Installation

This guide walks you through installing ClawNex from source on macOS or Linux.

Prerequisites

Software	Version	Notes
Node.js	18+	`brew install node` or nodejs.org
npm	9+	Included with Node.js
Python	3.12	`brew install python@3.12`
Git	Any	`xcode-select --install` on macOS
SQLite	3.x	Included with macOS and most Linux distros

Hardware

Requirement	Minimum	Recommended
CPU	2 cores	4+ cores
RAM	4 GB	8+ GB
Disk	10 GB free	50+ GB (depends on retention)

Install

Clone the repository

git clone <repository-url> ~/sentinel
cd ~/sentinel

Install Node.js dependencies

npm ci
# If no package-lock.json available:
npm install

Set up the Python environment

cd ~/sentinel/litellm
python3.12 -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate
pip install -r requirements.txt
deactivate

Configure environment

cp ~/sentinel/.env.example ~/sentinel/.env.local

Edit ~/sentinel/.env.local with your values:

PORT=5001
DATABASE_PATH=./sentinel.db
OPENCLAW_SESSIONS_PATH=/path/to/openclaw/agents/main/sessions
SESSION_WATCHER_ENABLED=true
SESSION_WATCHER_INTERVAL_MS=2000

Set file permissions

chmod 600 ~/sentinel/.env.local
chmod 700 ~/sentinel/litellm/start.sh
chmod 700 ~/sentinel/scripts/watchdog.sh

Start the dashboard

# Development mode (hot reload)
npm run dev
 
# Production mode
npm run build && npm start

Start LiteLLM proxy

In a second terminal:

cd ~/sentinel/litellm && bash start.sh

Verify

# Dashboard health
curl -s http://127.0.0.1:5001/api/health | python3 -m json.tool
 
# LiteLLM health
curl -s http://127.0.0.1:4001/health
 
# Open in browser
open http://127.0.0.1:5001

On first load, the dashboard opens the Welcome Wizard — a 6-step checklist that guides you through initial configuration. See the Setup Wizard page for details.

⚠️

LiteLLM is pinned to version 1.83.0 due to a confirmed supply chain compromise in adjacent versions. Never upgrade without explicit verification.

Introduction Setup Wizard