OpenClaw Migration Guide

This guide walks you through migrating from Moltbot or Clawdbot to OpenClaw, the final name for your AI assistant.

[!CAUTION] Critical Security Change: The auth: "none" mode has been permanently removed. You must configure authentication before upgrading.

Prerequisites

Before migrating, ensure you have:

• Node.js 18+ installed
• Access to your current configuration files
• Backup of ~/.config/moltbot/ or ~/.config/clawdbot/

Quick Migration (Automated)

The fastest way to migrate:

# 1. Install OpenClaw
npm install -g openclaw@latest

# 2. Run the migration wizard
openclaw migrate --from-moltbot
# or
openclaw migrate --from-clawdbot

# 3. Install the daemon
openclaw onboard --install-daemon

# 4. Verify
openclaw security audit

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Manual Migration Steps

Step 1: Backup Current Configuration

# Backup Moltbot config
cp -r ~/.config/moltbot ~/.config/moltbot.backup

# Or backup Clawdbot config
cp -r ~/.config/clawdbot ~/.config/clawdbot.backup

Step 2: Uninstall Old Packages

# Uninstall Moltbot
npm uninstall -g moltbot

# Or uninstall Clawdbot
npm uninstall -g clawdbot

Step 3: Install OpenClaw

npm install -g openclaw@latest

Verify installation:

openclaw --version
# Should show: openclaw v2026.1.29 or later

Step 4: Migrate Configuration

The configuration file location has changed:

Old Location	New Location
~/.config/moltbot/	~/.openclaw/
~/.config/clawdbot/	~/.openclaw/

Copy your configuration:

# Create the new directory
mkdir -p ~/.openclaw

# Copy from Moltbot
cp ~/.config/moltbot/config.json ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json

# Or copy from Clawdbot
cp ~/.config/clawdbot/config.json ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json

Step 5: Update Authentication (REQUIRED)

[!IMPORTANT] If you were using auth: "none", this is a breaking change. You must configure authentication.

Option 1: Password Authentication

# Generate password hash
openclaw auth hash-password

Update your config:

{
  "gateway": {
    "auth": {
      "mode": "password",
      "passwordHash": "$argon2id$v=19$m=65536,t=3,p=4$..."
    }
  }
}

Option 2: Token Authentication

# Generate a secure token
openssl rand -hex 32

Update your config:

{
  "gateway": {
    "auth": {
      "mode": "token",
      "token": "${OPENCLAW_TOKEN}"
    }
  }
}

Step 6: Update File Permissions

chmod 600 ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json
chmod 600 ~/.openclaw/*.key
chmod 700 ~/.openclaw/

Step 7: Install System Daemon

openclaw onboard --install-daemon

This installs:

• macOS: launchd user service
• Linux: systemd user service

Command Reference

All commands have been renamed:

Old Command	New Command
moltbot onboard	openclaw onboard
moltbot gateway --port 18789	openclaw gateway --port 18789
moltbot agent --message "Hello"	openclaw agent --message "Hello"
moltbot security audit	openclaw security audit
moltbot plugins list	openclaw plugins list
moltbot config show	openclaw config show
moltbot auth hash-password	openclaw auth hash-password
moltbot update	openclaw update

CI/CD Pipeline Updates

Update your automation scripts and pipelines:

GitHub Actions

# Before
jobs:
  security:
    steps:
      - run: npm install -g moltbot
      - run: moltbot security audit

# After
jobs:
  security:
    steps:
      - run: npm install -g openclaw
      - run: openclaw security audit

GitLab CI

# Before
security-audit:
  script:
    - npm install -g moltbot
    - moltbot security audit

# After
security-audit:
  script:
    - npm install -g openclaw
    - openclaw security audit

Shell Scripts

# Find and replace in all scripts
find . -name "*.sh" -exec sed -i 's/moltbot/openclaw/g' {} \;

Extension Updates

If you’re using extensions, the scope has changed:

Old Scope	New Scope
@moltbot/*	@openclaw/*

Update your extensions:

# Remove old extensions
npm uninstall @moltbot/extension-name

# Install new extensions
npm install @openclaw/extension-name

Systemd Service Updates (Linux)

If you had a custom systemd service:

# Stop old service
systemctl --user stop moltbot

# Disable old service
systemctl --user disable moltbot

# Remove old service file
rm ~/.config/systemd/user/moltbot.service

# Install new daemon
openclaw onboard --install-daemon

# Reload and start
systemctl --user daemon-reload
systemctl --user enable --now openclaw

Launchd Service Updates (macOS)

# Unload old service
launchctl unload ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.moltbot.agent.plist

# Remove old plist
rm ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.moltbot.agent.plist

# Install new daemon
openclaw onboard --install-daemon

Verification Checklist

After migration, verify everything works:

# 1. Check version
openclaw --version

# 2. View configuration
openclaw config show

# 3. Run security audit
openclaw security audit

# 4. Test gateway
openclaw gateway --port 18789 &
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer ${OPENCLAW_TOKEN}" http://127.0.0.1:18789/health

# 5. Check daemon status
# Linux
systemctl --user status openclaw
# macOS
launchctl list | grep openclaw

Troubleshooting

”Command not found: openclaw”

Ensure the npm global bin is in your PATH:

export PATH="$PATH:$(npm config get prefix)/bin"

“Configuration file not found”

Run the migration wizard:

openclaw migrate --from-moltbot

“Authentication failed”

You likely had auth: "none" configured. Set up proper authentication:

openclaw auth hash-password

Service Not Starting

Check logs:

# Linux
journalctl --user -u openclaw -f

# macOS
log show --predicate 'subsystem == "com.openclaw.agent"' --last 1h

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Next Steps

• OpenClaw Announcement - Full rebrand details
• Security Fundamentals - Core concepts
• Gateway Hardening - Configuration best practices
• Security Audit Checklist - Complete audit guide

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Need help? Join the OpenClaw Discord community.