Implementation:Openclaw Openclaw OnboardCommand Docker

Knowledge Sources	OpenClaw
Domains	Deployment, Docker
Last Updated	2026-02-06 12:00 GMT

Overview

Concrete tool for running the OpenClaw onboarding wizard provided by the onboardCommand function, with Docker-specific flags for containerized execution.

Description

The onboardCommand function in src/commands/onboard.ts is the entry point for all OpenClaw onboarding flows. It normalizes deprecated auth choices, enforces risk acknowledgement for non-interactive mode, handles optional config resets, and dispatches to either the interactive or non-interactive onboarding runner.

For Docker deployments, two key adaptations apply: the --no-install-daemon flag sets installDaemon: false to skip system daemon installation (the container manages the process lifecycle), and the --non-interactive flag enables fully automated configuration via CLI flags alone. The function delegates to runInteractiveOnboarding or runNonInteractiveOnboarding depending on the nonInteractive option.

Usage

Import and call onboardCommand programmatically, or invoke via the CLI as openclaw onboard. In Docker Compose deployments, the docker-setup.sh script calls it as: docker compose run --rm openclaw-cli onboard --no-install-daemon.

Code Reference

Source Location

• Repository: openclaw
• File: src/commands/onboard.ts (lines 12-80)

Signature

export async function onboardCommand(
  opts: OnboardOptions,
  runtime: RuntimeEnv = defaultRuntime,
): Promise<void>

Import

import { onboardCommand } from "../commands/onboard.js";
import type { OnboardOptions } from "../commands/onboard-types.js";

I/O Contract

Inputs

Name	Type	Required	Description
opts	OnboardOptions	Yes	Configuration object with onboarding parameters.
opts.nonInteractive	boolean	No	When true, runs fully automated onboarding without TTY prompts. Requires acceptRisk: true.
opts.acceptRisk	boolean	No	Required for non-interactive mode. Acknowledges security implications.
opts.authChoice	AuthChoice	No	AI provider authentication method (e.g., "token", "setup-token", "openai-codex", "gemini-api-key").
opts.flow	"advanced" | "manual"	No	Onboarding flow type. "manual" is an alias for "advanced".
opts.installDaemon	boolean	No	When false (via --no-install-daemon), skips system daemon installation. Essential for Docker.
opts.gatewayBind	GatewayBind	No	Gateway bind mode: "loopback", "lan", "auto", "custom", or "tailnet".
opts.gatewayAuth	GatewayAuthChoice	No	Gateway authentication type: "token" or "password".
opts.gatewayToken	string	No	Pre-generated gateway authentication token.
opts.workspace	string	No	Workspace directory path.
opts.reset	boolean	No	When true, clears existing config before onboarding.
opts.skipChannels	boolean	No	Skip messaging channel setup during onboarding.
opts.skipHealth	boolean	No	Skip the post-onboarding health check.
runtime	RuntimeEnv	No	Runtime environment for logging and process control. Defaults to defaultRuntime.

Outputs

Name	Type	Description
(return value)	Promise<void>	Resolves when onboarding completes. Calls runtime.exit(1) on validation errors (deprecated auth choice in non-interactive mode, missing risk acknowledgement).

Usage Examples

Basic Usage

import { onboardCommand } from "../commands/onboard.js";

// Interactive Docker onboarding (used by docker-setup.sh)
await onboardCommand({
  installDaemon: false,
});

// Non-interactive Docker onboarding for CI/CD
await onboardCommand({
  nonInteractive: true,
  acceptRisk: true,
  authChoice: "token",
  tokenProvider: "anthropic",
  token: process.env.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY,
  gatewayBind: "lan",
  gatewayAuth: "token",
  gatewayToken: process.env.OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN,
  installDaemon: false,
  skipChannels: true,
  skipHealth: true,
});

Docker Compose CLI Invocation

# Interactive onboarding (from docker-setup.sh)
docker compose -f docker-compose.yml run --rm openclaw-cli onboard --no-install-daemon

# Non-interactive onboarding for automated deployments
docker compose -f docker-compose.yml run --rm openclaw-cli onboard \
  --non-interactive \
  --accept-risk \
  --auth-choice token \
  --token-provider anthropic \
  --token "$ANTHROPIC_API_KEY" \
  --gateway-bind lan \
  --gateway-auth token \
  --gateway-token "$OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN" \
  --no-install-daemon \
  --skip-channels \
  --skip-health

Related Pages

Implements Principle

• Principle:Openclaw_Openclaw_Container_Onboarding

Requires Environment

• Environment:Openclaw_Openclaw_Docker_Deployment_Environment