Install and maintain

System requirements

Core DefenseClaw does not need Docker. The optional local observability and Local Splunk bundles need Windows x64 Pro, Enterprise or Education with Hyper-V and machine-installed Docker Desktop (Linux containers, Hyper-V backend, Compose v2). Windows Home, per-user Docker Desktop, WSL2 engines and Windows containers are not supported for these bundles.

Install

In PowerShell, as the user who runs your agents:

irm https://github.com/cisco-ai-defense/defenseclaw/releases/latest/download/install.ps1 | iex

To guard one agent and run first-time setup in the same step, download the script first and pass parameters:

& ([scriptblock]::Create((irm https://github.com/cisco-ai-defense/defenseclaw/releases/latest/download/install.ps1))) -Connector codex -Quickstart

The installer adds %USERPROFILE%\.local\bin to your user PATH. Open a new terminal, then check:

defenseclaw --version
defenseclaw-gateway --version

Parameters and exit codes are in the installer reference.

Configure after installation

defenseclaw init

init asks which agents to guard. To add one later:

defenseclaw setup codex --mode observe

defenseclaw setup --add-detected --yes adds newly installed agents without touching the others. Windows connectors: claudecode, codex, amp, cursor, devin, hermes, opencode, copilot, antigravity and kiro. Restart OpenCode after setup; fully exit and relaunch Amp. Home-folder overrides are in Paths.

Upgrade

defenseclaw upgrade
defenseclaw rollback

The installer continues in a new PowerShell window. Close the TUI and other DefenseClaw commands first. On Windows, defenseclaw upgrade and defenseclaw rollback hand over to the installer in a new window and return at once: exit code 0 means the installer started, not that it finished, because the installer must replace the Python environment the CLI runs from. The result is shown in that window and saved in %USERPROFILE%\.defenseclaw\logs\install-<time>.log. A script that needs the result runs the installer itself in its own terminal, for example powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File <install.ps1> -Rollback -Yes, which waits and sets the exit code. In an SSH session there is no desktop for that window, so both commands change nothing, exit 1 and print the powershell -File ... install.ps1 command to run in your terminal. While the installer runs, agent calls that get no answer from the gateway are refused and say DefenseClaw is being installed or upgraded; the upgrade waits up to 30 seconds for agent calls that started with the old hook to end, and stops with the previous install restored if one does not. After a Codex update, a rollback to 1.0.4 or later is refused before it changes anything, and a rollback to 1.0.3 or earlier completes with a warning that Codex hooks need defenseclaw setup codex. To go back to an earlier release, use defenseclaw rollback or defenseclaw upgrade --version X.Y.Z; running an older release's install.ps1 over a newer install is not a supported downgrade (it adds a second DefenseClaw Claude Code hook, see Upgrade). See Upgrade and, for a 0.8.x Setup install, Upgrade from 0.8.x.

Repair

To repair an install, run the install command again.

Uninstall and preserved state

defenseclaw uninstall --all --binaries --yes

Without --all and --binaries, uninstall keeps your data and programs. Close agent sessions first. See Uninstall.