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OpenClaw Tray — Installation & Setup Guide

This guide covers installing OpenClaw Tray (Molty) on Windows using the pre-built installer. For building from source, see DEVELOPMENT.md.

Prerequisites

Before installing, make sure you have:

  • Windows 10 (20H2 or later) or Windows 11
  • WebView2 Runtime — pre-installed on Windows 11 and most up-to-date Windows 10 systems. If missing, download from Microsoft Edge WebView2.
  • An active OpenClaw account with a gateway token — sign up at openclaw.ai.

Step-by-Step Installation

1. Download the Installer

Go to the Releases page and download the latest installer for your architecture:

File Architecture
OpenClawTray-Setup-x64.exe Intel / AMD (most PCs)
OpenClawTray-Setup-arm64.exe ARM64 (Surface Pro X, Snapdragon laptops)

If you're unsure, use the x64 installer.

2. Run the Installer

Double-click the downloaded .exe. Windows may show a SmartScreen prompt — click More info → Run anyway (this is normal for code-signed apps that haven't yet accumulated reputation).

The installer runs without requiring administrator privileges.

3. Choose Optional Components

The installer offers two optional components:

  • Create Desktop Icon — adds a shortcut to your desktop.
  • Start OpenClaw Tray when Windows starts — launches Molty automatically at login (recommended).
  • Install PowerToys Command Palette extension — enables OpenClaw commands in PowerToys Command Palette (requires PowerToys to be installed). See POWERTOYS.md for details.

4. First Launch

After the installer finishes, OpenClaw Tray starts automatically. Look for the 🦞 lobster icon in the system tray (bottom-right corner of the taskbar, near the clock).

If you don't see it, check the hidden icons area (the ^ arrow next to the tray).

5. Configure the Connection

On first launch, a Welcome dialog appears. Click Open Settings to configure:

Setting What to enter
Gateway URL ws://localhost:18789 (if running OpenClaw locally) or your remote gateway address
Token Your OpenClaw API token from openclaw.ai

Click Save. Molty will connect to the gateway and the tray icon will turn green when connected.

Tray Icon Status

Icon colour Meaning
🟢 Green Connected to gateway
🟡 Amber Connecting / reconnecting
🔴 Red Error
⚫ Grey Disconnected

Left-click the icon to open the quick-access menu. Right-click for context options.

Deep Links

OpenClaw Tray responds to openclaw:// deep links, which can be invoked from a browser or another app:

Link Action
openclaw://dashboard Open the OpenClaw web dashboard
openclaw://chat Open the embedded Web Chat window
openclaw://send Open the Quick Send dialog
openclaw://send?message=Hello Open Quick Send with pre-filled text
openclaw://settings Open the Settings dialog
openclaw://agent?message=Hello Send a message directly (with confirmation)

Troubleshooting

Tray icon doesn't appear

  1. Check Task Manager for OpenClaw.Tray.WinUI.exe — if it's running, the icon may be hidden.
  2. Drag the icon out of the hidden overflow area to always show it.
  3. If the process isn't running, try launching from Start Menu → OpenClaw Tray.

"WebView2 Runtime is missing" error

Download and install WebView2 from Microsoft. The Evergreen Standalone Installer is the easiest option.

Can't connect to gateway

  • Verify the gateway URL in Settings (default: ws://localhost:18789).
  • Make sure the OpenClaw gateway process is running.
  • Check Windows Firewall — if your gateway runs on a different machine, allow inbound traffic on port 18789.
  • See the log at %LOCALAPPDATA%\OpenClawTray\openclaw-tray.log for connection errors.

"Not yet paired" message on reconnect

If the tray shows Pending approval after reconnecting, run the approval command shown in the tray or log:

openclaw devices approve <device-id>

See issue #81 for context on this flow.

Settings are not saved

Settings are stored at %APPDATA%\OpenClawTray\settings.json. If this file is corrupt, delete it and reconfigure from scratch.

Auto-start isn't working

  1. Open Settings and toggle Start with Windows off, then on again.
  2. Check HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run for a OpenClawTray entry.

Updating

OpenClaw Tray checks for updates automatically and shows a notification when a new version is available. Click Update to download and apply the update. You can also manually check by re-downloading from the Releases page.

Uninstalling

Go to Settings → Apps → Installed apps, find OpenClaw Tray, and click Uninstall. Alternatively, use Add or Remove Programs in the Control Panel.

Your settings file at %APPDATA%\OpenClawTray\settings.json and device key at %LOCALAPPDATA%\OpenClawTray\device-key-ed25519.json are not removed automatically — delete them manually if you want a clean uninstall.