summary: "CLI reference for `openclaw docs` (search the live docs index)"

read_when:

- You want to search the live OpenClaw docs from the terminal

- You need to know which helper binaries the docs CLI shells out to

title: "Docs"

---

# `openclaw docs`

Search the live docs index.

Search the live OpenClaw docs index from the terminal. The command shells out to the public Mintlify-hosted docs MCP search endpoint at `https://docs.openclaw.ai/mcp.SearchOpenClaw` and renders the results in your terminal.

## Usage

```bash

openclaw docs # print docs entrypoint and example search

openclaw docs <query...> # search the live docs index

```

Arguments:

- `[query...]`: search terms to send to the live docs index

| Argument | Description |

| ------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |

| `[query...]` | Free-form search query. Multi-word queries are joined with spaces and sent as one. |

Examples:

## Examples

```bash

openclaw docs

openclaw docs browser existing-session

openclaw docs sandbox allowHostControl

openclaw docs gateway token secretref

```

Notes:

With no query, `openclaw docs` prints the docs entrypoint URL plus a sample search command instead of running a search.

## How it works

`openclaw docs` invokes the `mcporter` CLI to call the docs search MCP tool, then parses the `Title: / Link: / Content:` blocks from the tool output into a list of results.

To resolve `mcporter`, OpenClaw checks in order:

1. `mcporter` on `PATH` (used directly if present).

2. `pnpm dlx mcporter ...` if `pnpm` is installed.

3. `npx -y mcporter ...` if `npx` is installed.

If none are available, the command fails with a hint to install `pnpm` (`npm install -g pnpm`).

The search call uses a fixed 30 second timeout. Result snippets are truncated to ~220 characters per entry.

## Output

In a rich (TTY) terminal, results render as a heading followed by a bullet list. Each bullet shows the page title, the linked docs URL, and a short snippet on the next line. Empty results print "No results.".

In non-rich output (piped, `--no-color`, scripts), the same data renders as Markdown:

```markdown

# Docs search: <query>

- [Title](https://docs.openclaw.ai/...) - snippet

- [Title](https://docs.openclaw.ai/...) - snippet

```

## Exit codes

- With no query, `openclaw docs` opens the live docs search entrypoint.

- Multi-word queries are passed through as one search request.

| Code | Meaning |

| ---- | --------------------------------------------------- |

| `0` | Search succeeded (including zero-result responses). |

| `1` | The MCP tool call failed; stderr is printed inline. |

## Related

- [CLI reference](/cli)

- [Live docs](https://docs.openclaw.ai)