Prerequisites
Before you start, verify that your machine has the software and hardware needed to run NemoClaw.
Hardware
The sandbox image is approximately 2.4 GB compressed. During image push, the selected container runtime, k3s, and the OpenShell gateway run alongside the export pipeline. The pipeline buffers decompressed layers in memory. On machines with less than 8 GB of RAM, this combined usage can trigger the OOM killer. If you cannot add memory, configure at least 8 GB of swap to work around the issue at the cost of slower performance.
Software
Docker is the default runtime provider and the primary onboarding path.
On native Linux or inside WSL2, the installer checks Docker before it installs the NemoClaw CLI unless you explicitly select rootless Podman with NEMOCLAW_GATEWAY_RUNTIME=podman.
The installer can install Docker, start the Docker service, and add your user to the docker group.
When Docker is missing, the installer downloads Docker’s official convenience script, prompts for sudo, and starts the service when systemd is available.
In a non-interactive run, the installer can reactivate the group through sg docker and continue onboarding.
If that path is unavailable or does not restore Docker access, the installer exits with newgrp docker guidance before it starts onboarding.
Rootless Podman is an explicit provider choice and does not require the Docker CLI or daemon. It is qualified for standard onboarding on supported native Linux hosts and for WSL-local Ollama on the documented Windows WSL2 path.
Native Podman gateway readiness also requires lsof on PATH to verify the gateway listener. NemoClaw does not install it; use the host’s package-management policy to install lsof before retrying onboarding.
Start standard onboarding with NEMOCLAW_GATEWAY_RUNTIME=podman nemoclaw onboard.
Before selecting it, review its qualified host requirements and limitations in Platform Support and the Podman troubleshooting guide.
Managed llama.cpp and Windows-host Ollama remain Docker Desktop-only on WSL. Managed local vLLM install/start remains Docker-backed and is unavailable when Docker is absent; attaching an already-running local vLLM server remains a separate path.
The portable experimental profile is separate and still requires a Docker-compatible docker command.
NemoClaw uses an isolated python3 helper for descriptor-relative migration snapshot sanitization and deletion.
NemoClaw does not resolve this credential-bearing helper through the host PATH.
It accepts a verified executable at /usr/bin/python3, /usr/local/bin/python3, /opt/homebrew/bin/python3, /opt/local/bin/python3, or beside the Node.js executable.
The sanitizer fails closed before it reads snapshot content if no candidate passes its ownership, permission, and executable checks.
Supported Linux, macOS, and WSL environments provide the required POSIX filesystem operations.
Native Windows is not a supported execution path; use WSL.
If you choose the native Linux Ollama install path, the onboard wizard also requires zstd for Ollama archive extraction.
The installer also requires strings from binutils to verify the OpenShell binary before it continues with OpenShell install work.
The default Docker runtime path needs Docker access.
On personal Linux development machines, adding your user to the docker group is the standard way to run Docker without sudo.
Members of the docker group can control the daemon with root-level impact.
Grant this access only to trusted local accounts.
On shared or managed systems, use your organization’s approved Docker access path.
For background, review Docker’s daemon attack surface guidance.
On Debian and Ubuntu, NemoClaw installs zstd with apt-get if it is missing; on other Linux distributions, install zstd before onboarding.
If the installer reports that strings is missing, install binutils and rerun the installer:
On macOS, NemoClaw uses the Docker-driver OpenShell gateway path with Docker Desktop or Colima.
You do not need to install or sign a separate OpenShell VM driver helper for standard macOS onboarding.
If you use Homebrew Colima, install the Docker CLI package with Colima because brew install colima does not provide the docker command:
For NemoClaw-managed environments, use nemoclaw onboard when you need to create or recreate the OpenShell gateway or sandbox.
Avoid openshell self-update, npm update -g openshell, or openshell sandbox create directly unless you intend to manage OpenShell separately and then rerun nemoclaw onboard.
On Linux hosts running Docker 26 or later with the containerd image store enabled, nemoclaw onboard transparently builds a fuse-overlayfs-enabled cluster image.
The containerd image store is the install-time default for fresh docker-ce installations on Ubuntu 24.04 and similar distros.
The fuse-overlayfs-enabled image bypasses a kernel-level nested-overlay limitation in k3s.
You do not need manual setup.
Refer to the troubleshooting guide for the override knobs and a manual daemon.json alternative.
Platforms
The following table lists platforms with a documented installation path.
A Tested with limitations row applies only to the configuration in its notes.
The table comes from ci/platform-matrix.json, the single source of truth kept in sync by CI and QA.
<!— markdownlint-disable MD037 MD058 —>
For the complete platform support matrix, including all deferred platforms and CI coverage, refer to Platform Support. <!— markdownlint-enable MD037 MD058 —>
Additional Setup
Most supported platforms require no additional setup beyond the hardware and software requirements above. Use only the page that matches your host.
DGX Station Express Preparation
If you are using a qualifying DGX Station GB300, follow Prepare DGX Station to Install NemoClaw before the Quickstart.
Windows Preparation
If you are using Windows, follow Prepare a Windows Machine to Install NemoClaw before the Quickstart.
Next Steps
- Quickstart installs NemoClaw and launches your first sandboxed agent.
- Use NemoClaw Docs with Your Coding Agents lets your AI coding assistant fetch NemoClaw Markdown docs before setup.