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Updating

Moltbot is moving fast (pre “1.0”). Treat updates like shipping infra: update → run checks → restart (or use moltbot update, which restarts) → verify.

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Recommended: re-run the website installer (upgrade in place)

The preferred update path is to re-run the installer from the website. It detects existing installs, upgrades in place, and runs moltbot doctor when needed. 
curl -fsSL https://molt.bot/install.sh | bash
Notes:
  • Add --no-onboard if you don’t want the onboarding wizard to run again.
  • For source installs, use: 
    curl -fsSL https://molt.bot/install.sh | bash -s -- --install-method git --no-onboard
    The installer will git pull --rebase only if the repo is clean.
  • For global installs, the script uses npm install -g moltbot@latest under the hood.
  • Legacy note: moltbot remains available as a compatibility shim.

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Before you update

  • Know how you installed: global (npm/pnpm) vs from source (git clone).
  • Know how your Gateway is running: foreground terminal vs supervised service (launchd/systemd).
  • Snapshot your tailoring:
    • Config: ~/.clawdbot/moltbot.json
    • Credentials: ~/.clawdbot/credentials/
    • Workspace: ~/clawd

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Update (global install)

Global install (pick one): 
npm i -g moltbot@latest

pnpm add -g moltbot@latest
We do not recommend Bun for the Gateway runtime (WhatsApp/Telegram bugs). To switch update channels (git + npm installs): 
moltbot update --channel beta
moltbot update --channel dev
moltbot update --channel stable
Use --tag <dist-tag|version> for a one-off install tag/version. See Development channels for channel semantics and release notes. Note: on npm installs, the gateway logs an update hint on startup (checks the current channel tag). Disable via update.checkOnStart: false. Then: 
moltbot doctor
moltbot gateway restart
moltbot health
Notes:
  • If your Gateway runs as a service, moltbot gateway restart is preferred over killing PIDs.
  • If you’re pinned to a specific version, see “Rollback / pinning” below.

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Update (moltbot update)

For source installs (git checkout), prefer: 
moltbot update
It runs a safe-ish update flow:
  • Requires a clean worktree.
  • Switches to the selected channel (tag or branch).
  • Fetches + rebases against the configured upstream (dev channel).
  • Installs deps, builds, builds the Control UI, and runs moltbot doctor.
  • Restarts the gateway by default (use --no-restart to skip).
If you installed via npm/pnpm (no git metadata), moltbot update will try to update via your package manager. If it can’t detect the install, use “Update (global install)” instead.

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Update (Control UI / RPC)

The Control UI has Update & Restart (RPC: update.run). It:
  1. Runs the same source-update flow as moltbot update (git checkout only).
  2. Writes a restart sentinel with a structured report (stdout/stderr tail).
  3. Restarts the gateway and pings the last active session with the report.
If the rebase fails, the gateway aborts and restarts without applying the update.

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Update (from source)

From the repo checkout: Preferred: 
moltbot update
Manual (equivalent-ish): 
git pull
pnpm install
pnpm build
pnpm ui:build # auto-installs UI deps on first run
moltbot doctor
moltbot health
Notes:
  • pnpm build matters when you run the packaged moltbot binary (dist/entry.js) or use Node to run dist/.
  • If you run from a repo checkout without a global install, use pnpm moltbot ... for CLI commands.
  • If you run directly from TypeScript (pnpm moltbot ...), a rebuild is usually unnecessary, but config migrations still apply → run doctor.
  • Switching between global and git installs is easy: install the other flavor, then run moltbot doctor so the gateway service entrypoint is rewritten to the current install.

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Always Run: moltbot doctor

Doctor is the “safe update” command. It’s intentionally boring: repair + migrate + warn. Note: if you’re on a source install (git checkout), moltbot doctor will offer to run moltbot update first. Typical things it does:
  • Migrate deprecated config keys / legacy config file locations.
  • Audit DM policies and warn on risky “open” settings.
  • Check Gateway health and can offer to restart.
  • Detect and migrate older gateway services (launchd/systemd; legacy schtasks) to current Moltbot services.
  • On Linux, ensure systemd user lingering (so the Gateway survives logout).
Details: Doctor

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Start / stop / restart the Gateway

CLI (works regardless of OS): 
moltbot gateway status
moltbot gateway stop
moltbot gateway restart
moltbot gateway --port 18789
moltbot logs --follow
If you’re supervised:
  • macOS launchd (app-bundled LaunchAgent): launchctl kickstart -k gui/$UID/com.clawdbot.gateway (use com.clawdbot.<profile> if set)
  • Linux systemd user service: systemctl --user restart moltbot-gateway[-<profile>].service
  • Windows (WSL2): systemctl --user restart moltbot-gateway[-<profile>].service
    • launchctl/systemctl only work if the service is installed; otherwise run moltbot gateway install.
Runbook + exact service labels: Gateway runbook

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Rollback / pinning (when something breaks)

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Pin (global install)

Install a known-good version (replace <version> with the last working one): 
npm i -g moltbot@<version>

pnpm add -g moltbot@<version>
Tip: to see the current published version, run npm view moltbot version. Then restart + re-run doctor: 
moltbot doctor
moltbot gateway restart

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Pin (source) by date

Pick a commit from a date (example: “state of main as of 2026-01-01”): 
git fetch origin
git checkout "$(git rev-list -n 1 --before=\"2026-01-01\" origin/main)"
Then reinstall deps + restart: 
pnpm install
pnpm build
moltbot gateway restart
If you want to go back to latest later: 
git checkout main
git pull

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If you’re stuck