Onboarding (macOS App)

This doc describes the current first‑run onboarding flow. The goal is a smooth “day 0” experience: pick where the Gateway runs, connect auth, run the wizard, and let the agent bootstrap itself. For a general overview of onboarding paths, see Onboarding Overview.

Security trust model:

By default, OpenClaw is a personal agent: one trusted operator boundary.
Shared/multi-user setups require lock-down (split trust boundaries, keep tool access minimal, and follow Security).
Local onboarding now defaults new configs to tools.profile: "coding" so fresh local setups keep filesystem/runtime tools without forcing the unrestricted full profile.
If hooks/webhooks or other untrusted content feeds are enabled, use a strong modern model tier and keep strict tool policy/sandboxing.

Where does the Gateway run?

This Mac (Local only): onboarding can configure auth and write credentials locally.
Remote (over SSH/Tailnet): onboarding does not configure local auth; credentials must exist on the gateway host.
Configure later: skip setup and leave the app unconfigured.

**Gateway auth tip:**

The wizard now generates a token even for loopback, so local WS clients must authenticate.
If you disable auth, any local process can connect; use that only on fully trusted machines.
Use a token for multi‑machine access or non‑loopback binds.

Onboarding requests TCC permissions needed for:

Automation (AppleScript)
Notifications
Accessibility
Screen Recording
Microphone
Speech Recognition
Camera
Location

This step is optional The app can install the global `openclaw` CLI via npm/pnpm so terminal workflows and launchd tasks work out of the box. After setup, the app opens a dedicated onboarding chat session so the agent can introduce itself and guide next steps. This keeps first‑run guidance separate from your normal conversation. See [Bootstrapping](/start/bootstrapping) for what happens on the gateway host during the first agent run.