OpenClaw Skills | The Largest Library of OpenClaw Extensions

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Goal

Run a persistent OpenClaw Gateway on a Hetzner VPS using Docker, with durable state, baked-in binaries, and safe restart behavior.

If you want "OpenClaw 24/7 for ~$5", this is simplest reliable setup.

Hetzner pricing changes; pick the smallest Debian/Ubuntu VPS and scale up if you hit OOMs.

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What are we doing (simple terms)?

- Rent a small Linux server (Hetzner VPS)

- Install Docker (isolated app runtime)

- Start OpenClaw Gateway in Docker

- Persist ''~/.openclaw'' + ''~/.openclaw/workspace'' on host (survives restarts/rebuilds)

- Access Control UI from your laptop via an SSH tunnel

The Gateway can be accessed via:

- SSH port forwarding from your laptop

- Direct port exposure if you manage firewalling and tokens yourself

This guide assumes Ubuntu or Debian on Hetzner.

If you are on another Linux VPS, map packages accordingly.

For generic Docker flow, see ''Docker''.

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What you need

- Hetzner VPS with root access

- SSH access from your laptop

- Basic comfort with SSH + copy/paste

- ~20 minutes

- Docker and Docker Compose

- Model auth credentials

- Optional provider credentials

- WhatsApp QR

- Telegram bot token

- Gmail OAuth

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2) Install Docker (on VPS)

Bash

apt-get update
apt-get install -y git curl ca-certificates
curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com | sh

Verify:

Bash

docker --version
docker compose version

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4) Create persistent host directories

Docker containers are ephemeral.

All long-lived state must live on host.

Bash

mkdir -p /root/.openclaw
mkdir -p /root/.openclaw/workspace

chown -R 1000:1000 /root/.openclaw
chown -R 1000:1000 /root/.openclaw/workspace

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6) Docker Compose configuration

Create or update ''docker-compose.yml''.

Yaml

services:
  openclaw-gateway:
    image: ${OPENCLAW_IMAGE}
    build: .
    restart: unless-stopped
    env_file:
      - .env
    environment:
      - HOME=/home/node
      - NODE_ENV=production
      - TERM=xterm-256color
      - OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_BIND=${OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_BIND}
      - OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_PORT=${OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_PORT}
      - OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN=${OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN}
      - GOG_KEYRING_PASSWORD=${GOG_KEYRING_PASSWORD}
      - XDG_CONFIG_HOME=${XDG_CONFIG_HOME}
      - PATH=/home/linuxbrew/.linuxbrew/bin:/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin
    volumes:
      - ${OPENCLAW_CONFIG_DIR}:/home/node/.openclaw
      - ${OPENCLAW_WORKSPACE_DIR}:/home/node/.openclaw/workspace
    ports:
      # Recommended: keep Gateway loopback-only on VPS; access via SSH tunnel.
      # To expose it publicly, remove `127.0.0.1:` prefix and firewall accordingly.
      - "127.0.0.1:${OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_PORT}:18789"

      # Optional: only if you run iOS/Android nodes against this VPS and need Canvas host.
      # If you expose this publicly, read /gateway/security and firewall accordingly.
      # - "18793:18793"
    command:
      [
        "node",
        "dist/index.js",
        "gateway",
        "--bind",
        "${OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_BIND}",
        "--port",
        "${OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_PORT}",
      ]

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8) Build and launch

Bash

docker compose build
docker compose up -d openclaw-gateway

Verify binaries:

Bash

docker compose exec openclaw-gateway which gog
docker compose exec openclaw-gateway which goplaces
docker compose exec openclaw-gateway which wacli

Expected output:

Terminal

/usr/local/bin/gog
/usr/local/bin/goplaces
/usr/local/bin/wacli

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What persists where (source of truth)

OpenClaw runs in Docker, but Docker is not source of truth.

All long-lived state must survive restarts, rebuilds, and reboots.