Overview

Running OpenClaw on a VPS (Virtual Private Server) gives you 24/7 availability without needing your personal computer to stay on. This guide covers VPS deployment, persistent service setup, and remote access.

Why Run on a VPS?

• Always-on — your laptop can sleep, the agent stays available
• 24/7 availability — respond to messages anytime
• Remote access — connect from anywhere via SSH/Tailscale
• Home IP privacy — don't expose your home IP address
• Better performance — dedicated CPU/memory

Quick Start

curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_22.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt-get install -y nodejs

npm install -g openclaw@latest

openclaw onboard --install-daemon

openclaw gateway --port 18789

Persistent Service (systemd)

Ensure OpenClaw starts automatically on boot and restarts if it crashes:

# Create systemd service file
sudo tee /etc/systemd/system/openclaw.service > /dev/null << 'EOF'
[Unit]
Description=OpenClaw Gateway
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=node
WorkingDirectory=/home/node
ExecStart=/usr/bin/openclaw gateway --port 18789
Restart=always
RestartSec=10

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
EOF

# Enable and start
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable openclaw
sudo systemctl start openclaw

Useful commands:

# Check status
sudo systemctl status openclaw

# View logs
sudo journalctl -u openclaw -f

# Restart
sudo systemctl restart openclaw

Initial Configuration

Create a basic config on your VPS:

mkdir -p ~/.openclaw
cat > ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json << 'EOF'
{
  "gateway": {
    "bind": "loopback",
    "auth": {
      "mode": "token",
      "token": "generate-a-secure-token-here"
    }
  },
  "session": {
    "dmScope": "per-channel-peer"
  }
}
EOF

openssl rand -base64 32

Recommended Providers

These providers work well with OpenClaw:

Accessing Your VPS Gateway

Once the gateway is running on your VPS, access it remotely:

ssh -N -L 18789:127.0.0.1:18789 user@your-vps-ip

# On VPS
curl -fsSL https://tailscale.com/install.sh | sh
tailscale up

# On your local machine
tailscale up

Docker on VPS

Run OpenClaw in Docker on your VPS for easier management:

docker run -d   --name openclaw   -v openclaw-data:/home/node/.openclaw   -p 127.0.0.1:18789:18789   --restart unless-stopped   openclaw/openclaw:latest

Or use docker-compose for persistent storage:

version: '3.8'
services:
  openclaw:
    image: openclaw/openclaw:latest
    volumes:
      - ./data:/home/node/.openclaw
    ports:
      - "127.0.0.1:18789:18789"
    restart: unless-stopped

Backup Strategy

Regularly backup your OpenClaw data:

# Backup script - run via cron
#!/bin/bash
DATE=$(date +%Y%m%d)
tar -czf openclaw-backup-$DATE.tar.gz ~/.openclaw
# Upload to cloud storage (AWS S3, Backblaze, etc.)
aws s3 cp openclaw-backup-$DATE.tar.gz s3://your-bucket/

What to backup:

• ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json — config
• ~/.openclaw/credentials/ — channel credentials
• ~/.openclaw/agents/ — agent memory & sessions

Security for VPS

• Keep loopback binding — never expose Gateway to public internet
• Use SSH keys — disable password authentication
• Run security audit — openclaw security audit regularly
• Consider firewall — only allow SSH (port 22) from your IP
• UFW example: ufw allow from YOUR_IP to any port 22

Alternatives

VPS isn't the only option:

• Home server — always-on desktop or old laptop
• Docker on VPS — see Docker Setup
• macOS app remote mode — use the macOS app's built-in remote access