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Setting Up OpenClaw on a Linux Server – Build Your Personal AI Assistant!
Discover how to set up and configure OpenClaw for self-hosting to build a personal and powerful open-source AI assistant → Learn more now
10 November 20268 min read3 Views0 helpful
Introduction
OpenClaw is an AI-based automation and control platform that lets you interact with software through a browser-based interface. Instead of manually clicking through menus, navigating user interfaces, or repeating the same workflows, OpenClaw can execute tasks programmatically and offers remote control capabilities via its web dashboard.
What makes OpenClaw particularly revolutionary is that it provides a modern “control layer” for applications and systems. Instead of being tied to a local desktop session, OpenClaw can run on a remote machine like a VPS or Dedicated Server and still be fully managed from anywhere. This makes it a powerful tool for users who want reliable automation, remote control, and centralized management without having to keep a local computer running permanently.
Thinking about hosting this service yourself? We’ll guide you step-by-step through the setup and configuration and show you everything you need to know.
Requirements
Depending on how you want to use OpenClaw, resource consumption can increase quickly. While simple setups (e.g., just the web UI with minimal automation) run well on smaller VPS plans, advanced use cases like multiple channels, many enabled skills, or browser automation can be significantly more resource-intensive. For such cases, we strongly recommend using a Dedicated Server.
Hardware
Minimum
ZAP-Hosting Recommendation
CPU
1 vCPU core
8 vCPU cores
RAM
4 GB
16 GB
Disk space
25 GB
50 GB
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
You can install OpenClaw directly via One-Click Apps in the dashboard of your dedicated server by searching for OpenClaw in the app catalog and starting deployment with your preferred project, environment, and domain settings.
OpenClaw is an AI-based automation and control platform that lets you interact with software through a browser interface and execute tasks programmatically without manual menu navigation.
No, OpenClaw can run on a remote machine like a VPS or Dedicated Server and still be fully managed from anywhere.
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Software
Installing OpenClaw with One-Click Apps
You can install OpenClaw directly via One-Click Apps in the dashboard of your dedicated server. After the initial setup of the apps, open the app catalog, search for OpenClaw, and start deployment with your preferred project, environment, and domain settings. This gives you a fast and user-friendly way to deploy and manage OpenClaw—without manual command-line installation but with integrated web-based management, support for custom domains, and SSL provisioning where available.
Use Cases for OpenClaw
OpenClaw can be used in many everyday scenarios and is suitable for anyone who wants to automate tasks, centralize AI usage, or operate a persistent assistant that is always available.
A common use case is consolidating AI interactions across multiple platforms. Instead of using different tools for various messenger apps, OpenClaw can act as a single assistant with consistent context and configuration—regardless of where it is accessed from.
OpenClaw is also great for automation. It helps reduce repetitive manual work by taking over recurring tasks, organizing information, summarizing content, and providing structured responses.
Another important use case is web automation. By controlling browser sessions through dedicated Chrome or Chromium instances, OpenClaw can interact with web interfaces even when no direct API integration is available.
To support these scenarios, OpenClaw offers a wide range of features, including multi-channel messaging support (e.g., WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack, and Discord), a gateway-based architecture for managing sessions and channels, optional voice features, an interactive canvas interface, an extensible skills platform, support for multiple AI providers (including OpenAI and Anthropic), device nodes for mobile actions, API key authentication, and persistent workspace and configuration management.
Security Notes
OpenClaw is a powerful tool and should always be used with appropriate security measures. The gateway dashboard is protected by a token that works like a password and grants access to your OpenClaw instance. Never share this gateway token publicly (e.g., in screenshots, tickets, or chat logs), as anyone with the token can control the dashboard.
It is recommended to run OpenClaw behind a firewall and not expose the gateway interface directly to the public internet. By default, OpenClaw binds the gateway service to 127.0.0.1, preventing external access and providing the safest option for most use cases. For remote access, use SSH port forwarding and restrict access to trusted users.
Conclusion and Further Resources
Congratulations! You have now successfully installed and configured OpenClaw on your VPS or Dedicated Server. We also recommend checking out the following resources to help with further server configuration:
The installation starts with the official OpenClaw installer script on your Linux Dedicated Server. Connect to your server via SSH and run the following command:
bash
curl -fsSL https://openclaw.ai/install.sh | bash
After execution, an interactive installation script will automatically start and guide you through the setup. The installer checks your environment, installs missing dependencies, and then starts the OpenClaw onboarding process.
Platform Detection and Dependency Check
The installer automatically detects your operating system and installs required dependencies if needed.
For example, if Node.js is missing, it will be installed automatically. No manual intervention is necessary.
Installing Required Packages
OpenClaw installs the necessary packages via the system package manager. Again, no manual action is required. Once all packages are installed, the installer continues automatically.
Installing OpenClaw
After preparing dependencies, the installer downloads and installs the OpenClaw version. Upon completion, you should see a confirmation like this:
OpenClaw Onboarding
After installation, the onboarding assistant starts automatically. This onboarding is necessary to complete the initial configuration and make OpenClaw usable.
First, read the displayed security notice and confirm it to proceed. Then select the onboarding mode. For most users, QuickStart is the recommended option.
Next, choose your model/auth provider. In this example, OpenAI is selected. Now enter your OpenAI API key. OpenClaw stores the key locally in the configuration so it can be used for future sessions. After saving the API key, select the default model OpenClaw should use.
Configuration
Our VPS and Dedicated Servers are delivered by default without a graphical user interface. Therefore, OpenClaw runs in headless mode and provides its control UI only locally on the server via port 18789.
After installation and onboarding, OpenClaw outputs the dashboard information in the console:
Code
Dashboard link (with token):
http://127.0.0.1:18789/?token=XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Copy/paste this URL into a browser on this machine to control OpenClaw.
No GUI detected. From your PC, open:
ssh -N -L 18789:127.0.0.1:18789 root@92.42.46.111
Then open:
http://localhost:18789/
http://127.0.0.1:18789/?token=XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Since the web interface is bound to 127.0.0.1, it is not directly accessible from the internet. To securely access it from your PC, create an SSH tunnel that forwards the OpenClaw port from the VPS/Dedicated Server to your local machine.
Open a terminal on your PC and run:
bash
ssh -N -L 18789:127.0.0.1:18789 root@92.42.46.111
As long as this SSH connection is open, you can reach the OpenClaw Control UI in your browser at:
Code
http://localhost:18789/
If OpenClaw requires authentication, open the tokenized link shown in your OpenClaw output:
Using a GUI (desktop environment)
If you prefer to use OpenClaw with a graphical interface, you can install a desktop environment on your VPS/Dedicated Server, e.g., XFCE. After installing a GUI (and a remote desktop solution like RDP or VNC), you can control OpenClaw directly via the Dedicated Server desktop without using SSH port forwarding.
Installing Skills
Skills extend OpenClaw with additional functions and integrations.
OpenClaw comes with over 50 skills. You can select and activate skills directly in the dashboard under the section.
In the final steps, you can optionally configure channels (like Telegram, Discord, or Slack), skills, and hooks. If you don’t want to set these options now, you can skip them and add them later in the configuration.
If you want to use OpenClaw via Telegram, you first need to create a Telegram bot and get its API token. You do this directly in Telegram via the official BotFather account.
Open the chat with BotFather, start the creation process with /newbot, and follow the instructions.
BotFather first asks for a display name, then a username. The username must end with bot.
The conversation typically looks like this:
Code
User: /newbot
BotFather: All right, a new bot. What should it be called? Please choose a name for your bot.
User: ZAP DOCS EXAMPLE
BotFather: Good. Now choose a username for your bot. It must end with `bot`. For example: TetrisBot or tetris_bot.
User: ZAP_DOCS_EXAMPLE_BOT
BotFather: Done! Congratulations on your new bot. You can find it at t.me/ZAP_DOCS_EXAMPLE_BOT. You can now add a description, info, and profile picture; see /help for a list of commands. When your cool bot is ready, contact our bot support if you want a better username. Just make sure the bot is fully functional before you do.
Use this token to access the HTTP API:
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Keep your token safe and store it well, because anyone with the token can control your bot.
A description of the Bot API can be found here: https://core.telegram.org/bots/api
After BotFather confirms the bot creation, copy the displayed token and keep it secure. You will need this token later when connecting Telegram as a channel in the OpenClaw onboarding or configuration. Anyone with this token can control your bot, so it must never be shared publicly.
After creating the Telegram bot and saving the token, you can continue with the OpenClaw onboarding. In the next steps, you can install skills and activate hooks. These options are recommended but can also be skipped and added later in the configuration.
After completing onboarding, OpenClaw automatically installs the gateway service. Finally, you select the Web UI option so OpenClaw outputs the dashboard link. This allows you to open the OpenClaw Control UI and conveniently manage your setup in the browser.
The onboarding is then marked as complete. At the end of the setup, OpenClaw also offers to install the shell completion script. This is optional but recommended as it improves command-line usage by enabling auto-completion for OpenClaw commands. Just follow the instructions.
Skills
Activating Hooks
Hooks allow OpenClaw to automatically perform actions when certain events occur or special commands are used.
This is useful for automating recurring tasks, saving context, or triggering workflows without manual intervention.
Configuring Channels
Channels enable using OpenClaw through messaging platforms.
In the dashboard, you can configure and connect supported channels like Telegram, Discord, Slack, and others.
Depending on the platform, you may need to provide additional tokens or credentials (e.g., the Telegram bot token created via BotFather during installation).
After successfully connecting a channel, OpenClaw can receive and respond to messages on that platform. A conversation with the AI assistant via Telegram might look like this:
Preferred source on Google
