NemoClaw on Windows — WSL2 Installation Guide

WSL2 (Windows Subsystem for Linux version 2) is the virtualization layer that lets NemoClaw run inside a real Linux kernel on Windows. It ships with Windows 10 (version 2004+) and Windows 11. You must run this command as Administrator.

# Open PowerShell as Administrator
# Right-click Start → "Windows PowerShell (Admin)"

wsl --install

# This installs WSL2 plus Ubuntu automatically.
# If you already have WSL1, upgrade to WSL2:
wsl --set-default-version 2

# Restart your computer to complete WSL2 installation

If WSL2 installed without Ubuntu, or if you want to use a specific Ubuntu version, install it from the Microsoft Store.

# Option A: Microsoft Store
# Search "Ubuntu 22.04.3 LTS" and click Install

# Option B: Command line
wsl --install -d Ubuntu-22.04

# Launch Ubuntu and complete initial setup
wsl -d Ubuntu-22.04

# Update system packages inside Ubuntu
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

NemoClaw requires Docker to run its container-based sandbox. On Windows, Docker Desktop is the recommended approach. It integrates directly with WSL2 so containers run inside the Linux kernel rather than a separate VM.

# 1. Download Docker Desktop from:
#    https://www.docker.com/products/docker-desktop/
#
# 2. Run the installer (Docker Desktop Installer.exe)
#
# 3. During installation, ensure:
#    ✓ "Use WSL 2 instead of Hyper-V" is checked
#    ✓ "Add shortcut to desktop" (optional)
#
# 4. After Docker Desktop launches, go to:
#    Settings → Resources → WSL Integration
#    Enable integration with your Ubuntu-22.04 distro
#
# 5. Verify Docker works inside WSL2:
wsl -d Ubuntu-22.04
docker --version
docker run hello-world

All NemoClaw commands must be run inside the WSL2 Ubuntu terminal, not in Windows PowerShell or Command Prompt. The installer script handles all Linux dependencies automatically.

# Open your WSL2 Ubuntu terminal
# (Search "Ubuntu" in Start menu or run: wsl in PowerShell)

# Verify Docker is accessible from WSL2
docker ps

# Run the official NVIDIA NemoClaw installer
curl -fsSL https://www.nvidia.com/nemoclaw.sh | bash

# The installer will:
# - Download and configure the NemoClaw runtime
# - Set up the OpenShell policy engine
# - Configure the Docker network bridge
# - Add nemoclaw and openclaw to your PATH

Once the installer completes, verify NemoClaw is correctly installed and launch your first agent session.

# Verify NemoClaw installation
nemoclaw --version

# Expected output:
# NemoClaw v0.1.0-alpha (OpenShell runtime v0.1.0)
# NVIDIA Corporation — GTC 2026 Release

# Connect your first assistant
nemoclaw my-assistant connect

# Launch the OpenClaw terminal UI
openclaw tui

# List running NemoClaw sessions
nemoclaw status

Before running agents on any real work, create an operator policy file to define the security boundaries for your session. Copy the minimal starter policy below:

# Create a policy directory
mkdir -p ~/.nemoclaw/policies

# Create a minimal policy file
cat > ~/.nemoclaw/policies/default.yaml << 'EOF'
runtime: openShell
version: "1.0"

filesystem:
  read: ["~/projects", "/tmp/nemoclaw"]
  write: ["/tmp/nemoclaw/output"]
  deny: ["/etc", "/root", "~/.ssh", "~/.aws"]

network:
  egress:
    allowlist:
      - "api.openai.com"
      - "github.com"
    block_all_others: true

shell:
  allowed_commands: ["git", "python3", "node", "npm", "ls", "cat"]

privacy:
  pii_stripping: enabled
EOF

# Validate the policy file
nemoclaw policy validate ~/.nemoclaw/policies/default.yaml

# Apply it to your assistant
nemoclaw my-assistant connect --policy ~/.nemoclaw/policies/default.yaml