OpenClaw macOS Setup Guide (Standard Account)

in

The Problem

Standard macOS accounts do not have "Write" access to /opt/homebrew/bin or /usr/local/bin. When using npm install -g, the installer may claim success but fail to actually place the executable file in a folder your system can see.

The Solution: Local Prefix Installation

Installing to your user's home directory avoids the need for an Admin password and keeps the software isolated to your profile.

1. Perform a Local User Install

Run this command to force npm to install into your personal hidden folder:

npm install -g openclaw --prefix=$HOME/.local

2. Configure your Shell Path

You must tell your terminal to look in that specific local folder before checking the system folders.

  • Open your profile: vi ~/.zshrc

  • Add this line to the very bottom:

export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"

After saving you’ll need to refresh the shell:

source ~/.zshrc

Use these commands to verify the setup:

Command Purpose Successful Result
echo $PATH Checks your search list Should start with /Users/yourname/.local/bin:...
which openclaw Locates the executable /Users/yourname/.local/bin/openclaw
rehash Refreshes command cache No output (clears the "not found" memory)

How to make the most current version of git available on macOS

in

macOS and Xcode are always a few releases behind the currently available version of git. There are just a few simple things you need to do in order to rectify this inequity. If you are reading this then you are probably already familiar with the git CLI commands, but just to be sure:

  • check the version of git
ewilson$ git version
git version 2.9.3 (Apple Git-75)
  • check to see where git is being executed from
ewilson$ which git
/usr/bin/git

If your system looks like this then you'll need to modify your .bash_profile (if you run bash - or modify the profile file for your corresponding shell). Since I am going to use homebrew for the new git install I need to make sure the path of the new executable (brew installs in /usr/local/bin) comes before the macOS version which is typically located in /usr/bin. Thusly:

export PATH=/usr/local/bin:$PATH

Now all that's left is to install git and you are golden

ewilson$ brew install git
Updating Homebrew...
==> Auto-updated Homebrew!
Updated 1 tap (homebrew/core).
==> New Formulae
metricbeat
==> Updated Formulae
...

==> Downloading https://homebrew.bintray.com/bottles/git-2.10.2.sierra.bottle.1.tar.
######################################################################## 100.0%
==> Pouring git-2.10.2.sierra.bottle.1.tar.gz
==> Caveats
Bash completion has been installed to:
/usr/local/etc/bash_completion.d

zsh completion has been installed to:
/usr/local/share/zsh/site-functions

Emacs Lisp files have been installed to:
/usr/local/share/emacs/site-lisp/git
==> Summary
🍺/usr/local/Cellar/git/2.10.2: 1,445 files, 31.8M

Now when you run git version you should see the latest and greatest

ewilson$ git version
git version 2.10.2

Awesome. To keep things up to date all you'll need to do is run brew upgrade

brew upgrade git

Don't forget to update any tools or IDEs that you may have been using to make sure that they now point at your shiny new version of git.

How to fix golang "unrecognized import path"

in

Recently when trying to run go get I ran into the the following error:

ewilson$ go get github.com/nu7hatch/gouuid
package crypto/md5: unrecognized import path "crypto/md5" (import path does not begin with hostname)

After some trial and error (and a few conflicting opinions) I chose to unset my $GOROOT environment variable. Apparently when you compile go (I use brew for most installations) the correct $GOROOT value becomes embedded in the go tool. When you set it manually you can end up conflicting with the correct setting.

You may actually need to run the unset command as once a variable is set it may only be unset by using the unset command.

ewilson$ unset GOROOT

Onward.