Bug type

Behavior bug (incorrect output/state without crash)

Summary

I encountered an issue when installing OpenClaw on macOS where the installer script detects the system Node.js version instead of the nvm-managed version.

This causes the installer to incorrectly think that Node.js is outdated, even when a modern version is already installed via nvm.

Steps to reproduce

Environment

Node installed via nvm
Node version installed: v22.x

Steps to Reproduce

Install Node via nvm:

nvm install 22
nvm use 22
node -v

Output:
v22.x

Run the OpenClaw installer.
The installer outputs something like:
Node.js v8.x found, upgrading to v22+

Even though the active Node version is already v22.

Root Cause

The installer script appears to check Node.js using the system PATH before the nvm environment is loaded.

Expected behavior

install script should load node version from nvm firstly instead of system node

Actual behavior

use local system path

OpenClaw version

2026.3.13

Operating system

macOS Big Sur 11.7

Install method

npm global

Model

minimax

Provider / routing chain

openclaw

Config file / key location

No response

Additional provider/model setup details

No response

Logs, screenshots, and evidence

(base) ➜  projects curl -fsSL https://openclaw.ai/install.sh | bash

  🦞 OpenClaw Installer
  It's not "failing," it's "discovering new ways to configure the same thing wrong."

✓ Detected: macos

Install plan
OS: macos
Install method: npm
Requested version: latest

[1/3] Preparing environment
✓ Homebrew already installed
· Node.js v8.11.3 found, upgrading to v22+
· Installing Node.js via Homebrew
^C^C✗ Installing node@22 failed — re-run with --verbose for details

(base) ➜  projects which node
/Users/xjliu/.nvm/versions/node/v22.22.1/bin/node
(base) ➜  projects type -a node
node is /Users/xjliu/.nvm/versions/node/v22.22.1/bin/node
node is /usr/local/bin/node
(base) ➜  projects node --version
v22.22.1

Impact and severity

Affected: system who installed nvm
serverity: annoying
frequency: always
consequence: failed onboading

Additional information

No response