netclaw init

netclaw init runs the bootstrap wizard — four or five steps depending on your security posture — that get netclaw from zero to a working chat session. Run it once on a fresh install. If you need to adjust channels, search, exposure mode, or skills after setup, use netclaw config instead.

Usage

netclaw init

Before you begin

• LLM provider credentials — an OpenRouter API key (easiest) or Ollama installed locally
• Anthropic, OpenAI, or other cloud-provider API key if not using OpenRouter

Channel tokens (Slack, Discord, Mattermost), search providers, browser automation, skill sources, and network exposure are all configured in netclaw config after init — you don’t need them now.

Wizard steps

The wizard counts steps dynamically: 4 steps for Personal posture (the Enabled Features step is skipped), 5 steps for Team or Public.

Step 1 — Provider

Pick an LLM provider, enter credentials, and select a default model.

Available providers: Anthropic, GitHub Copilot, Ollama, OpenAI, llama.cpp / vLLM, OpenRouter, and Venice.ai. Self-hosted backends (Ollama, llama.cpp / vLLM) prompt for an endpoint URL next.

After credentials pass a connectivity check, you pick a default model from the discovered list.

Add or swap providers later with netclaw provider. Reassign model roles without re-running init with netclaw model.

Step 2 — Identity

Four substeps in order: agent name → communication style → your name → timezone.

Substep	Prompt	Notes
Agent name	Agent name:	Defaults to Netclaw if left blank
Communication style	Communication style:	Choose: Concise & casual, Concise & formal, Detailed & casual, Detailed & formal
Your name	Your name:	Optional — used to personalize responses
Timezone	Your timezone:	Defaults to local system timezone

Note

Webhook URLs and workspace directories are not collected here — they’re post-install settings in netclaw config.

Step 3 — Security Posture

Three postures are listed with a brief annotation; the hint line below explains the shell-access implications of each.

Posture	Who uses it	Shell access	Enabled Features step
Personal	Single user, high trust	Enabled with approval gates	Skipped (all features on by default)
Team	Multiple users, medium trust	Off	Shown (all features on by default)
Public	Untrusted users, low trust	Off	Shown (all features off by default)

You can tighten or loosen per-channel behavior later in netclaw config.

Step 4 — Enabled Features (Team and Public only)

Six toggles that control what’s available across all audiences:

Feature	Config key
Memory	Memory.Enabled
Search	Search.Enabled
Skills	SkillSync.Enabled
Scheduling	Scheduling.Enabled
SubAgents	SubAgents.Enabled
Webhooks	Webhooks.Enabled

Space to toggle, Enter to continue. Personal posture skips this step entirely — all features are on by default.

All six features default to enabled on Team posture; Public posture defaults them all off.

Step 5 — Health Check

Press Enter to run the health checks. The wizard validates config files, tests provider connectivity, and starts the daemon.

On a clean pass — all probes green — the wizard writes config and launches netclaw chat automatically. No extra confirmation needed.

If any check fails, the wizard stays on the summary screen and shows:

Setup complete with warnings. Run `netclaw daemon start`, then `netclaw chat`. Adjust settings with `netclaw config`.

If init fails partway through, the files it already wrote stay on disk. Rerun netclaw init or inspect the saved config and run netclaw doctor before trying again.

Existing install

Running netclaw init when ~/.netclaw/config/netclaw.json already exists opens an action menu instead of the bootstrap wizard.

Option	Effect
Redo identity setup	Re-runs the four-substep identity flow; provider and all other settings are kept
Open configuration editor	Launches netclaw config
Start over from scratch	Destructive reset — see below
Cancel	Exits with config untouched

Start over from scratch

Selecting “Start over from scratch” opens a scope chooser:

Scope	What’s deleted
Reset setup only	Config, secrets, identity, and personality (~/.netclaw/config/, ~/.netclaw/identity/, ~/.netclaw/soul/). Memory, sessions, and skills are kept.
Full reset	Everything under ~/.netclaw/
Cancel	Returns to the action menu

Both destructive scopes require two confirmations. The default selection at each confirmation is Cancel — you have to move to the Yes option and confirm twice before anything is deleted.

What init creates

File	Purpose
~/.netclaw/config/netclaw.json	Main configuration (includes security posture and feature flags)
~/.netclaw/config/secrets.json	Encrypted credentials
~/.netclaw/identity/	Agent identity and personality

After init

After init, netclaw responds to you locally via netclaw chat — and nothing else. No channels are connected, search is disabled, and the daemon is loopback-only. To wire up Slack, Discord, or Mattermost, enable web search, or expose the daemon to your team, run netclaw config next.

# Connect channels, enable search, set exposure mode, configure skills
netclaw config

# Verify everything is healthy
netclaw doctor

# Check daemon status
netclaw status

Related commands

• netclaw config — Post-install configuration for channels, search, exposure, skills, and webhooks
• netclaw doctor — Diagnose config and connectivity issues
• netclaw status — Check daemon health and connector states
• netclaw provider — Add or swap providers without re-running init
• netclaw model — Reassign model roles without re-running init

Resources

• OpenRouter documentation — API keys, model catalog, rate limits
• Ollama installation — Local model runtime setup
• Tailscale Funnel documentation — Exposing services to the public internet via Tailscale (configure in netclaw config after init)
• Cloudflare Tunnel documentation — Exposing services via Cloudflare’s network (configure in netclaw config after init)