OpenClaw Docker

Run an OpenClaw gateway in Docker with browser automation support (Chromium + Playwright).

Prerequisites

• Docker and Docker Compose
• An openclaw:local base image (the OpenClaw OCI image)
• API keys for at least one LLM provider (Anthropic and/or OpenAI)

Quick start

# 1. Copy the example env file and fill in your credentials
cp .env.example .env

# 2. Build and start the gateway
docker compose up -d --build openclaw

# 3. Pair your device — open the gateway URL shown in the logs
docker compose logs -f openclaw

Configuration

Environment variables

All secrets live in .env (never committed to git). See .env.example for the full list:

Variable	Required	Description
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY	Yes*	Anthropic API key
OPENAI_API_KEY	No	OpenAI API key
MASSIVE_PROXY_USERNAME	Yes	Massive proxy username
MASSIVE_PROXY_PASSWORD	Yes	Massive proxy password
OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN	No	Gateway auth token (default: clawpod-dev)

* At least one LLM provider key is required.

Model selection

The default model is configured in openclaw.json and mounted read-only into the container. Edit it to change the model:

{
  "agents": {
    "defaults": {
      "model": {
        "primary": "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929"
      }
    }
  }
}

Verify with:

docker compose exec openclaw node openclaw.mjs models status

Device pairing

Device pairing is interactive and cannot be automated. After starting the gateway, open the pairing URL from the logs and approve devices manually.

Common commands

# Start the gateway
docker compose up -d --build openclaw

# View logs
docker compose logs -f openclaw

# Check model config
docker compose exec openclaw node openclaw.mjs models status

# Stop and remove containers
docker compose down

# Stop and remove containers + volumes (full reset)
docker compose down -v

# Run the ClawPod test suite
docker compose run --rm clawpod-test

Architecture

The openclaw service uses Dockerfile.openclaw which extends the openclaw:local base image with:

• Chromium browser (via Playwright)
• agent-browser for browser automation
• clawhub for skill management

Volumes

Volume	Path in container	Purpose
openclaw-devices	~/.openclaw/devices	Paired device data (persists across rebuilds)
openclaw-config	~/.openclaw/agents	Agent configuration
openclaw.json (bind mount)	~/.openclaw/openclaw.json	Model config (read-only)

Ports

Port	Protocol	Description
18789	WebSocket	Gateway endpoint for device connections

The canvas UI is also served at http://localhost:18789/__openclaw__/canvas/.

Troubleshooting

Container exits immediately Check logs with docker compose logs openclaw. Most likely a missing or invalid API key in .env.

"Missing or invalid Sec-WebSocket-Key" Port 18789 is a WebSocket server, not HTTP. Use a WebSocket client or the OpenClaw app to connect.

Model not configured after rebuild Verify openclaw.json exists in the project root and the volume mount is present in docker-compose.yml.

Device pairing doesn't persist The openclaw-devices volume stores paired devices. Running docker compose down -v deletes it and you'll need to re-pair.