Set Up OpenClaw on Local (Linux)

Quick Overview

Linux has native Docker support, making it the simplest local setup. Works on Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, Arch, or any distro that supports Docker.

Setup Steps

# 1. Install Docker (Ubuntu/Debian)
curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com | sh
sudo apt install -y docker-compose-plugin
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
# Log out and back in for group change to take effect

# 2. Create project directory
mkdir -p ~/openclaw && cd ~/openclaw

# 3. Create docker-compose.yml
cat > docker-compose.yml << 'EOF'
services:
  openclaw:
    image: ghcr.io/nicepkg/openclaw:latest
    container_name: openclaw
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "3000:3000"
    volumes:
      - ./data:/app/data
    environment:
      - OPENAI_API_KEY=your-api-key-here
      - GATEWAY_TOKEN=your-secret-token
EOF

# 4. Start OpenClaw
docker compose up -d

Verify

docker compose ps
curl http://localhost:3000

Open http://localhost:3000 in your browser.

Common Issues

"Permission denied" on Docker: Run sudo usermod -aG docker $USER then log out and back in.

Systemd auto-start: Docker's restart policy handles container restarts, but make sure Docker itself starts on boot: sudo systemctl enable docker