CLI Reference

The create-better-openclaw CLI is the primary way to generate OpenClaw stacks. It supports both an interactive wizard and a fully non-interactive mode for CI/CD pipelines.

Basic Usage

create-better-openclaw <project-name> [options]

If no options are provided, the CLI launches the interactive wizard. If --yes is passed, it uses defaults combined with any explicit flags.

Flag Cheat Sheet

Flag	Type	Default	Description
`--preset <name>`	string	—	Use a named preset (minimal, researcher, devops, local-ai, full)
`--services <list>`	string	—	Comma-separated service IDs (e.g. `qdrant,redis,n8n`)
`--skills <list>`	string	—	Comma-separated skill pack IDs
`--proxy <type>`	string	`none`	Reverse proxy: `caddy`, `traefik`, `nginx`, or `none`
`--domain <name>`	string	—	Domain name for reverse proxy (requires `--proxy`)
`--gpu`	boolean	`false`	Enable GPU passthrough for Ollama, Whisper, etc.
`--platform <arch>`	string	auto	Target platform (e.g. `linux/arm64`)
`--deployment-type <type>`	string	`docker`	docker: all services in containers. bare-metal: native + Docker hybrid — services with a native recipe (e.g. Redis on Linux) get install scripts in `native/`; top-level `install.sh` / `install.ps1` runs native first, then `docker compose up`. See Bare-metal deployment.
`--generateSecrets`	boolean	`true`	Auto-generate random passwords and API keys
`--yes`	boolean	`false`	Skip all prompts, use defaults + flags
`--output <dir>`	string	`./<project>`	Custom output directory
`--dry-run`	boolean	`false`	Show what would be generated without writing files
`--version`	—	—	Print version number
`--help`	—	—	Show help message

Non-Interactive Mode

Pass --yes to skip all interactive prompts. Combine with other flags to fully automate stack generation — perfect for CI/CD, scripts, or infrastructure-as-code workflows.

# Minimal stack with no prompts
npx create-better-openclaw my-stack --preset minimal --yes

# Custom service selection
npx create-better-openclaw my-stack \
  --services qdrant,redis,n8n,searxng \
  --skills researcher,automation \
  --proxy caddy \
  --domain ai.example.com \
  --yes

# Dry run to preview
npx create-better-openclaw my-stack \
  --preset full \
  --dry-run

Examples

Research Assistant Stack

npx create-better-openclaw research-stack \
  --preset researcher \
  --proxy caddy \
  --domain research.example.com \
  --yes

Local-Only AI (No Cloud APIs)

npx create-better-openclaw local-ai \
  --services ollama,whisper,redis,qdrant \
  --skills local-ai,memory \
  --gpu \
  --yes

Production VPS Deployment

npx create-better-openclaw prod-stack \
  --preset devops \
  --proxy caddy \
  --domain openclaw.mycompany.com \
  --generateSecrets \
  --yes

ARM64 Homelab (Raspberry Pi / Apple Silicon)

npx create-better-openclaw homelab-stack \
  --preset minimal \
  --platform linux/arm64 \
  --yes

Custom Output Directory

npx create-better-openclaw my-stack \
  --preset researcher \
  --output ~/projects/ai-stacks/my-stack \
  --yes

Bare-metal (native + Docker)

npx create-better-openclaw my-stack \
  --preset minimal \
  --deployment-type bare-metal \
  --platform linux/amd64 \
  --yes

Generates native/install-linux.sh (or Windows/macOS), install.sh/install.ps1, and a Docker Compose file for the remaining services. See Deployment → Bare-metal for details.

Exit Codes

Code	Meaning
`0`	Success
`1`	General error (invalid flags, missing dependencies)
`2`	Validation error (conflicting services, invalid preset)
`130`	User cancelled (Ctrl+C)

Environment Variables

The CLI respects the following environment variables:

Variable	Description
`OPENCLAW_DEFAULT_PRESET`	Default preset when no `--preset` is provided
`OPENCLAW_PROXY`	Default reverse proxy type
`NO_COLOR`	Disable colored output (standard convention)

Next Steps

Interactive Wizard — step-by-step walkthrough of each prompt
API Reference — programmatic stack generation via REST
Service Catalog — all available services