Setup

Let me know when you've completed these steps.

Wait for user confirmation, then verify:

container system start
container --version

Note: NanoClaw automatically starts the Apple Container system when it launches, so you don't need to start it manually after reboots.

3. Configure Claude Authentication

Ask the user:

Do you want to use your Claude subscription (Pro/Max) or an Anthropic API key?

Option 1: Claude Subscription (Recommended)

Ask the user:

Want me to grab the OAuth token from your current Claude session?

If yes:

TOKEN=$(cat ~/.claude/.credentials.json 2>/dev/null | jq -r '.claudeAiOauth.accessToken // empty')
if [ -n "$TOKEN" ]; then
  echo "CLAUDE_CODE_OAUTH_TOKEN=$TOKEN" > .env
  echo "Token configured: ${TOKEN:0:20}...${TOKEN: -4}"
else
  echo "No token found - are you logged in to Claude Code?"
fi

If the token wasn't found, tell the user:

Run claude in another terminal and log in first, then come back here.

Option 2: API Key

Ask if they have an existing key to copy or need to create one.

Copy existing:

grep "^ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=" /path/to/source/.env > .env

Create new:

echo 'ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=' > .env

Tell the user to add their key from https://console.anthropic.com/

Verify:

KEY=$(grep "^ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=" .env | cut -d= -f2)
[ -n "$KEY" ] && echo "API key configured: ${KEY:0:10}...${KEY: -4}" || echo "Missing"

4. Build Container Image

Build the NanoClaw agent container:

./container/build.sh

This creates the nanoclaw-agent:latest image with Node.js, Chromium, Claude Code CLI, and agent-browser.

Verify the build succeeded (the container images command may not work due to a plugin issue, so we verify by running a simple test):

echo '{}' | container run -i --entrypoint /bin/echo nanoclaw-agent:latest "Container OK" || echo "Container build failed"

5. WhatsApp Authentication

USER ACTION REQUIRED

Run the authentication script:

npm run auth

Tell the user:

A QR code will appear. On your phone:

1. Open WhatsApp
2. Tap Settings → Linked Devices → Link a Device
3. Scan the QR code

Wait for the script to output "Successfully authenticated" then continue.

If it says "Already authenticated", skip to the next step.

6. Configure Assistant Name

Ask the user:

What trigger word do you want to use? (default: Andy)

Messages starting with @TriggerWord will be sent to Claude.

If they choose something other than Andy, update it in these places:

1. groups/CLAUDE.md - Change "# Andy" and "You are Andy" to the new name
2. groups/main/CLAUDE.md - Same changes at the top
3. data/registered_groups.json - Use @NewName as the trigger when registering groups

Store their choice - you'll use it when creating the registered_groups.json and when telling them how to test.

7. Register Main Channel

Ask the user:

Do you want to use your personal chat (message yourself) or a WhatsApp group as your main control channel?

For personal chat:

Send any message to yourself in WhatsApp (the "Message Yourself" chat). Tell me when done.

For group:

Send any message in the WhatsApp group you want to use as your main channel. Tell me when done.

After user confirms, start the app briefly to capture the message:

timeout 10 npm run dev || true

Then find the JID from the database:

# For personal chat (ends with @s.whatsapp.net)
sqlite3 store/messages.db "SELECT DISTINCT chat_jid FROM messages WHERE chat_jid LIKE '%@s.whatsapp.net' ORDER BY timestamp DESC LIMIT 5"

# For group (ends with @g.us)
sqlite3 store/messages.db "SELECT DISTINCT chat_jid FROM messages WHERE chat_jid LIKE '%@g.us' ORDER BY timestamp DESC LIMIT 5"

Create/update data/registered_groups.json using the JID from above and the assistant name from step 5:

{
  "JID_HERE": {
    "name": "main",
    "folder": "main",
    "trigger": "@ASSISTANT_NAME",
    "added_at": "CURRENT_ISO_TIMESTAMP"
  }
}

Ensure the groups folder exists:

mkdir -p groups/main/logs

8. Configure External Directory Access (Mount Allowlist)

Ask the user:

Do you want the agent to be able to access any directories outside the NanoClaw project?

Examples: Git repositories, project folders, documents you want Claude to work on.

Note: This is optional. Without configuration, agents can only access their own group folders.

If no, create an empty allowlist to make this explicit:

mkdir -p ~/.config/nanoclaw
cat > ~/.config/nanoclaw/mount-allowlist.json << 'EOF'
{
  "allowedRoots": [],
  "blockedPatterns": [],
  "nonMainReadOnly": true
}
EOF
echo "Mount allowlist created - no external directories allowed"

Skip to the next step.

If yes, ask follow-up questions:

8a. Collect Directory Paths

Ask the user:

Which directories do you want to allow access to?

You can specify:

• A parent folder like ~/projects (allows access to anything inside)
• Specific paths like ~/repos/my-app

List them one per line, or give me a comma-separated list.

For each directory they provide, ask:

Should [directory] be read-write (agents can modify files) or read-only?

Read-write is needed for: code changes, creating files, git commits Read-only is safer for: reference docs, config examples, templates

8b. Configure Non-Main Group Access

Ask the user:

Should non-main groups (other WhatsApp chats you add later) be restricted to read-only access even if read-write is allowed for the directory?

Recommended: Yes - this prevents other groups from modifying files even if you grant them access to a directory.

8c. Create the Allowlist

Create the allowlist file based on their answers:

mkdir -p ~/.config/nanoclaw

Then write the JSON file. Example for a user who wants ~/projects (read-write) and ~/docs (read-only) with non-main read-only:

cat > ~/.config/nanoclaw/mount-allowlist.json << 'EOF'
{
  "allowedRoots": [
    {
      "path": "~/projects",
      "allowReadWrite": true,
      "description": "Development projects"
    },
    {
      "path": "~/docs",
      "allowReadWrite": false,
      "description": "Reference documents"
    }
  ],
  "blockedPatterns": [],
  "nonMainReadOnly": true
}
EOF

Verify the file:

cat ~/.config/nanoclaw/mount-allowlist.json

Tell the user:

Mount allowlist configured. The following directories are now accessible:

• ~/projects (read-write)
• ~/docs (read-only)

Security notes:

• Sensitive paths (.ssh, .gnupg, .aws, credentials) are always blocked
• This config file is stored outside the project, so agents cannot modify it
• Changes require restarting the NanoClaw service

To grant a group access to a directory, add it to their config in data/registered_groups.json:

"containerConfig": {
  "additionalMounts": [
    { "hostPath": "~/projects/my-app", "containerPath": "my-app", "readonly": false }
  ]
}

9. Configure launchd Service

Generate the plist file with correct paths automatically:

NODE_PATH=$(which node)
PROJECT_PATH=$(pwd)
HOME_PATH=$HOME

cat > ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.nanoclaw.plist << EOF
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
    <key>Label</key>
    <string>com.nanoclaw</string>
    <key>ProgramArguments</key>
    <array>
        <string>${NODE_PATH}</string>
        <string>${PROJECT_PATH}/dist/index.js</string>
    </array>
    <key>WorkingDirectory</key>
    <string>${PROJECT_PATH}</string>
    <key>RunAtLoad</key>
    <true/>
    <key>KeepAlive</key>
    <true/>
    <key>EnvironmentVariables</key>
    <dict>
        <key>PATH</key>
        <string>/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:${HOME_PATH}/.local/bin</string>
        <key>HOME</key>
        <string>${HOME_PATH}</string>
    </dict>
    <key>StandardOutPath</key>
    <string>${PROJECT_PATH}/logs/nanoclaw.log</string>
    <key>StandardErrorPath</key>
    <string>${PROJECT_PATH}/logs/nanoclaw.error.log</string>
</dict>
</plist>
EOF

echo "Created launchd plist with:"
echo "  Node: ${NODE_PATH}"
echo "  Project: ${PROJECT_PATH}"

Build and start the service:

npm run build
mkdir -p logs
launchctl load ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.nanoclaw.plist

Verify it's running:

launchctl list | grep nanoclaw

11. Test

Tell the user (using the assistant name they configured):

Send @ASSISTANT_NAME hello in your registered chat.

Check the logs:

tail -f logs/nanoclaw.log

The user should receive a response in WhatsApp.

Troubleshooting

Service not starting: Check logs/nanoclaw.error.log

Container agent fails with "Claude Code process exited with code 1":

• Ensure Apple Container is running: container system start
• Check container logs: cat groups/main/logs/container-*.log | tail -50

No response to messages:

• Verify the trigger pattern matches (e.g., @AssistantName at start of message)
• Check that the chat JID is in data/registered_groups.json
• Check logs/nanoclaw.log for errors

WhatsApp disconnected:

• The service will show a macOS notification
• Run npm run auth to re-authenticate
• Restart the service: launchctl kickstart -k gui/$(id -u)/com.nanoclaw

Unload service:

launchctl unload ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.nanoclaw.plist