.