Quickstart#

Alpha software

NemoClaw is in alpha, available as an early preview since March 16, 2026. APIs, configuration schemas, and runtime behavior are subject to breaking changes between releases. Do not use this software in production environments. File issues and feedback through the GitHub repository as the project continues to stabilize.

Follow these steps to get started with NemoClaw and your first sandboxed OpenClaw agent.

Prerequisites#

Before getting started, check the prerequisites to ensure you have the necessary software and hardware to run NemoClaw.

Hardware#

Resource

Minimum

Recommended

CPU

4 vCPU

4+ vCPU

RAM

8 GB

16 GB

Disk

20 GB free

40 GB free

The sandbox image is approximately 2.4 GB compressed. During image push, the Docker daemon, k3s, and the OpenShell gateway run alongside the export pipeline, which buffers decompressed layers in memory. On machines with less than 8 GB of RAM, this combined usage can trigger the OOM killer. If you cannot add memory, configuring at least 8 GB of swap can work around the issue at the cost of slower performance.

Software#

Dependency

Version

Linux

Ubuntu 22.04 LTS or later

Node.js

22.16 or later

npm

10 or later

Container runtime

Supported runtime installed and running

OpenShell

Installed

Container Runtimes#

Platform

Supported runtimes

Notes

Linux

Docker

Primary supported path.

macOS (Apple Silicon)

Colima, Docker Desktop

Install Xcode Command Line Tools (xcode-select --install) and start the runtime before running the installer.

macOS (Intel)

Docker Desktop

Start the runtime before running the installer.

Windows WSL

Docker Desktop (WSL backend)

Supported target path.

DGX Spark

Docker

Use the standard installer and nemoclaw onboard.

Install NemoClaw and Onboard OpenClaw Agent#

Download and run the installer script. The script installs Node.js if it is not already present, then runs the guided onboard wizard to create a sandbox, configure inference, and apply security policies.

Note

NemoClaw creates a fresh OpenClaw instance inside the sandbox during the onboarding process.

curl -fsSL https://www.nvidia.com/nemoclaw.sh | bash

If you use nvm or fnm to manage Node.js, the installer may not update your current shell’s PATH. If nemoclaw is not found after install, run source ~/.bashrc (or source ~/.zshrc for zsh) or open a new terminal.

When the install completes, a summary confirms the running environment:

──────────────────────────────────────────────────
Sandbox      my-assistant (Landlock + seccomp + netns)
Model        nvidia/nemotron-3-super-120b-a12b (NVIDIA Endpoints)
──────────────────────────────────────────────────
Run:         nemoclaw my-assistant connect
Status:      nemoclaw my-assistant status
Logs:        nemoclaw my-assistant logs --follow
──────────────────────────────────────────────────

[INFO]  === Installation complete ===

Chat with the Agent#

Connect to the sandbox, then chat with the agent through the TUI or the CLI.

nemoclaw my-assistant connect

In the sandbox shell, open the OpenClaw terminal UI and start a chat:

openclaw tui

Alternatively, send a single message and print the response:

openclaw agent --agent main --local -m "hello" --session-id test

Uninstall#

To remove NemoClaw and all resources created during setup, run the uninstall script:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/NVIDIA/NemoClaw/refs/heads/main/uninstall.sh | bash

Flag

Effect

--yes

Skip the confirmation prompt.

--keep-openshell

Leave the openshell binary installed.

--delete-models

Also remove NemoClaw-pulled Ollama models.

For troubleshooting installation or onboarding issues, see the Troubleshooting guide.

Next Steps#

Troubleshooting#

If you run into issues during installation or onboarding, refer to the Troubleshooting guide for common error messages and resolution steps.