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Upgrading and migrating

WednesdayAI releases frequently. Treat updates like shipping infrastructure: update, run checks, restart, verify. This page covers upgrading in place, rolling back, and migrating to a new machine.

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Before you upgrade

  1. Know your install method — global npm/pnpm, or from source (git checkout).
  2. Know how your gateway runs — foreground terminal, systemd service (Linux), or macOS menubar app.
  3. Snapshot your config: 
    cp ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json.bak
Re-run the installer — it detects your existing installation, upgrades in place, and runs openclaw doctor afterward: 
curl -fsSL https://wednesdayai.dev/install.sh | bash
Skip re-running the onboarding wizard: 
curl -fsSL https://wednesdayai.dev/install.sh | bash -s -- --no-onboard
For source installs: 
curl -fsSL https://wednesdayai.dev/install.sh | bash -s -- --install-method git --no-onboard

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Upgrade (openclaw update)

openclaw update is the preferred path for source installs. It runs a safe update flow: requires a clean worktree, switches to the selected channel, fetches and rebases, installs deps, rebuilds core and the Control UI, runs openclaw doctor, and restarts the gateway (use --no-restart to skip). 
openclaw update
openclaw update --dry-run            # preview without applying
On npm/pnpm installs (no git metadata), openclaw update tries to update via your package manager; if it cannot detect the install, use the manual path below. Select a release channel, or pin a one-off tag/version: 
openclaw update --channel stable     # production releases (default)
openclaw update --channel beta       # pre-release builds
openclaw update --channel dev        # bleeding edge
openclaw update --tag 2026.4.0       # one-off version/dist-tag

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Control UI — Update & Restart

The control panel has an Update & Restart action (RPC update.run) for source installs. It runs the same source-update flow, writes a restart report, restarts the gateway, and pings the last active session with the result. If the rebase fails, the gateway aborts and restarts without applying the update.

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Upgrade (manual)

npm install -g openclaw@latest

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After upgrading

openclaw --version       # confirm the new version
openclaw doctor          # config migrations and channel health
openclaw gateway restart # apply the new binary
openclaw status          # verify everything is running
If channels stopped working after an upgrade, run openclaw doctor. WhatsApp auth state is migrated only via doctor, and doctor also warns if the service is now running on Bun or a version-managed Node path — WhatsApp and Telegram require a stable system Node.

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Auto-updater (optional)

The gateway can update itself on a schedule. Disabled by default: 
{
  update: {
    channel: "stable",
    auto: {
      enabled: true,
      stableDelayHours: 6,
      stableJitterHours: 12,
    },
  },
}
The dev channel never auto-applies — use manual openclaw update.

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Rolling back

npm install -g openclaw@<last-good-version>
openclaw doctor
openclaw gateway restart
Find published versions: npm view openclaw versions --json

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Migrating to a new machine

1

Export from the old machine

cp ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json ~/openclaw-config-backup.json
tar czf ~/openclaw-credentials-backup.tgz ~/.openclaw/credentials/
tar czf ~/openclaw-sessions-backup.tgz ~/.openclaw/agents/   # optional, can be large
2

Install on the new machine

Follow Getting started to install and onboard. Stop the gateway after onboarding completes.
3

Restore

cp ~/openclaw-config-backup.json ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json
tar xzf ~/openclaw-credentials-backup.tgz -C ~/
tar xzf ~/openclaw-sessions-backup.tgz -C ~/
4

Verify

openclaw doctor
openclaw gateway start
openclaw status
WhatsApp credentials tied to a phone’s linked-device pairing may need re-scanning the QR on the new host. If WhatsApp shows disconnected after migration, run openclaw channels logout --channel whatsapp && openclaw channels login --channel whatsapp.
Related: Doctor · Troubleshooting · Getting started