Can I just run pnpm ui:build as the error suggests?

No. The error message is misleading because the npm package also lacks the source files and build scripts required to perform that build locally.

Is this a persistent installation issue?

No, it is specific to v2026.3.22. The maintainers are working on a fix, and updating to the next patch version will likely resolve the need for the manual workaround.

Where is my global npm directory?

Run 'npm root -g' in your command prompt or terminal. It will print the exact path where your global packages are stored.

How to Fix Control UI assets not found in OpenClaw

TL;DR — Quick Fix

The npm v2026.3.22 package is missing production assets; manually overwrite your local directory with the official UI tarball.

Run Diagnostics

Next Step

Fix now, then reduce repeat incidents

If this issue keeps coming back, validate your setup in Doctor first, then harden your config.

Open Doctor Harden Config

Error Signal

Control UI assets not found. Build them with pnpm ui:build

What's Happening

You're trying to launch the dashboard and hitting: "Control UI assets not found. Build them with pnpm ui:build". This is occurring specifically on version 2026.3.22. It happens because the published npm package failed to bundle the necessary UI source files and the final dist/bundled/ui artifacts.

The Fix

You need to inject the missing assets manually. Download the official patch from the OpenClaw repo, extract it, and overwrite your local install directory.

Download the control-ui.tar.gz file from the GitHub issue thread.
Locate your global npm installation folder. You can find this path by running npm root -g in your terminal.
Navigate to the openclaw/dist/control-ui folder inside that path.
Extract the contents of control-ui.tar.gz directly into this directory, overwriting existing files if prompted.
Restart the dashboard using openclaw dashboard.

Why This Occurs

The build pipeline for v2026.3.22 failed to include the ui/ directory and the generated bundle in the final tarball uploaded to npm. While your package.json specifies pnpm ui:build in the prepack phase, the files simply didn't make it into the artifact. You cannot "build" them yourself easily because the source code required for the build process is also missing from the installed package.

Prevention

The development team is aware of this packaging error and is tracking it as a high-priority fix. Updates will be pushed to the registry shortly. If you are reading this after the release of a newer patch version, run npm install -g openclaw@latest to get the corrected package. Avoid building manually from source if you are not an OpenClaw contributor, as you risk version mismatches between the core engine and your manually compiled frontend.

Last Updated: March 2026

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