claude-code/docs/windows-install-release.md

Windows install and release quickstart

This page is the PowerShell-first path for installing, verifying, and safely switching providers on Windows. It is intentionally copyable without embedding live secrets.

Choose an install path

Option A: build from source in PowerShell

Use this when you are developing Claw Code or testing a local checkout.

git clone https://github.com/ultraworkers/claw-code
Set-Location .\claw-code\rust
cargo build --workspace
.\target\debug\claw.exe --help
.\target\debug\claw.exe doctor

For an optimized local binary:

Set-Location .\claw-code\rust
cargo build --workspace --release
.\target\release\claw.exe --help

Option B: use a release artifact

Use this when a GitHub release publishes a Windows artifact. The release workflow publishes claw-windows-x64.exe plus claw-windows-x64.exe.sha256; if a future release wraps the binary in a ZIP, prefer the windows-x86_64 / pc-windows-msvc asset and its matching checksum file.

$Asset = "claw-windows-x64.exe"
$InstallRoot = "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Programs\claw"
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force $InstallRoot | Out-Null

# Download $Asset and $Asset.sha256 from the release page, then verify them:
$Actual = (Get-FileHash ".\$Asset" -Algorithm SHA256).Hash.ToLowerInvariant()
$Expected = (Get-Content ".\$Asset.sha256" | Select-Object -First 1).Split()[0].ToLowerInvariant()
if ($Actual -ne $Expected) { throw "checksum mismatch for $Asset" }

Copy-Item ".\$Asset" "$InstallRoot\claw.exe" -Force
& "$InstallRoot\claw.exe" --help
& "$InstallRoot\claw.exe" doctor

To make that binary available in new PowerShell windows:

$InstallRoot = "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Programs\claw"
[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable(
  "Path",
  [Environment]::GetEnvironmentVariable("Path", "User") + ";$InstallRoot",
  "User"
)

Open a new terminal before running claw --help from another directory.

Option C: WSL

The repository install.sh path is for Linux, macOS, and Windows via WSL. Run it from inside your WSL distribution, not from native PowerShell:

wsl --install
wsl

Then inside WSL:

git clone https://github.com/ultraworkers/claw-code
cd claw-code
./install.sh

First-run health checks

Run these before using live prompts:

Set-Location .\claw-code\rust
.\target\debug\claw.exe --help
.\target\debug\claw.exe doctor
.\target\debug\claw.exe status --output-format json
.\target\debug\claw.exe config --output-format json

doctor, status, config, and version support --output-format json; do not use a separate --json suffix.

Safe credential setup

Set keys only in your local environment or a private .env file. Do not paste real keys into shell history shared with others, issue trackers, or documentation.

Current PowerShell session only:

$env:ANTHROPIC_API_KEY = "sk-ant-REPLACE_ME"

Persist for future PowerShell windows:

setx ANTHROPIC_API_KEY "sk-ant-REPLACE_ME"

Open a new terminal after setx. To remove a session-local key while testing provider switching:

Remove-Item Env:\ANTHROPIC_API_KEY -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

Safe provider switching examples

Provider routing is model-prefix first. When multiple credentials exist, choose an explicit model prefix so claw does not infer the wrong backend.

Anthropic direct

$env:ANTHROPIC_API_KEY = "sk-ant-REPLACE_ME"
Remove-Item Env:\OPENAI_BASE_URL -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
Remove-Item Env:\OPENAI_API_KEY -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

.\target\debug\claw.exe --model "sonnet" prompt "reply with ready"

OpenAI-compatible gateway or OpenRouter

Remove-Item Env:\ANTHROPIC_API_KEY -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
$env:OPENAI_BASE_URL = "https://openrouter.ai/api/v1"
$env:OPENAI_API_KEY = "sk-or-v1-REPLACE_ME"

.\target\debug\claw.exe --model "openai/gpt-4.1-mini" prompt "reply with ready"

For the default OpenAI-compatible API, omit OPENAI_BASE_URL or set it to https://api.openai.com/v1, and keep the openai/ or gpt- model prefix explicit.

Local OpenAI-compatible server

Use a loopback URL and a placeholder token unless your local server requires a real one:

Remove-Item Env:\ANTHROPIC_API_KEY -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
$env:OPENAI_BASE_URL = "http://127.0.0.1:11434/v1"
$env:OPENAI_API_KEY = "local-dev-token"

.\target\debug\claw.exe --model "llama3.2" prompt "reply with ready"

If the local server is authless, remove OPENAI_API_KEY instead of putting a real cloud key into local testing:

Remove-Item Env:\OPENAI_API_KEY -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

DashScope / Qwen

Remove-Item Env:\ANTHROPIC_API_KEY -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
$env:DASHSCOPE_API_KEY = "sk-REPLACE_ME"

.\target\debug\claw.exe --model "qwen-plus" prompt "reply with ready"

Windows and WSL notifications

Notification support is exposed through the notifications slash command in the interactive REPL. Use JSON/status commands first to confirm the CLI runs, then configure notifications from the REPL if your workflow needs them.

Native PowerShell smoke path:

Set-Location .\claw-code\rust
.\target\debug\claw.exe
# inside the REPL:
/notifications

WSL smoke path:

cd claw-code/rust
./target/debug/claw
# inside the REPL:
/notifications

When moving between PowerShell and WSL, keep provider keys in the environment where claw is actually running; Windows user env vars set with setx are not automatically the same as WSL shell exports.

Troubleshooting checklist

• claw not found: use claw.exe on Windows or run the binary by full path (.\target\debug\claw.exe).
• cargo not found: reopen PowerShell after installing Rust from https://rustup.rs/.
• 401 Invalid bearer token: put sk-ant-* values in ANTHROPIC_API_KEY, not ANTHROPIC_AUTH_TOKEN.
• Wrong provider selected: add an explicit model prefix such as openai/gpt-4.1-mini, qwen-plus, or grok.
• Release ZIP extracted but command still fails: open a new terminal after updating the user Path, or call & "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Programs\claw\claw.exe" directly.