Python Environment Setup

Use this skill whenever OpenClaw needs to run Python on this host.

Why this exists

On this machine, OpenClaw exec runs in a non-interactive shell.

Interactive shell initialization may be skipped, so python, python3, or conda may be unavailable from PATH even though they work in a normal terminal.

Therefore, prefer the explicit Python entrypoint provided by environment variable PYTHON.

Rules

1. Prefer "$PYTHON" over python or python3.
2. Do not rely on source ~/.bashrc or conda activate for routine automation.
3. Before using Python, verify it exists and is executable.
4. Use "$PYTHON" -m pip ... for package installation.
5. Use "$PYTHON" script.py, "$PYTHON" -m module, or "$PYTHON" -c '...' for execution.
6. Apply this rule to all Python-related commands, not just pip.
7. If PYTHON is unset or invalid, report the problem clearly.

Validation

test -x "$PYTHON"
"$PYTHON" --version

Common patterns

Install packages

"$PYTHON" -m pip install -U package_name
"$PYTHON" -m pip install -U openai-whisper torch ffmpeg-python

Run a script

"$PYTHON" script.py

Run a module

"$PYTHON" -m module_name

Run inline Python

"$PYTHON" - <<'PY'
print('hello')
PY

Quick guard pattern

test -x "$PYTHON" || { echo "PYTHON not executable: $PYTHON" >&2; exit 1; }
"$PYTHON" --version

Fallback policy

Only if the task explicitly allows fallback, try in this order:

1. $PYTHON
2. python3
3. python

Default policy: do not silently fallback. Prefer failing loudly if $PYTHON is missing, so environment issues are obvious.

Notes

• This skill is host-specific.
• It is meant to guide OpenClaw runtime behavior, not teach Python itself.
• The PYTHON value is read from the environment. This skill does not require a specific env-file location.