OpenClaw

OpenClaw is the default AgentStead sandbox. It runs a full Kasm desktop alongside an OpenClaw gateway — a Node.js process that manages provider connections, model routing, and agent session state.

Port: 18789 | Token type: Gateway Token | Recommended for: most users

What starts on boot

When an OpenClaw agent comes online:

1. Homebrew seeding — on first boot, Homebrew is copied from the image to your persistent /data/homebrew volume (~30 seconds). Subsequent boots are instant.
2. OpenClaw onboarding — runs once on first boot to initialise ~/.openclaw/ config.
3. Chrome with CDP — Google Chrome starts with remote debugging on port 9222. This enables browser automation tools (Playwright, Puppeteer, CDP-based agents).
4. OpenClaw gateway — the daemon starts on port 18789, bound to loopback. AgentStead proxies it through your public URL.

LLM access

OpenClaw agents have two ways to access LLMs:

Managed endpoint (no API keys needed): AGENTSTEAD_PROXY_TOKEN is injected automatically and works with the managed LLM proxy. Use this from scripts, MCP servers, or any tool that accepts a custom OpenAI-compatible base URL.

OpenClaw's own model config: The OpenClaw desktop — Claude Code, OpenCode, Kilo Code — uses OpenClaw's own credential store. Set provider keys directly in OpenClaw:

openclaw config set models.providers.anthropic.apiKey <key>
openclaw config set models.providers.openai.apiKey <key>
openclaw config set models.providers.openrouter.apiKey <key>

# View what's configured
openclaw config list models.providers

Or use the Control UI → Settings → Models.

BYOK via Env Vars: Any keys you add to the Env Vars tab are injected as environment variables at startup. Tools that read from the environment (Claude Code, Codex) pick them up automatically — add the key, restart.

Getting started with Claude Code

openclaw config set models.providers.anthropic.apiKey <your-key>

cd ~/your-project   # or clone one: git clone https://github.com/...
claude

claude --version
# Claude Code x.x.x

Getting started with Codex

codex --version
# @openai/codex x.x.x

cd ~/your-project
codex

Getting started with OpenCode

OpenCode supports multiple providers. Add any of the keys in the table above to Secrets, restart, and run:

opencode --version
opencode

On first launch, OpenCode shows a TUI to pick your provider and model. Since keys are in the environment, it detects them automatically.

VS Code

VS Code is pre-installed (included in the Kasm base image). The Kilo Code extension is pre-baked and ready to use — open VS Code from the desktop and it's there.

# Open VS Code from terminal
code ~/your-project

Kilo Code is an AI coding assistant that works with multiple providers. Configure it from the Kilo Code panel in the VS Code sidebar.

Neovim + LazyVim

Neovim with a LazyVim starter config is pre-installed. On first launch, LazyVim downloads its plugins (requires internet — your agent always has it):

nvim ~/your-project/file.ts
# LazyVim installs plugins on first open (~30 seconds)

The config lives at ~/.config/nvim/ in your persistent workspace, so plugin installations survive restarts.

Homebrew

Homebrew is seeded to /data/homebrew on first boot and persists. Install any package you need:

brew install jless        # JSON viewer
brew install gh           # GitHub CLI (already installed via apt too)
brew install httpie       # Friendly HTTP client
brew install deno         # Deno runtime

Installed packages are part of your persistent workspace and survive agent restarts.

Browser automation

Chrome runs with Chrome DevTools Protocol (CDP) on port 9222 — accessible from within the agent. Tools like Playwright and Puppeteer can connect to it directly:

# Playwright connects to the running Chrome instance
npx playwright install chromium  # only needed once

The CDP endpoint is http://localhost:9222. This is the same browser you see in the desktop's browser view.

Pre-installed tools

OpenClaw includes the full platform toolchain. Highlights:

See Pre-installed Tools for the full list.