SetupUninstallCleanup

Uninstall OpenClaw: Complete Removal Guide

How to completely uninstall OpenClaw from your system. Remove the CLI, gateway service, and all configuration files.

4 min readLast updated Feb 26, 2026

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Overview

This guide covers how to completely remove OpenClaw from your system. We'll cover the easy path using the CLI, Docker removal, manual removal if the CLI is gone, and cleanup for custom profiles.

What gets removed

Gateway service (launchd/systemd/schtasks)
Configuration files (~/.openclaw)
Agent workspace data
CLI package (npm/pnpm/bun)
macOS app (if installed)
Docker container and volumes (if using Docker)

Quick Uninstall

If you still have the OpenClaw CLI installed, the easiest way is:

bash

openclaw uninstall

For non-interactive automation:

bash

openclaw uninstall --all --yes --non-interactive

Docker Uninstall

If you ran OpenClaw in Docker, remove it with:

bash

# Stop and remove the container
docker stop openclaw && docker rm openclaw

# Remove volumes (this deletes all data!)
docker volume rm openclaw-data

# Or if using docker-compose
docker-compose down -v

If you want to keep your data but remove the container:

bash

# Just remove the container, keep volumes
docker stop openclaw && docker rm openclaw

# Later, you can recreate with the same volume
docker run -d --name openclaw -v openclaw-data:/home/node/.openclaw ...

Step-by-Step Removal

If you prefer manual control, here's what the uninstaller does:

Stop the gateway

bash

openclaw gateway stop

Uninstall the gateway service

bash

openclaw gateway uninstall

Delete state and config

bash

rm -rf "$OPENCLAW_STATE_DIR:-$HOME/.openclaw"

If you set OPENCLAW_CONFIG_PATH to a custom location outside the state dir, delete that file too.

Delete workspace (optional)

Removes agent files and working directories:

bash

rm -rf ~/.openclaw/workspace

Remove the CLI

Choose the one you used to install:

bash

# npm
npm rm -g openclaw

# pnpm
pnpm remove -g openclaw

# bun
bun remove -g openclaw

Remove macOS app (if installed)

bash

rm -rf /Applications/OpenClaw.app

Manual Service Removal

Use this if the gateway service keeps running but the CLI is missing.

bash

# Stop and remove the launchd service
launchctl bootout gui/$UID/ai.openclaw.gateway
rm -f ~/Library/LaunchAgents/ai.openclaw.gateway.plist

If you used a profile, replace the label with ai.openclaw.<profile>.

Profile Cleanup

If you used profiles (--profile or OPENCLAW_PROFILE), repeat the removal steps for each profile. State dirs default to ~/.openclaw-<profile>.

Verify Uninstall

After uninstalling, verify everything is removed:

bash

# Check CLI is gone
which openclaw
# Should return: openclaw not found

# Check config directory is gone
ls ~/.openclaw
# Should return: No such file or directory

# Check launchd service (macOS)
launchctl list | grep openclaw
# Should return nothing

# Check systemd service (Linux)
systemctl --user list-units | grep openclaw
# Should return nothing

Reference

See the official docs for complete details.