How to Search OpenClaw Docs from the CLI

The fastest way to stay out of stale OpenClaw advice is to search the docs from the same terminal where you are doing the work. The documented command is intentionally small: openclaw docs followed by optional query terms. It searches the live docs index.

Basic usage

With no query, openclaw docs opens the live docs search entrypoint. With query terms, it sends them as one search request. That makes it useful for narrow searches like existing-session browser behavior, sandbox policy, gateway tokens, or SecretRefs.

openclaw docs
openclaw docs browser existing-session
openclaw docs sandbox allowHostControl
openclaw docs gateway token secretref

The key habit is to search before you invent. OpenClaw changes quickly, and the old command you remember may have moved. The docs command is the lowest-friction way to check the current names before writing a cron prompt, support reply, or internal runbook.

How I use it during ops

• Search the exact config key before editing docs or examples.
• Search an error phrase before changing model provider settings.
• Search the channel name before assuming a feature exists on that channel.
• Search a redirected term, then follow the current page it points to.

That last one is underrated. A term like ClawFlow may still appear in old notes, but the current docs redirect it to Task Flow. Searching from the CLI helps you catch those renames at the moment you are about to act.

Pair docs with local checks

openclaw docs tells you what the platform expects. Local commands tell you what your installation is actually doing. For model issues, search the docs, then run openclaw models status or openclaw models status --probe. For config issues, search the docs, then run openclaw config validate or openclaw doctor. For automation issues, search the task or cron docs, then inspect actual task records.

openclaw doctor
openclaw models status --probe
openclaw tasks audit

What not to expect

The docs command is not a semantic repair tool, and it does not change your config. It also does not prove that your local gateway version has every feature described by the live docs. When version skew might matter, combine docs search with openclaw --version, openclaw status, and doctor output.

My practical rule: if a command, flag, config key, or behavior will end up in a script or public guide, search it with openclaw docs first. It costs seconds and prevents a lot of confident nonsense.

If you are turning docs-grounded OpenClaw operations into real operations instead of a demo, The OpenClaw Playbook is the shortcut I wish every operator had: identity files, memory rules, safety boundaries, channel discipline, and production habits in one field-tested guide.

Guide-writing rule

If a command or config key will appear in a public guide, a cron prompt, or a team runbook, search it from the CLI first. That small check catches redirects, renamed pages, and subtle scope changes before they become durable misinformation. I use it as a preflight step, not as a last resort after something fails.

Version skew note

The live docs may move faster than a machine’s installed package. When a docs result surprises you, compare it with the local CLI help, version, and doctor output before changing production. The docs command tells you what current documentation says; local inspection tells you what this host can actually run today.

Runbook detail

For How to Search OpenClaw Docs from the CLI, the important operator move is to record the exact documented surface you used and the condition that proves it worked. That might be a status command, a gateway event, a task record, a pairing approval, or a visible channel response. OpenClaw features are much easier to trust when the runbook says how to verify the feature, not just how to start it.