Keeping your ClawBox current gets you the newest features and fixes. Updates never touch your data — settings, AI keys, chats, and channel tokens live outside the app code and are preserved.
The System Update window reporting that a rebuild is available because the build being served was made from a different commit than the code on disk, with an Update everything button and rows for the ClawBox device and the agent.

The System Update app: what is installed, what is waiting, and one button to take it

1

Open System Update

Browse to http://YOUR_BOX_IP, log in, and open the System Update app (also reachable from Settings).
2

Start the update

If a new version is available, click Update. The app shows live progress through every step.
3

Let it reboot

The final step reboots the box — it’s offline for a minute or two. That’s normal, not a hang. When it’s back, the update is done.
Optional, for extra peace of mind before any update — make a dated backup of your settings (over SSH or the Terminal app):

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Update over SSH (headless alternative)

Same update, no browser needed:
The password prompt won’t show characters as you type — that’s normal. Let the installer finish completely (it prints numbered steps), then the box reboots.
There is no clawbox command on PATH. The CLI wrapper exists in the checkout and is run through Bun — bun run /home/clawbox/clawbox/mcp/clawbox-cli.ts update — but all it does is re-run install.sh with sudo, so calling the installer directly is equivalent and works in a non-interactive SSH session too. On a Hermes box the CLI path refuses; use Settings → System Update or the installer command above, which reads the edition lock and runs the edition-correct steps.

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An update got stuck, or the box misbehaves afterward

On older versions the in-app update could stall midway (usually when the device had local code changes). The fix is the recovery updater — a standalone one-liner that hard-syncs the box to the latest release and rebuilds everything, keeping your data:
1

Connect over SSH

Use the device’s IP address rather than clawbox.local — the name relies on mDNS, which many Windows machines and routers handle unreliably (find the IP in your router’s connected-devices list).
2

Run the recovery updater

Takes 10–15 minutes — let it finish completely.
3

Confirm it's back

Both should print active. Then reload http://YOUR_BOX_IP and send your assistant a message — a reply confirms everything is running.
More recovery options (password reset, safe reinstall, factory reset) are on the Recovery page; deeper diagnosis lives in Troubleshooting. For how updates work under the hood (release channels, what survives, version pinning), see the Update System reference.
If any step returns an error, stop there rather than forcing it — reach out and we’ll finish it together: email [email protected] or join our Discord community.