OpenClaw Version Upgrade and Update Guide

Introduction

As an active open-source project (100k+ stars on GitHub), OpenClaw receives frequent version updates that typically include feature improvements, performance optimizations, and security fixes. This article covers how to safely perform version upgrades, including pre-update preparations, update methods for various installation types, and rollback strategies when things go wrong.

Pre-Upgrade Preparation

Before performing any upgrade, make sure to complete the following preparations.

Check Your Current Version

openclaw --version

Check the Latest Version and Changelog

# Check the latest version on npm
npm view openclaw version

# View all available versions
npm view openclaw versions --json

# View the changelog
npm view openclaw changelog

You can also check the detailed release notes for each version on the GitHub Releases page:

https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/releases

Verify Current Configuration

Confirm that everything is running properly:

openclaw doctor

Back Up Configuration and Data

This is the most important step — do not skip it:

# Create a backup directory
mkdir -p ~/openclaw-backup/$(date +%Y%m%d)

# Back up configuration files
cp -r ~/.config/openclaw ~/openclaw-backup/$(date +%Y%m%d)/config

# Back up skill files
cp -r ~/.openclaw ~/openclaw-backup/$(date +%Y%m%d)/openclaw-data

# Record the current version number
openclaw --version > ~/openclaw-backup/$(date +%Y%m%d)/version.txt

echo "Backup complete: ~/openclaw-backup/$(date +%Y%m%d)"

You can also create a simple backup script for future use:

cat > ~/openclaw-backup.sh << 'EOF'
#!/bin/bash
BACKUP_DIR="$HOME/openclaw-backup/$(date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S)"
mkdir -p "$BACKUP_DIR"
cp -r ~/.config/openclaw "$BACKUP_DIR/config" 2>/dev/null
cp -r ~/.openclaw "$BACKUP_DIR/openclaw-data" 2>/dev/null
openclaw --version > "$BACKUP_DIR/version.txt" 2>/dev/null
echo "Backup saved to: $BACKUP_DIR"
EOF
chmod +x ~/openclaw-backup.sh

Updating via npm

Update to the Latest Version

# Stop OpenClaw
openclaw restart  # Or stop it manually first

# Update to the latest version
npm install -g openclaw@latest

# Verify the version
openclaw --version

# Restart
openclaw up

Update to a Specific Version

If you don't want to jump straight to the latest version, you can specify an exact version number:

npm install -g [email protected]

Check for Available Updates

npm outdated -g openclaw

Example output:

Package    Current  Wanted  Latest  Location
openclaw   2.4.3    2.5.1   2.5.1   global

• Current: The currently installed version
• Wanted: The latest version that satisfies the version range
• Latest: The latest version on npm

Updating via Homebrew

If you installed via Homebrew, the update process is very simple:

# Update the Homebrew index
brew update

# Check if there's an OpenClaw update
brew outdated openclaw

# Upgrade OpenClaw
brew upgrade openclaw

# Restart the service
openclaw restart

Updating via Docker

Update the Docker Image

# Pull the latest image
docker pull openclaw/openclaw:latest

# Stop and remove the old container
docker stop openclaw
docker rm openclaw

# Recreate the container with the new image
docker run -d \
  --name openclaw \
  --restart always \
  -p 18789:18789 \
  -v /path/to/config:/app/config \
  -v /path/to/data:/app/data \
  -e OPENCLAW_CONFIG=/app/config/openclaw.json5 \
  -e TZ=Asia/Shanghai \
  openclaw/openclaw:latest

Updating with docker-compose

cd /path/to/openclaw-compose

# Pull the latest image
docker-compose pull

# Recreate the container
docker-compose up -d

# Clean up old images
docker image prune -f

Update to a Specific Docker Version

docker pull openclaw/openclaw:2.5.0

Then modify the image tag in your docker-compose.yml, or specify the version in the docker run command.

Post-Upgrade Verification

Regardless of the update method used, you should verify the upgrade afterward:

# Confirm the version number
openclaw --version

# Run diagnostics
openclaw doctor

# Check logs for errors
openclaw logs

# Test whether the Dashboard is accessible
curl -s http://localhost:18789/health

Verification Checklist

Rolling Back to an Older Version

If the new version causes issues, you can quickly roll back.

npm Rollback

# Install the specified older version
npm install -g [email protected]

# Restore backed-up configuration files
cp -r ~/openclaw-backup/20260318/config/* ~/.config/openclaw/

# Restart
openclaw restart

Docker Rollback

# Rebuild the container with the old image
docker stop openclaw
docker rm openclaw
docker run -d \
  --name openclaw \
  --restart always \
  -p 18789:18789 \
  -v /path/to/config:/app/config \
  -v /path/to/data:/app/data \
  openclaw/openclaw:2.4.3

Homebrew Rollback

Homebrew doesn't directly support rollback, but you can install a specific version via npm:

brew uninstall openclaw
npm install -g [email protected]

Automatic Update Strategy

Using cron to Check for Updates Periodically

Create an update-checking script:

cat > ~/openclaw-check-update.sh << 'SCRIPT'
#!/bin/bash
CURRENT=$(openclaw --version 2>/dev/null)
LATEST=$(npm view openclaw version 2>/dev/null)

if [ "$CURRENT" != "$LATEST" ]; then
    echo "[$(date)] A new OpenClaw version is available: $CURRENT -> $LATEST"
    # Optional: send a notification
fi
SCRIPT
chmod +x ~/openclaw-check-update.sh

# Check once daily
(crontab -l 2>/dev/null; echo "0 9 * * * ~/openclaw-check-update.sh >> ~/openclaw-update.log") | crontab -

Automatic Updates with Docker Watchtower

Use Watchtower to automatically update Docker containers:

docker run -d \
  --name watchtower \
  --restart always \
  -v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock \
  containrrr/watchtower \
  --interval 86400 \
  openclaw

This checks for OpenClaw image updates every 24 hours, automatically pulling new images and restarting the container.

Major Version Upgrade Considerations

When performing a major version upgrade (e.g., from 1.x to 2.x), pay special attention to:

1. Read the Release Notes carefully — major versions typically include breaking changes
2. Check for configuration file format changes — the new version may have modified the configuration structure
3. Run the configuration migration tool (if available):

openclaw migrate

4. Test in a staging environment first — validate the new version in a non-production environment
5. Have a rollback plan ready — ensure you have complete backups

Recommended Update Frequency

Summary

Version upgrades are essential for keeping OpenClaw stable and secure. The core principle is: back up first, verify after, have a rollback plan ready. Develop a habit of regularly checking for updates, promptly patching security vulnerabilities, while avoiding blindly chasing the latest version at the expense of production stability.