Complete reference for openclaw configure, running the interactive setup wizard, targeting specific configuration sections, and understanding the guardrails that protect your setup.
What is Openclaw Configure?
It’s the interactive setup wizard that walks you through the full OpenClaw configuration in guided prompts, models, channels, Gateway mode, web tools, and auth.
Unlike openclaw config set which writes individual values directly, configure is designed to be safe for non-destructive partial edits: you can re-run it at any time and it only updates what you explicitly change in the wizard. It’s the recommended entry point for initial setup and for making structural changes like switching model providers or adding a new channel.
Full Wizard vs. Targeted Section
Running openclaw configure bare launches the entire multi-step wizard. If you only need to change one thing, say, swap your default model or add a web search provider, use –section to jump directly to that part of the wizard without touching anything else.
You can chain multiple –section flags in a single command to run two or three sections back-to-back. The Section Reference below lists what each section covers. If you’re hitting a daemon install block, jump straight to Important Behaviors, the auth guardrail is likely the cause.
Basic Command
The bare command and its alias, two ways to reach the same interactive wizard.
Alias: Running openclaw config without any subcommands (like get or set) acts as a shortcut that opens this exact same configure wizard.
| openclawconfigure Runs the full interactive setup prompt, walks through every configuration section in sequence. Safe to re-run at any point; values you skip or don’t change are preserved. Use this for first-time setup or when you need to review the entire configuration in one pass. Re-running the full wizard does not wipe your existing config. It only writes changes for steps where you actively confirm a new value. |
basic usage
# Full wizard — all sections openclaw configure # Alias — identical behavior openclaw config
Targeting Specific Sections
Use –section to run only the parts of the wizard you need. Chainable, pass multiple –section flags in a single command to run several sections back-to-back.
| openclaw configure–section<name> Opens the wizard specifically for the named section, skipping all others. Your existing configuration for all other sections remains untouched. Multiple –section flags can be chained to run two or more sections in sequence. |
section targeting examples
# Model config only openclaw configure --section model # Web tools config only openclaw configure --section web # Chain two sections — model then channels openclaw configure --section model --section channels
Section Reference
What each named section covers when passed to –section.
| model –section model Safely switch your default model or update the agents.defaults.models allowlist, the list that populates the /model chat menu, without touching other settings. | web –section web Interactively configure web tools. Prompts you to select a search provider (Brave, Perplexity, Gemini, etc.) and securely stores your API key. |
| channels –section channels Configure channel-oriented services. Interactively prompts for credentials and allowlists for Slack, Discord, Matrix, Microsoft Teams, and others. | gateway –section gateway Configure where the Gateway runs. Automatically updates gateway.mode in your config based on your selection. |
The model section is the safest way to change your default model or update model allowlists. It scopes the wizard to exactly those settings, preventing accidental changes to your channel auth or Gateway configuration.
Important Behaviors
Four behaviors that affect how the wizard works in practice, read these before running configure in a production environment or automated script.
| config alias Running openclaw config without any subcommands (like get or set) acts as a shortcut that opens this exact same configure wizard. If you intended to run config get or config set, make sure you include the subcommand, otherwise you’ll land in the interactive wizard unexpectedly. |
| Gateway mode auto-update Whenever you use the wizard to select where the Gateway runs, it automatically updates the gateway.mode in your configuration. This is a write side-effect that happens without a separate prompt, be intentional about which mode you select in the Gateway section. |
| Channel credential prompts When configuring channel-oriented services like Slack, Discord, Matrix, or Microsoft Teams, the wizard will interactively prompt you for necessary credentials and allowlists. Have your bot tokens and workspace IDs ready before entering the channels section to avoid an incomplete configuration. |
Auth Guardrail — Daemon Install Block
If your configuration contains both a gateway.auth.token and a gateway.auth.password but gateway.auth.mode hasn’t been explicitly set, the configure wizard will block daemon installation until you choose an explicit auth mode. This prevents a misconfigured Gateway from starting with ambiguous auth. Fix it by running openclaw configure –section gateway and selecting the auth mode explicitly.
