Installing clawgate on Windows

Quick Install (recommended)

PowerShell:

irm clawgate.org/install.ps1 | iex

Command Prompt:

curl -fsSL clawgate.org/install.cmd -o install.cmd && install.cmd && del install.cmd

This downloads clawgate.exe to %USERPROFILE%\.clawgate\bin\, adds it to your PATH, and you’re ready to go. Restart your terminal afterwards.

Manual Download

1. Go to clawgate.org or the GitHub Releases page
2. Download clawgate-windows-amd64.exe
3. Create a folder: %USERPROFILE%\.clawgate\bin\
4. Save the file as clawgate.exe in that folder

Add to PATH (manual installs only)

If you used the quick install, PATH was set up automatically. For manual installs, add the folder to your PATH:

Using PowerShell

$binPath = "$env:USERPROFILE\.clawgate\bin"
$currentPath = [Environment]::GetEnvironmentVariable("Path", "User")
if ($currentPath -notlike "*$binPath*") {
    [Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("Path", "$currentPath;$binPath", "User")
    Write-Host "Added $binPath to PATH. Restart your terminal to apply."
}

Using System Settings (GUI)

1. Press Win + R, type sysdm.cpl, press Enter
2. Go to Advanced tab > Environment Variables
3. Under User variables, select Path and click Edit
4. Click New and add: %USERPROFILE%\.clawgate\bin
5. Click OK on all dialogs
6. Close and reopen your terminal

Verify

Open a new terminal (Command Prompt, PowerShell, or Windows Terminal) and run:

clawgate --help

If you get 'clawgate' is not recognized, make sure you restarted the terminal after adding to PATH.

Windows Defender / SmartScreen

Windows may flag the binary the first time you run it because it’s unsigned. You’ll see a “Windows protected your PC” dialog.

1. Click More info
2. Click Run anyway

This only happens once. The binary is a standard Go executable with no external dependencies.

Login (ChatGPT mode)

clawgate login

Follow the on-screen instructions to authenticate with your ChatGPT account.

Start the proxy

# ChatGPT mode (default)
clawgate

# API key mode
clawgate --mode=api --apiKey=sk-xxx

# Custom port
clawgate --mode=api --apiKey=sk-xxx --port=9000

Connect Claude Code

In a separate terminal:

set ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL=http://localhost:8082
claude

Or in PowerShell:

$env:ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL = "http://localhost:8082"
claude

Or as a one-liner (PowerShell):

$env:ANTHROPIC_BASE_URL="http://localhost:8082"; claude

Run on startup (optional)

Task Scheduler

1. Press Win + R, type taskschd.msc, press Enter
2. Click Create Basic Task in the right panel
3. Name: clawgate, click Next
4. Trigger: When I log on, click Next
5. Action: Start a program, click Next
6. Program: %USERPROFILE%\.clawgate\bin\clawgate.exe
7. Arguments: --mode=api --apiKey=sk-xxx
8. Click Finish

PowerShell startup script

Add to your PowerShell profile ($PROFILE):

# Start clawgate in the background on shell startup
if (-not (Get-Process clawgate -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue)) {
    Start-Process -WindowStyle Hidden "$env:USERPROFILE\.clawgate\bin\clawgate.exe" `
        -ArgumentList "--mode=api","--apiKey=sk-xxx"
}

Uninstall

PowerShell

# Remove the binary and credentials
Remove-Item -Recurse -Force "$env:USERPROFILE\.clawgate"

# Remove from PATH
$binPath = "$env:USERPROFILE\.clawgate\bin"
$currentPath = [Environment]::GetEnvironmentVariable("Path", "User")
$newPath = ($currentPath -split ";" | Where-Object { $_ -ne $binPath }) -join ";"
[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("Path", $newPath, "User")

Manual

1. Delete the folder %USERPROFILE%\.clawgate\
2. Remove %USERPROFILE%\.clawgate\bin from PATH (System Settings > Environment Variables)
3. Delete the Task Scheduler entry if you created one