Deploy OpenClaw Your Way

From laptop to cloud. Choose the deployment that fits your needs.

Deployment Options Overview

💻 Local Desktop

Run on your Mac or PC. Great for development and personal use.

🏠 Home Server

Mac mini, old laptop, or Raspberry Pi at home.

☁️ VPS / Cloud

Deploy to DigitalOcean, Hetzner, AWS, etc.

🐳 Docker

Containerized deployment. Works anywhere Docker runs.

Local Desktop (macOS/Linux)

# Install
npm install -g openclaw@latest

# Start gateway
openclaw gateway start

# Access dashboard
openclaw dashboard

The gateway runs on your machine. Access via localhost or pair your phone.

Docker Deployment

# Quick start
docker run -d \
  --name openclaw \
  -p 18789:18789 \
  -v ~/.openclaw:/root/.openclaw \
  openclaw/openclaw:latest

# With custom config
docker run -d \
  --name openclaw \
  -p 18789:18789 \
  -v ~/.openclaw:/root/.openclaw \
  -v ./openclaw.json:/root/.openclaw/openclaw.json \
  openclaw/openclaw:latest

Full Docker Setup Guide →

VPS Deployment (Linux)

# 1. SSH into your server
ssh user@your-vps

# 2. Install Node.js 22+
curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_22.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt-get install -y nodejs

# 3. Install OpenClaw
npm install -g openclaw@latest

# 4. Start gateway
openclaw gateway start

# 5. Set up systemd for auto-start
sudo openclaw daemon install

Full VPS Setup Guide →

Auto-Start Configuration

macOS (launchd)

openclaw daemon install

Linux (systemd)

sudo openclaw daemon install

Remote Access

• VPN — Most secure. WireGuard, Tailscale
• SSH Tunnel — ssh -L 18789:localhost:18789 user@vps
• Cloudflare Tunnel — Expose without public IP
• Token Auth — Configure gateway token for authentication

Which Deployment Is Right for You?

Use Case	Recommended
Personal use, testing	Local desktop
24/7 at home	Home server + Docker
Production, public	VPS with token auth
Team use	VPS + VPN

Need help choosing?

Compare self-hosted vs VPS or see hardware requirements.

Self-Hosted →VPS Setup Docker