OpenClaw MCP Server Setup: Complete Installation Guide (2026)

Jul 5, 2026

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OpenClaw is a self-hosted, open-source AI assistant — no cloud dependency, full data control. It extends any AI provider with MCP servers, giving your agent access to files, databases, GitHub, web search, and more.

Prerequisites

Node.js 24 or Node 22 LTS (22.19+)
npm or pnpm
An AI provider API key
macOS, Linux, or Windows with WSL2

Step 1: Install OpenClaw

npm install -g openclaw@latest
openclaw --version

Step 2: Onboarding Wizard

openclaw onboard --install-daemon

Installs the gateway as a background service. Prompts for provider, model, channels, workspace name.

Step 3: Config File

All config lives in ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json:

{
  "provider": "anthropic",
  "model": "claude-sonnet-4-6",
  "channels": ["cli"],
  "mcpServers": {}
}

Store API keys in ~/.openclaw/.env — never hardcode them.

Step 4: Add MCP Servers

McPorter (Recommended)

npm install -g mcporter
mcporter install @modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem --target openclaw

Step 5: Five Servers to Start With

Server	Capability
filesystem	Read/write/search local files
Brave Search	Live web search
GitHub	Repos, issues, PRs
PostgreSQL	Query databases in plain English
memory	Persistent memory across sessions

Step 6: Check Trust Scores First

15,000+ MCP servers exist — not all are safe. Verify before installing:

curl https://api.xluxx.net/score?id=@modelcontextprotocol/server-github

Scores above 75 are safe. Below 60 — review source code first. Browse all at xluxx.net/dashboard-2.

Step 7: Start Chatting

openclaw chat

Troubleshooting

Gateway won’t start: Node must be 22.19+ or 24+
Server not found: Run openclaw restart after config changes
API key errors: Must be in ~/.openclaw/.env, not hardcoded
Windows: Requires WSL2 — run wsl --install first

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