ClawdBotAI

macOS Installation Guide

Install and configure ClawdBot on your Mac

Requirements

macOS Version: 10.15 (Catalina) or higher
Processor: Intel or Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3)
Node.js: 18.0 or higher
Disk Space: At least 200MB available

Install Node.js

If you haven't installed Node.js yet, here are the recommended ways:

Method 1: Using Homebrew (Recommended)

If you have Homebrew installed, verify and install node:

# Install Node.js LTS
brew install node@20

# Or latest version
brew install node

Method 2: Using nvm (Node Version Manager)

nvm allows you to manage multiple Node versions:

# Install nvm
curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.39.0/install.sh | bash

# Install Node.js
nvm install 20
nvm use 20

Method 3: Official Installer

Visit nodejs.org, download the macOS installer and follow the prompts.

Verify Node.js installation:

node --version  # Should show v18.0.0 or higher
npm --version   # Should show npm version

Install ClawdBot

Once Node.js is ready, install ClawdBot globally:

Option A: Install Script (Easiest)

curl -fsSL https://clawd.bot/install.sh | bash

Option B: npm Global Install

npm install -g clawdbot

If you encounter permission issues, fix npm permissions instead of using sudo:

# Fix npm global permissions
mkdir ~/.npm-global
npm config set prefix '~/.npm-global'
echo 'export PATH=~/.npm-global/bin:$PATH' >> ~/.zshrc
source ~/.zshrc

# Then try installing again
npm install -g clawdbot

Verify Installation

Check if ClawdBot is installed correctly:

# Check version
clawdbot --version

# Start ClawdBot
clawdbot

On first run, ClawdBot will guide you through the initial setup, including pairing your messaging app.

Troubleshooting

command not found: clawdbot

This usually means your npm global bin directory is not in your PATH. Try:

# Get npm prefix
npm config get prefix

# Add to PATH (for zsh)
echo 'export PATH="$(npm config get prefix)/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.zshrc
source ~/.zshrc

Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3)

ClawdBot runs natively on Apple Silicon. Ensure you are using a native Node.js version installed via standard Homebrew (not under Rosetta).

# Install native Node via Homebrew
arch -arm64 brew install node