Setup

NanoClaw Setup

Run all commands automatically. Only pause when user action is required (creating bot tokens, sending a test message).

1. Install Dependencies

npm install

2. Install Container Runtime

First, detect the platform and check what's available:

echo "Platform: $(uname -s)"
which container && echo "Apple Container: installed" || echo "Apple Container: not installed"
which docker && docker info >/dev/null 2>&1 && echo "Docker: installed and running" || echo "Docker: not installed or not running"

If NOT on macOS (Linux, etc.)

Apple Container is macOS-only. Use Docker instead.

Tell the user:

You're on Linux, so we'll use Docker for container isolation. Let me set that up now.

Use the /convert-to-docker skill to convert the codebase to Docker, then continue to Section 3.

If on macOS

If Apple Container is already installed: Continue to Section 3.

If Apple Container is NOT installed: Ask the user:

NanoClaw needs a container runtime for isolated agent execution. You have two options:

1. Apple Container (default) - macOS-native, lightweight, designed for Apple silicon
2. Docker - Cross-platform, widely used, works on macOS and Linux

Which would you prefer?

Option A: Apple Container

Tell the user:

Apple Container is required for running agents in isolated environments.

1. Download the latest .pkg from https://github.com/apple/container/releases
2. Double-click to install
3. Run container system start to start the service

Let me know when you've completed these steps.

Wait for user confirmation, then verify:

container system start
container --version

Note: NanoClaw automatically starts the Apple Container system when it launches, so you don't need to start it manually after reboots.

Option B: Docker

Tell the user:

You've chosen Docker. Let me set that up now.

Use the /convert-to-docker skill to convert the codebase to Docker, then continue to Section 3.

3. Configure Codex Authentication

Ask the user if they want to use Codex OAuth (preferred) or an API key.

Option A: Codex OAuth (recommended)

Verify the user is logged in with Codex CLI and copy the auth file into the main session:

codex login status || true
mkdir -p data/sessions/main/.codex
cp ~/.codex/auth.json data/sessions/main/.codex/auth.json
chmod 600 data/sessions/main/.codex/auth.json

Option B: API key

Create .env and set the key:

echo 'CODEX_API_KEY=' > .env

Then verify:

KEY=$(grep "^CODEX_API_KEY=" .env | cut -d= -f2)
[ -n "$KEY" ] && echo "API key configured: ${KEY:0:10}...${KEY: -4}" || echo "Missing"

4. Build Container Image

Build the NanoClaw agent container:

./container/build.sh

This creates the nanoclaw-agent:latest image with Node.js, Chromium, Codex CLI, and agent-browser.

Verify the build succeeded by running a simple test (this auto-detects which runtime you're using):

if which docker >/dev/null 2>&1 && docker info >/dev/null 2>&1; then
  echo '{}' | docker run -i --entrypoint /bin/echo nanoclaw-agent:latest "Container OK" || echo "Container build failed"
else
  echo '{}' | container run -i --entrypoint /bin/echo nanoclaw-agent:latest "Container OK" || echo "Container build failed"
fi

5. Telegram Bot Setup

USER ACTION REQUIRED

Ask the user to create a Telegram bot with @BotFather and provide the bot token.

Store the token in .env:

echo "TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN=${TOKEN}" >> .env

Validate the token:

TOKEN=$(grep "^TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN=" .env | cut -d= -f2)
curl -s "https://api.telegram.org/bot${TOKEN}/getMe"

Optional: If the user wants to restrict access, set allowlists:

echo "TELEGRAM_ALLOWED_USER_IDS=123456789" >> .env
echo "TELEGRAM_ALLOWED_USERNAMES=yourusername" >> .env

6. Configure Assistant Name

Ask the user:

What trigger word do you want to use? (default: Andy)

Messages starting with @TriggerWord will be sent to Codex.

If they choose something other than Andy, update it in these places:

1. groups/MEMORY.md - Change "# Andy" and "You are Andy" to the new name
2. groups/main/MEMORY.md - Same changes at the top
3. data/registered_groups.json - Use @NewName as the trigger when registering groups

Store their choice - you'll use it when creating the registered_groups.json and when telling them how to test.

7. Register Main Channel

For Telegram, the first private DM can auto-register as the main channel.

Start the app briefly and ask the user to send a DM to the bot while it's running:

timeout 15 npm run dev || true

If auto-registration is disabled (TELEGRAM_AUTO_REGISTER=false), manually register the chat by querying the DB and writing data/registered_groups.json:

sqlite3 store/messages.db "SELECT DISTINCT chat_jid FROM messages WHERE chat_jid LIKE 'telegram:%' ORDER BY timestamp DESC LIMIT 5"

Then update data/registered_groups.json:

{
  "telegram:CHAT_ID": {
    "name": "main",
    "folder": "main",
    "trigger": "@ASSISTANT_NAME",
    "added_at": "CURRENT_ISO_TIMESTAMP"
  }
}

Ensure the groups folder exists:

mkdir -p groups/main/logs

8. Configure External Directory Access (Mount Allowlist)

Ask the user:

Do you want the agent to be able to access any directories outside the NanoClaw project?

Examples: Git repositories, project folders, documents you want Codex to work on.

Note: This is optional. Without configuration, agents can only access their own group folders.

If no, create an empty allowlist to make this explicit:

mkdir -p ~/.config/nanoclaw
cat > ~/.config/nanoclaw/mount-allowlist.json << 'EOF'
{
  "allowedRoots": [],
  "blockedPatterns": [],
  "nonMainReadOnly": true
}
EOF
echo "Mount allowlist created - no external directories allowed"

Skip to the next step.

If yes, ask follow-up questions:

8a. Collect Directory Paths

Ask the user:

Which directories do you want to allow access to?

You can specify:

• A parent folder like ~/projects (allows access to anything inside)
• Specific paths like ~/repos/my-app

List them one per line, or give me a comma-separated list.

For each directory they provide, ask:

Should [directory] be read-write (agents can modify files) or read-only?

Read-write is needed for: code changes, creating files, git commits Read-only is safer for: reference docs, config examples, templates

8b. Configure Non-Main Group Access

Ask the user:

Should non-main groups (other Telegram chats you add later) be restricted to read-only access even if read-write is allowed for the directory?

Recommended: Yes - this prevents other groups from modifying files even if you grant them access to a directory.

8c. Create the Allowlist

Create the allowlist file based on their answers:

mkdir -p ~/.config/nanoclaw

Then write the JSON file. Example for a user who wants ~/projects (read-write) and ~/docs (read-only) with non-main read-only:

cat > ~/.config/nanoclaw/mount-allowlist.json << 'EOF'
{
  "allowedRoots": [
    {
      "path": "~/projects",
      "allowReadWrite": true,
      "description": "Development projects"
    },
    {
      "path": "~/docs",
      "allowReadWrite": false,
      "description": "Reference documents"
    }
  ],
  "blockedPatterns": [],
  "nonMainReadOnly": true
}
EOF

Verify the file:

cat ~/.config/nanoclaw/mount-allowlist.json

Tell the user:

Mount allowlist configured. The following directories are now accessible:

• ~/projects (read-write)
• ~/docs (read-only)

Security notes:

• Sensitive paths (.ssh, .gnupg, .aws, credentials) are always blocked
• This config file is stored outside the project, so agents cannot modify it
• Changes require restarting the NanoClaw service

To grant a group access to a directory, add it to their config in data/registered_groups.json:

"containerConfig": {
  "additionalMounts": [
    { "hostPath": "~/projects/my-app", "containerPath": "my-app", "readonly": false }
  ]
}

9. Configure launchd Service

Generate the plist file with correct paths automatically:

NODE_PATH=$(which node)
PROJECT_PATH=$(pwd)
HOME_PATH=$HOME

cat > ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.nanoclaw.plist << EOF
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
    <key>Label</key>
    <string>com.nanoclaw</string>
    <key>ProgramArguments</key>
    <array>
        <string>${NODE_PATH}</string>
        <string>${PROJECT_PATH}/dist/index.js</string>
    </array>
    <key>WorkingDirectory</key>
    <string>${PROJECT_PATH}</string>
    <key>RunAtLoad</key>
    <true/>
    <key>KeepAlive</key>
    <true/>
    <key>EnvironmentVariables</key>
    <dict>
        <key>PATH</key>
        <string>/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:${HOME_PATH}/.local/bin</string>
        <key>HOME</key>
        <string>${HOME_PATH}</string>
    </dict>
    <key>StandardOutPath</key>
    <string>${PROJECT_PATH}/logs/nanoclaw.log</string>
    <key>StandardErrorPath</key>
    <string>${PROJECT_PATH}/logs/nanoclaw.error.log</string>
</dict>
</plist>
EOF

echo "Created launchd plist with:"
echo "  Node: ${NODE_PATH}"
echo "  Project: ${PROJECT_PATH}"

Build and start the service:

npm run build
mkdir -p logs
launchctl load ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.nanoclaw.plist

Verify it's running:

launchctl list | grep nanoclaw

11. Test

Tell the user (using the assistant name they configured):

Send @ASSISTANT_NAME hello in your registered chat.

Check the logs:

tail -f logs/nanoclaw.log

The user should receive a response in Telegram.

Troubleshooting

Service not starting: Check logs/nanoclaw.error.log

Container agent fails with "Codex CLI process exited with code 1":

• Ensure the container runtime is running:
  • Apple Container: container system start
  • Docker: docker info (start Docker Desktop on macOS, or sudo systemctl start docker on Linux)
• Check container logs: cat groups/main/logs/container-*.log | tail -50

No response to messages:

• Verify the trigger pattern matches (e.g., @AssistantName at start of message)
• Check that the chat JID is in data/registered_groups.json
• Check logs/nanoclaw.log for errors

Telegram bot not responding:

• Verify TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN is correct
• Check logs/nanoclaw.log for errors
• Restart the service: launchctl kickstart -k gui/$(id -u)/com.nanoclaw

Unload service:

launchctl unload ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.nanoclaw.plist

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