Build NemoClaw & Connect to Your Sandbox

So you want to run your own AI agent sandbox. Not the hosted, hand-holdy version — the real thing, built from source, running on your machine.

This is the guide I wish I had.

What Is NemoClaw?

NemoClaw is a sandbox manager for AI agents. It lets you spin up isolated environments where subagents can run, chat, execute tasks — all without touching your real system unless you explicitly allow it.

Think of it as Docker, but purpose-built for AI agents.

Step 1: Build NemoClaw from Source

Clone the repository and get your environment ready:

git clone https://github.com/nemoclaw/nemoclaw.git
cd nemoclaw

Install dependencies:

npm install

Build the project:

npm run build

If the build succeeds, you'll see a dist/ folder with the compiled output. If it fails — check your Node version first. NemoClaw requires Node 18+.

node --version  # Should be v18 or above

Step 2: Get the CLI Working

Link the CLI globally so you can run nemoclaw from anywhere:

npm link

Verify it works:

nemoclaw --version

You should see a version string. If you see command not found, your global npm bin path may not be in your $PATH. Fix it:

export PATH="$PATH:$(npm bin -g)"

Add that line to your ~/.zshrc or ~/.bashrc to make it permanent.

Step 3: Initialise Your First Sandbox

Run the onboarding flow:

nemoclaw onboard

This will: - Create ~/.nemoclaw/ on your host - Set up a default sandbox config - Prompt you to name your sandbox (e.g. my-assistant)

Once complete, your sandbox definition lives at:

~/.nemoclaw/sandboxes.json

Important: This file is generated by NemoClaw. Don't edit it manually — changes may be overwritten on the next onboard run.

Step 4: Connect to Your Sandbox

Start the sandbox:

nemoclaw start my-assistant

Drop into it:

nemoclaw shell my-assistant

You're now inside the sandbox. Your prompt may change to indicate you're in the isolated environment.

To confirm you're connected:

whoami
# → agent or sandbox-user (not your Mac username)

What Just Happened?

You built a sandboxed AI agent runtime from scratch. Here's what's now in place:

• A compiled nemoclaw CLI on your host
• A sandbox definition in ~/.nemoclaw/sandboxes.json
• An isolated shell environment for your agent to run in
• A clean separation between your host and the agent's world

The sandbox can't touch your files. It can't browse the internet freely. It runs in its own contained space — until you start adding capabilities to it.

Troubleshooting

npm link fails with permission errors

sudo npm link

nemoclaw onboard hangs Check if another nemoclaw process is already running:

ps aux | grep nemoclaw

Build errors around missing packages

npm install --legacy-peer-deps
npm run build