OpenClaw Documentation Guide: Which Docs Site to Use and When (2026) | OpenClaw DC

The official OpenClaw documentation is at docs.openclaw.ai. But there are 5+ documentation sites and most users end up on the wrong one. Here is which site to use for what.

If you are brand new, read What is OpenClaw? first, then come back here to find the right docs for your next step.

Why There Are So Many Docs Sites

OpenClaw grew fast. The core team launched docs.openclaw.ai as the primary reference. Then the marketing site added its own docs section. Community members spun up wikis. The GitHub repo has its own documentation folder. The result is five or more sites that all rank for “openclaw docs,” and none of them tell you which one to use for what.

This guide fixes that. Below is a complete map of every documentation source, what it covers, and whether you should trust it.

Every OpenClaw Docs Site Compared

The Right Docs for Each Task

Installation

Go to docs.openclaw.ai/install. This page covers macOS, Linux, and Windows (WSL2), lists prerequisites including the recommended Node version, and walks through both the installer script and the npm path. The getopenclaw.ai onboarding page is a friendlier version of the same steps but sometimes lags a release behind. For a step-by-step walkthrough with troubleshooting tips, see our OpenClaw install guide.

Skills

Go to docs.openclaw.ai/skills. The skills reference documents every built-in skill, the skill manifest format, and how to write custom skills from scratch. It includes the JSON schema for skill definitions, permission scoping, and examples for file operations, web requests, and shell commands. The community site at openclawcenter.com has additional third-party skill tutorials, but always check that the skill manifest version matches your installed OpenClaw version before following those guides.

Channels

Go to docs.openclaw.ai/channels. Channels control how OpenClaw connects to external services like Slack, Discord, WhatsApp, email, and webhooks. The official docs cover authentication setup, message routing, and channel-specific rate limits. For a practical walkthrough of setting up your first channel, see our how to use OpenClaw guide.

Memory

Go to docs.openclaw.ai/memory. This section explains the built-in key-value memory, compaction behavior, and how memory persists across sessions. It also documents the memory plugin API for third-party systems like Hipocampus and mem0. If you want a comparison of all available memory systems, we wrote a dedicated OpenClaw memory systems comparison.

API Reference

Go to docs.openclaw.ai/api. The API reference covers every REST endpoint, authentication with API keys and OAuth tokens, rate limits, request and response schemas, and error codes. The GitHub repo mirrors this documentation in the /docs/api folder, tagged to each release. If you are building integrations, the GitHub version is useful because you can diff changes between releases.

Troubleshooting

Go to docs.openclaw.ai/troubleshooting. The official troubleshooting page covers the 20 most common errors, including install failures, permission issues, channel disconnects, and memory corruption. The community wiki at openclawcenter.com/docs/troubleshooting has additional user-submitted fixes, but solutions there are not reviewed by the core team. For a curated list of fixes we have verified, see our OpenClaw troubleshooting guide.

Docs Sites to Avoid

openclaw.im/docs was a community mirror that stopped receiving updates in late 2025. It still ranks well in search results, which is the problem. The configuration syntax on that site uses deprecated flags that were removed in OpenClaw 3.x. Following those instructions on a current install will produce silent config errors or outright failures. If a search result points you to openclaw.im, close the tab and go to docs.openclaw.ai instead.

Any other mirror site not linked from the official GitHub repository should be treated as untrusted. Some mirror sites have injected affiliate links into install commands or modified download URLs. Always verify that install commands point to openclaw.ai domains before running them.

How to Stay on the Right Docs Version

OpenClaw docs default to the latest stable release. If you are running an older version, look for the version selector dropdown at the top of docs.openclaw.ai. On GitHub, check out the release tag that matches your installed version and read the docs from that tag. Running openclaw --version in your terminal tells you exactly which version you have.

Quick Reference Card

Next Steps

If you have not installed OpenClaw yet, start with our install guide. If you already have it running and want practical usage patterns, read how to use OpenClaw. For background on what OpenClaw is and how it compares to other AI agents, see What is OpenClaw?.