openclaw/docs/install/docker-vm-runtime.md

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Shared Docker VM runtime steps for long-lived OpenClaw Gateway hosts	You are deploying OpenClaw on a cloud VM with Docker You need the shared binary bake, persistence, and update flow	Docker VM Runtime

Docker VM Runtime

Shared runtime steps for VM-based Docker installs such as GCP, Hetzner, and similar VPS providers.

Bake required binaries into the image

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:

1. Update the Dockerfile
2. Rebuild the image
3. Restart the containers

Example Dockerfile

FROM node:24-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"]

The download URLs above are for x86_64 (amd64). For ARM-based VMs (e.g. Hetzner ARM, GCP Tau T2A), replace the download URLs with the appropriate ARM64 variants from each tool's release page.

Build and launch

docker compose build
docker compose up -d openclaw-gateway

If build fails with Killed or exit code 137 during pnpm install --frozen-lockfile, the VM is out of memory. Use a larger machine class before retrying.

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

Verify Gateway:

docker compose logs -f openclaw-gateway

Expected output:

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

What persists where

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

Updates

To update OpenClaw on the VM:

git pull
docker compose build
docker compose up -d