Install/Update fails building @discordjs/opus (Raspberry Pi ARM64 and some Linux distros)

Symptoms

• openclaw update fails during the npm step, or npm i -g openclaw@... fails.
• The failure shows @discordjs/opus (native module) and often includes one of:
  • node-pre-gyp ERR! install response status 404 ... (missing prebuilt binary)
  • .../celt_neon_intr.c: ... implicit declaration of function 'celt_inner_prod_neon'

Cause

@discordjs/opus tries to download a prebuilt binary for your exact Node ABI + platform. When that prebuild isn’t available, it falls back to compiling from source (node-gyp), which can fail on some Linux/ARM64 setups without the right toolchain and/or a platform-specific define.

Fix

1) Ensure build tools are installed

On Debian/Ubuntu/Raspberry Pi OS:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y build-essential python3 make g++

2) ARM64 workaround (Raspberry Pi): install/update with CFLAGS

env CFLAGS='-DOPUS_ARM_MAY_HAVE_NEON_INTR' npm i -g openclaw@latest

If you’re pinned to a specific version (example):

env CFLAGS='-DOPUS_ARM_MAY_HAVE_NEON_INTR' npm i -g openclaw@2026.2.21-2

2.5) “One-and-done” workaround: persist CFLAGS for future updates

If you keep hitting this on every openclaw update, set the flag in your shell profile so it is present whenever you run updates:

echo "export CFLAGS='-DOPUS_ARM_MAY_HAVE_NEON_INTR'" >> ~/.profile
source ~/.profile

Notes:

• This helps when you update via openclaw update (it runs your package manager and inherits the current environment).
• If you update via a background service/Control UI (gateway-managed update), set the same env var in the gateway service environment instead (systemd/launchd/Docker env).

3) If you’re blocked and just need a working gateway right now: pin a known-good version

npm i -g openclaw@2026.2.19-2
openclaw gateway restart

Verify

openclaw version
openclaw status

If it still fails, paste:

node -v
uname -a
gcc --version

Plus the last ~40 lines of the @discordjs/opus build error.