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Linux App

The Gateway is fully supported on Linux. Node is the recommended runtime. Bun is not recommended for the Gateway (WhatsApp/Telegram bugs). Native Linux companion apps are planned. Contributions are welcome if you want to help build one.

Beginner quick path (VPS)

  1. Install Node 22+
  2. npm i -g openclaw@latest
  3. openclaw onboard --install-daemon
  4. From your laptop: ssh -N -L 18789:127.0.0.1:18789 <user>@<host>
  5. Open http://127.0.0.1:18789/ and paste your token
Step-by-step VPS guide: exe.dev

Install

Gateway

Gateway service install (CLI)

Use one of these:
openclaw onboard --install-daemon
Or:
openclaw gateway install
Or:
openclaw configure
Select Gateway service when prompted. Repair/migrate:
openclaw doctor

System control (systemd user unit)

OpenClaw installs a systemd user service by default. Use a system service for shared or always-on servers. The full unit example and guidance live in the Gateway runbook. Minimal setup: Create ~/.config/systemd/user/openclaw-gateway[-<profile>].service:
[Unit]
Description=OpenClaw Gateway (profile: <profile>, v<version>)
After=network-online.target
Wants=network-online.target

[Service]
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/openclaw gateway --port 18789
Restart=always
RestartSec=5

[Install]
WantedBy=default.target
Enable it:
systemctl --user enable --now openclaw-gateway[-<profile>].service