OpenClaw USB Portable ⚡

Run OpenClaw from a portable workspace on Windows, Linux, and macOS.

OpenClaw USB Portable is a launcher project for people who want the same OpenClaw workspace available across multiple computers without installing Node.js, npm, or OpenClaw globally on each machine.

The user-facing entrypoints are intentionally simple:

run.bat   Windows
run.sh    Linux and macOS

Everything else is internal runtime, configuration, or portable workspace data.

What It Does ✨

• Downloads a portable Node.js runtime into this project on first run.
• Installs OpenClaw into a project-local package folder.
• Keeps OpenClaw config, sessions, workspace files, memory, and generated state under data/.
• Uses one shared portable workspace across Windows, Linux, and macOS.
• Keeps generated runtime files, logs, credentials, and chat history out of Git.

This is a portable workspace, not a single universal binary. Each operating system has its own runtime because Windows, Linux, and macOS use different binaries.

Quick Start 🚀

Windows

Double-click:

run.bat

Or run from PowerShell:

.\run.bat

Linux and macOS

Run:

sh run.sh

First run on each operating system needs internet access to download that OS runtime and install OpenClaw. After that, the same OS can reuse its portable runtime from the drive.

Main Menu

Portable OpenClaw

1. Setup / Change AI
2. Chat
3. Dashboard
4. Tools
5. Run OpenClaw Command
0. Exit

Use Setup / Change AI first to configure your model provider. After setup, use Chat or Dashboard for daily work.

Run OpenClaw Command is available for commands shown by OpenClaw itself, for example:

openclaw pairing approve telegram R2F8ZL5S

Portable Data Model

Shared state lives under data/:

data/
  config/       OpenClaw config
  openclaw/     OpenClaw state, sessions, logs, memory, canvas data
  home/         Portable home directory used by tools
  workspace/    Files the agent works on
  temp/         Temporary files

Generated platform-specific files live outside data/:

runtime/        Portable Node.js runtimes
packages/       OpenClaw installs and npm cache
logs/           Launcher and install logs

These folders are ignored by Git because they may contain large binaries, local logs, credentials, chat history, or machine-specific state.

Project Layout

OpenClaw-USB-Portable/
  run.bat
  run.sh
  README.md
  LICENSE
  .gitignore
  .gitattributes

  bin/
    windows.ps1
    unix.sh
    portable-env.ps1
    portable-env.sh

  templates/
    openclaw.portable.json

  data/
    .gitkeep

Why .gitattributes Is Included

The launchers need correct line endings:

*.bat  CRLF
*.ps1  CRLF
*.sh   LF

This keeps Windows scripts friendly on Windows and shell scripts runnable on Linux/macOS.

What Is Not Committed

The repository intentionally excludes:

runtime/
packages/
logs/
data/config/
data/openclaw/
data/home/
data/workspace/
data/temp/

Do not commit these folders unless you intentionally want to publish local runtime files or private workspace data.

Typical Use Cases

• Carry the same OpenClaw workspace between laptops.
• Use OpenClaw on a clean machine without installing Node.js globally.
• Keep model setup, sessions, and workspace files together in one portable folder.
• Record demos or tutorials without relying on a machine-specific development environment.

Notes

• First run per OS requires internet.
• The launcher uses local loopback Gateway access for local Chat and Dashboard.
• API keys, bot tokens, sessions, and generated state belong in ignored data/ folders.