null·claw v2026.5.29
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Install

verified · v2026.5.29 edit on github
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NullClaw ships as a single static binary with no runtime dependencies besides libc. Pick one of the paths below and you are done in a minute or two.

brew install nullclaw
nullclaw --help

If the help output prints, the install is complete.

To upgrade later:

brew update
brew upgrade nullclaw

Docker or Podman

NullClaw publishes an official OCI image at ghcr.io/nullclaw/nullclaw. The container keeps all persistent state under /nullclaw-data — config at /nullclaw-data/config.json, workspace at /nullclaw-data/workspace.

# one-off command
docker run --rm -it \
  -v nullclaw-data:/nullclaw-data \
  ghcr.io/nullclaw/nullclaw:latest status

# initialize config interactively
docker run --rm -it \
  -v nullclaw-data:/nullclaw-data \
  ghcr.io/nullclaw/nullclaw:latest onboard --interactive

# run the HTTP gateway on host loopback
docker run --rm -it \
  -p 127.0.0.1:3000:3000 \
  -v nullclaw-data:/nullclaw-data \
  ghcr.io/nullclaw/nullclaw:latest

The repository also ships a Makefile wrapper around Docker Compose:

make build
make config
make up

make config runs nullclaw onboard --interactive inside the container. Pass only non-secret flags through CONFIG_ARGS — command-line arguments can leak via shell history and process listings:

make config CONFIG_ARGS="--provider openrouter"

Build from source

You need Zig 0.16.0 exactly. Other versions are unsupported and may fail to build. Check first:

zig version   # must print 0.16.0

Then:

git clone https://github.com/nullclaw/nullclaw.git
cd nullclaw
zig build -Doptimize=ReleaseSmall
zig build test --summary all

The binary lands at zig-out/bin/nullclaw. To put it on your PATH:

zig build -Doptimize=ReleaseSmall -p "$HOME/.local"
echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.zshrc
# bash users: ~/.bashrc

Android / Termux

Official releases include pre-built Android/Termux binaries for aarch64, armv7, and x86_64. You can also build natively on the device:

pkg update
pkg install git zig
git clone https://github.com/nullclaw/nullclaw.git
cd nullclaw
zig build -Doptimize=ReleaseSmall
./zig-out/bin/nullclaw --help

On Android, prefer foreground use (agent, gateway) before trying service mode.

Verify

nullclaw --help
nullclaw --version
nullclaw status

If status returns component state, the runtime basics are ready.

Keeping it current

The binary can update itself:

nullclaw update --check   # check only
nullclaw update --yes     # install without prompting

Releases use CalVer tags (vYYYY.M.D); nullclaw --version prints the version embedded from the git tag.

Next

Continue with Quickstart to onboard a provider and send your first message.