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Josh Palmer a737bfaab4 docs: make nix-clawdbot link more prominent

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Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

2026-01-05 00:24:33 +01:00

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Install Clawdbot declaratively with Nix

You want reproducible, rollback-able installs

You're already using Nix/NixOS/Home Manager

You want everything pinned and managed declaratively

Nix Installation

The recommended way to run Clawdbot with Nix is via nix-clawdbot — a batteries-included Home Manager module.

Quick Start

Paste this to your AI agent (Claude, Cursor, etc.):

I want to set up nix-clawdbot on my Mac.
Repository: github:clawdbot/nix-clawdbot

What I need you to do:
1. Check if Determinate Nix is installed (if not, install it)
2. Create a local flake at ~/code/clawdbot-local using templates/agent-first/flake.nix
3. Help me create a Telegram bot (@BotFather) and get my chat ID (@userinfobot)
4. Set up secrets (bot token, Anthropic key) - plain files at ~/.secrets/ is fine
5. Fill in the template placeholders and run home-manager switch
6. Verify: launchd running, bot responds to messages

Reference the nix-clawdbot README for module options.

📦 Full guide: github.com/clawdbot/nix-clawdbot

The nix-clawdbot repo is the source of truth for Nix installation. This page is just a quick overview.

What you get

Gateway + macOS app + tools (whisper, spotify, cameras) — all pinned
Launchd service that survives reboots
Plugin system with declarative config
Instant rollback: home-manager switch --rollback

Nix Mode Runtime Behavior

When CLAWDBOT_NIX_MODE=1 is set (automatic with nix-clawdbot):

Clawdbot supports a Nix mode that makes configuration deterministic and disables auto-install flows. Enable it by exporting:

CLAWDBOT_NIX_MODE=1

On macOS, the GUI app does not automatically inherit shell env vars. You can also enable Nix mode via defaults:

defaults write com.clawdbot.mac clawdbot.nixMode -bool true

Config + state paths

Clawdbot reads JSON5 config from CLAWDBOT_CONFIG_PATH and stores mutable data in CLAWDBOT_STATE_DIR.

CLAWDBOT_STATE_DIR (default: ~/.clawdbot)
CLAWDBOT_CONFIG_PATH (default: $CLAWDBOT_STATE_DIR/clawdbot.json)

When running under Nix, set these explicitly to Nix-managed locations so runtime state and config stay out of the immutable store.

Runtime behavior in Nix mode

Auto-install and self-mutation flows are disabled
Missing dependencies surface Nix-specific remediation messages
UI surfaces a read-only Nix mode banner when present

Packaging note (macOS)

The macOS packaging flow expects a stable Info.plist template at:

apps/macos/Sources/Clawdbot/Resources/Info.plist

scripts/package-mac-app.sh copies this template into the app bundle and patches dynamic fields (bundle ID, version/build, Git SHA, Sparkle keys). This keeps the plist deterministic for SwiftPM packaging and Nix builds (which do not rely on a full Xcode toolchain).

nix-clawdbot — full setup guide
Wizard — non-Nix CLI setup
Docker — containerized setup

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