Skip to main content

​
Node.js + npm (PATH sanity)

OpenClaw’s runtime baseline is Node 22+. If you can run npm install -g openclaw@latest but later see openclaw: command not found, it’s almost always a PATH issue: the directory where npm puts global binaries isn’t on your shell’s PATH.

​
Quick diagnosis

Run: 
node -v
npm -v
npm prefix -g
echo "$PATH"
If $(npm prefix -g)/bin (macOS/Linux) or $(npm prefix -g) (Windows) is not present inside echo "$PATH", your shell can’t find global npm binaries (including openclaw).

​
Fix: put npm’s global bin dir on PATH

  1. Find your global npm prefix:
npm prefix -g
  1. Add the global npm bin directory to your shell startup file:
  • zsh: ~/.zshrc
  • bash: ~/.bashrc
Example (replace the path with your npm prefix -g output): 
# macOS / Linux
export PATH="/path/from/npm/prefix/bin:$PATH"
Then open a new terminal (or run rehash in zsh / hash -r in bash). On Windows, add the output of npm prefix -g to your PATH.

​
Fix: avoid sudo npm install -g / permission errors (Linux)

If npm install -g ... fails with EACCES, switch npm’s global prefix to a user-writable directory: 
mkdir -p "$HOME/.npm-global"
npm config set prefix "$HOME/.npm-global"
export PATH="$HOME/.npm-global/bin:$PATH"
Persist the export PATH=... line in your shell startup file. You’ll have the fewest surprises if Node/npm are installed in a way that:
  • keeps Node updated (22+)
  • makes the global npm bin dir stable and on PATH in new shells
Common choices:
  • macOS: Homebrew (brew install node) or a version manager
  • Linux: your preferred version manager, or a distro-supported install that provides Node 22+
  • Windows: official Node installer, winget, or a Windows Node version manager
If you use a version manager (nvm/fnm/asdf/etc), ensure it’s initialized in the shell you use day-to-day (zsh vs bash) so the PATH it sets is present when you run installers.