A plain-language troubleshooting guide for common OpenClaw install, onboard, and Gateway problems on Windows and Linux. Independent. Not affiliated with OpenClaw.

Who it is for: Beginners stuck before the first working chat.

Deliverables: Symptom-to-command map; openclaw doctor and openclaw gateway status; Node version mismatches; daemon not running after reboot; dashboard auth token paste; pairing ignored; inference not ready vs Gateway down; a written “when to stop and restore from backup” rule.

Access: Instant in the member course. Post remaining errors in the member forum with logs redacted of secrets.

This guide cannot fix every machine. It does not replace official docs at docs.openclaw.ai.