coderClaw

Nix Installation

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

Quick Start

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

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

What I need you to do:
1. Check if Determinate Nix is installed (if not, install it)
2. Create a local flake at ~/code/coderclaw-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-coderclaw README for module options.

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

The nix-coderclaw 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 CODERCLAW_NIX_MODE=1 is set (automatic with nix-coderclaw):

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

CODERCLAW_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 bot.molt.mac coderclaw.nixMode -bool true

Config + state paths

CoderClaw reads JSON5 config from CODERCLAW_CONFIG_PATH and stores mutable data in CODERCLAW_STATE_DIR. When needed, you can also set CODERCLAW_HOME to control the base home directory used for internal path resolution.

CODERCLAW_HOME (default precedence: HOME / USERPROFILE / os.homedir())
CODERCLAW_STATE_DIR (default: ~/.coderclaw)
CODERCLAW_CONFIG_PATH (default: $CODERCLAW_STATE_DIR/coderclaw.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/CoderClaw/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-coderclaw — full setup guide
Wizard — non-Nix CLI setup
Docker — containerized setup

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