OpenClaw on Hetzner (Docker, Production VPS Guide)

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 the simplest reliable setup. Hetzner pricing changes; pick the smallest Debian/Ubuntu VPS and scale up if you hit OOMs. Security model reminder:

Company-shared agents are fine when everyone is in the same trust boundary and the runtime is business-only.
Keep strict separation: dedicated VPS/runtime + dedicated accounts; no personal Apple/Google/browser/password-manager profiles on that host.
If users are adversarial to each other, split by gateway/host/OS user.

See Security and VPS hosting.

What are we doing (simple terms)?

Rent a small Linux server (Hetzner VPS)
Install Docker (isolated app runtime)
Start the OpenClaw Gateway in Docker
Persist ~/.openclaw + ~/.openclaw/workspace on the host (survives restarts/rebuilds)
Access the 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 the generic Docker flow, see Docker.

Quick path (experienced operators)

Provision Hetzner VPS
Install Docker
Clone OpenClaw repository
Create persistent host directories
Configure .env and docker-compose.yml
Bake required binaries into the image
docker compose up -d
Verify persistence and Gateway access

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

1) Provision the VPS

Create an Ubuntu or Debian VPS in Hetzner. Connect as root:

ssh root@YOUR_VPS_IP

This guide assumes the VPS is stateful. Do not treat it as disposable infrastructure.

2) Install Docker (on the VPS)

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

Verify:

docker --version
docker compose version

3) Clone the OpenClaw repository

git clone https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw.git
cd openclaw

This guide assumes you will build a custom image to guarantee binary persistence.

4) Create persistent host directories

Docker containers are ephemeral. All long-lived state must live on the host.

mkdir -p /root/.openclaw/workspace

# Set ownership to the container user (uid 1000):
chown -R 1000:1000 /root/.openclaw

5) Configure environment variables

Create .env in the repository root.

OPENCLAW_IMAGE=openclaw:latest
OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN=change-me-now
OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_BIND=lan
OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_PORT=18789

OPENCLAW_CONFIG_DIR=/root/.openclaw
OPENCLAW_WORKSPACE_DIR=/root/.openclaw/workspace

GOG_KEYRING_PASSWORD=change-me-now
XDG_CONFIG_HOME=/home/node/.openclaw

Generate strong secrets:

openssl rand -hex 32

Do not commit this file.

6) Docker Compose configuration

Create or update docker-compose.yml.

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
      - ${OPENCLAW_WORKSPACE_DIR}:/home/node/.openclaw/workspace
    ports:
      # Recommended: keep the Gateway loopback-only on the VPS; access via SSH tunnel.
      # To expose it publicly, remove the `127.0.0.1:` prefix and firewall accordingly.
      - "127.0.0.1:${OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_PORT}:18789"
    command:
      [
        "node",
        "dist/index.js",
        "gateway",
        "--bind",
        "${OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_BIND}",
        "--port",
        "${OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_PORT}",
        "--allow-unconfigured",
      ]

--allow-unconfigured is only for bootstrap convenience, it is not a replacement for a proper gateway configuration. Still set auth (gateway.auth.token or password) and use safe bind settings for your deployment.

7) Bake required binaries into the image (critical)

Installing binaries inside a running container is a trap. Anything installed at runtime will be lost on restart. All external binaries required by skills must be installed at image build time. The examples below show three common binaries only:

gog for Gmail access
goplaces for Google Places
wacli for WhatsApp

These are examples, not a complete list. You may install as many binaries as needed using the same pattern. If you add new skills later that depend on additional binaries, you must:

Update the Dockerfile
Rebuild the image
Restart the containers

Example Dockerfile

FROM node:22-bookworm

RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y socat && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*

# Example binary 1: Gmail CLI
RUN curl -L https://github.com/steipete/gog/releases/latest/download/gog_Linux_x86_64.tar.gz \
  | tar -xz -C /usr/local/bin && chmod +x /usr/local/bin/gog

# Example binary 2: Google Places CLI
RUN curl -L https://github.com/steipete/goplaces/releases/latest/download/goplaces_Linux_x86_64.tar.gz \
  | tar -xz -C /usr/local/bin && chmod +x /usr/local/bin/goplaces

# Example binary 3: WhatsApp CLI
RUN curl -L https://github.com/steipete/wacli/releases/latest/download/wacli_Linux_x86_64.tar.gz \
  | tar -xz -C /usr/local/bin && chmod +x /usr/local/bin/wacli

# Add more binaries below using the same pattern

WORKDIR /app
COPY package.json pnpm-lock.yaml pnpm-workspace.yaml .npmrc ./
COPY ui/package.json ./ui/package.json
COPY scripts ./scripts

RUN corepack enable
RUN pnpm install --frozen-lockfile

COPY . .
RUN pnpm build
RUN pnpm ui:install
RUN pnpm ui:build

ENV NODE_ENV=production

CMD ["node","dist/index.js"]

8) Build and launch

docker compose build
docker compose up -d openclaw-gateway

Verify binaries:

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

Expected output:

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

9) Verify Gateway

docker compose logs -f openclaw-gateway

Success:

[gateway] listening on ws://0.0.0.0:18789

From your laptop:

ssh -N -L 18789:127.0.0.1:18789 root@YOUR_VPS_IP

Open: http://127.0.0.1:18789/ Paste your gateway token.

What persists where (source of truth)

OpenClaw runs in Docker, but Docker is not the source of truth. All long-lived state must survive restarts, rebuilds, and reboots.

Component	Location	Persistence mechanism	Notes
Gateway config	`/home/node/.openclaw/`	Host volume mount	Includes `openclaw.json`, tokens
Model auth profiles	`/home/node/.openclaw/`	Host volume mount	OAuth tokens, API keys
Skill configs	`/home/node/.openclaw/skills/`	Host volume mount	Skill-level state
Agent workspace	`/home/node/.openclaw/workspace/`	Host volume mount	Code and agent artifacts
WhatsApp session	`/home/node/.openclaw/`	Host volume mount	Preserves QR login
Gmail keyring	`/home/node/.openclaw/`	Host volume + password	Requires `GOG_KEYRING_PASSWORD`
External binaries	`/usr/local/bin/`	Docker image	Must be baked at build time
Node runtime	Container filesystem	Docker image	Rebuilt every image build
OS packages	Container filesystem	Docker image	Do not install at runtime
Docker container	Ephemeral	Restartable	Safe to destroy

Infrastructure as Code (Terraform)

For teams preferring infrastructure-as-code workflows, a community-maintained Terraform setup provides:

Modular Terraform configuration with remote state management
Automated provisioning via cloud-init
Deployment scripts (bootstrap, deploy, backup/restore)
Security hardening (firewall, UFW, SSH-only access)
SSH tunnel configuration for gateway access

Repositories:

Infrastructure: openclaw-terraform-hetzner
Docker config: openclaw-docker-config

This approach complements the Docker setup above with reproducible deployments, version-controlled infrastructure, and automated disaster recovery.

Note: Community-maintained. For issues or contributions, see the repository links above.

Install overview

Other install methods

Maintenance

Hosting and deployment

Advanced

Hetzner

OpenClaw on Hetzner (Docker, Production VPS Guide)

Goal

What are we doing (simple terms)?

Quick path (experienced operators)

What you need

1) Provision the VPS

2) Install Docker (on the VPS)

3) Clone the OpenClaw repository

4) Create persistent host directories

5) Configure environment variables

6) Docker Compose configuration

7) Bake required binaries into the image (critical)

8) Build and launch

9) Verify Gateway

What persists where (source of truth)

Infrastructure as Code (Terraform)

​OpenClaw on Hetzner (Docker, Production VPS Guide)

​Goal

​What are we doing (simple terms)?

​Quick path (experienced operators)

​What you need

​1) Provision the VPS

​2) Install Docker (on the VPS)

​3) Clone the OpenClaw repository

​4) Create persistent host directories

​5) Configure environment variables

​6) Docker Compose configuration

​7) Bake required binaries into the image (critical)

​8) Build and launch

​9) Verify Gateway

​What persists where (source of truth)

​Infrastructure as Code (Terraform)

OpenClaw on Hetzner (Docker, Production VPS Guide)

Goal

What are we doing (simple terms)?

Quick path (experienced operators)

What you need

1) Provision the VPS

2) Install Docker (on the VPS)

3) Clone the OpenClaw repository

4) Create persistent host directories

5) Configure environment variables

6) Docker Compose configuration

7) Bake required binaries into the image (critical)

8) Build and launch

9) Verify Gateway

What persists where (source of truth)

Infrastructure as Code (Terraform)