/nemoclaw-setup

name: nemoclaw-setup
description: "Install and configure NVIDIA NemoClaw (sandboxed OpenClaw agent platform) on Linux. Handles cloudflared tunnels, Docker cgroup fixes, OpenShell, sandbox creation, remote access via Cloudflare Tunnel, and known bug workarounds. Use whenever the user mentions installing NemoClaw, setting up OpenClaw, configuring an NVIDIA Spark or DGX for sandboxed agents, or troubleshooting NemoClaw deployment."
compatibility: claude-code-only

NemoClaw Setup

Install NVIDIA NemoClaw — a sandboxed AI agent platform built on OpenClaw with Landlock + seccomp + network namespace isolation. Runs inside Docker via k3s (OpenShell).

What You Get

• Sandboxed AI agent with web UI and terminal CLI
• Powered by NVIDIA Nemotron models (cloud or local)
• Network-policy-controlled access to external services
• Optional remote access via Cloudflare Tunnel

Prerequisites

| Requirement | Check | Install | |-------------|-------|---------| | Linux (Ubuntu 22.04+) | `uname -a` | — | | Docker | `docker ps` | `sudo apt install docker.io` | | Node.js 20+ (22 recommended) | `node --version` | `nvm install 22` | | NVIDIA GPU (optional but recommended) | `nvidia-smi` | — | | NVIDIA API key | — | https://build.nvidia.com/settings/api-keys |

Workflow

Step 1: Pre-flight Checks

# Check Docker
docker ps 2>/dev/null || echo "Docker not running or no access"

# Check Node.js
node --version

# Check if already installed
which nemoclaw && nemoclaw --version
which openshell && openshell --version

If `nemoclaw` is already installed, skip to Step 4.

Step 2: Install NemoClaw

curl -fsSL https://nvidia.com/nemoclaw.sh | bash

This installs NemoClaw and OpenClaw via npm globally (to `~/.npm-global/bin/`).

**If the installer can't find Node.js**, install it first:

curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_22.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt install -y nodejs

Step 3: Install OpenShell

curl -LsSf https://raw.githubusercontent.com/NVIDIA/OpenShell/main/install.sh | sh

Installs to `~/.local/bin/openshell`.

Step 4: Fix Docker Permissions and cgroup

**Docker group** — the user must be in the `docker` group:

sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
newgrp docker
# or log out and back in

**cgroup v2 fix** — required for k3s inside Docker:

# Check if needed
grep cgroup2 /proc/filesystems && echo "cgroup v2 detected — fix needed"

# Apply fix (needs sudo)
sudo $HOME/.npm-global/bin/nemoclaw setup-spark

This adds `"default-cgroupns-mode": "host"` to `/etc/docker/daemon.json` and restarts Docker.

**IMPORTANT**: The `nemoclaw setup-spark` command also asks for an NVIDIA API key. Have it ready (starts with `nvapi-`). Get one at https://build.nvidia.com/settings/api-keys.

Step 5: Run Onboarding

PATH=$HOME/.npm-global/bin:$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH nemoclaw onboard

The interactive wizard will: 1. Check Docker and OpenShell 2. Start the OpenShell gateway (k3s in Docker) 3. Ask for a sandbox name — use `claw` or any name 4. Configure the NVIDIA API key 5. Set up inference (Nemotron 3 Super 120B via cloud API) 6. Launch OpenClaw inside the sandbox 7. Apply network policy presets — select the ones you need

**Common port conflict**: If port 8080 is in use, find and kill the process:

fuser -k 8080/tcp

Step 6: Verify

# Check sandbox is running
PATH=$HOME/.npm-global/bin:$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH nemoclaw claw status

# Connect via terminal
PATH=$HOME/.npm-global/bin:$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH nemoclaw claw connect

Step 7: Set Up Web UI Access

The web UI runs inside the sandbox and needs a port forward:

PATH=$HOME/.npm-global/bin:$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH openshell forward start 18789 claw

Then open: `http://127.0.0.1:18789/`

**Known bug (OpenClaw ≤ v2026.3.11)**: "device identity required" error. Workaround — append the gateway token to the URL:

# Get the token
ssh -F /tmp/nemoclaw-ssh-config openshell-claw \
  "python3 -c \"import json; print(json.load(open('/sandbox/.openclaw/openclaw.json'))['gateway']['auth']['token'])\""

Then visit: `http://127.0.0.1:18789/#token=<gateway-token>`

**Fix**: Update to OpenClaw v2026.3.12+ (see Updating section below).

Step 8: Make the Port Forward Persistent

Create a health-checked keepalive script:

cat > ~/.local/bin/nemoclaw-keepalive.sh << 'KEEPALIVE'
#!/bin/bash
export PATH="$HOME/.npm-global/bin:$HOME/.local/bin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin"
cleanup() { kill %1 2>/dev/null; exit 0; }
trap cleanup SIGTERM SIGINT
while true; do
    fuser -k 18789/tcp 2>/dev/null; sleep 1
    openshell forward start 18789 claw &
    FORWARD_PID=$!; sleep 3
    while kill -0 $FORWARD_PID 2>/dev/null; do
        if ! curl -sf -o /dev/null --connect-timeout 3 http://127.0.0.1:18789/ 2>/dev/null; then
            echo "$(date): Health check failed, restarting..."
            kill $FORWARD_PID 2>/dev/null; wait $FORWARD_PID 2>/dev/null; break
        fi
        sleep 10
    done
    echo "$(date): Forward died, restarting in 3s..."; sleep 3
done
KEEPALIVE
chmod +x ~/.local/bin/nemoclaw-keepalive.sh

Create the systemd service:

sudo tee /etc/systemd/system/nemoclaw-forward.service << 'SERVICE'
[Unit]
Description=NemoClaw Port Forward with Health Check
After=docker.service
Requires=docker.service

[Service]
Type=simple
User=$USER
Group=docker
Environment=PATH=/home/$USER/.npm-global/bin:/home/$USER/.local/bin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin
ExecStart=/home/$USER/.local/bin/nemoclaw-keepalive.sh
Restart=always
RestartSec=5
KillMode=control-group

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
SERVICE

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable nemoclaw-forward
sudo systemctl start nemoclaw-forward

Step 9: Remote Access via Cloudflare Tunnel (Optional)

If you have a Cloudflare Tunnel already running, add NemoClaw to it.

**Add DNS route:**

cloudflared tunnel route dns <tunnel-name> nemoclaw.<domain>