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How to Install OpenClaw with Docker (Step-by-Step)

Published March 6, 2026 | By Matt

What This Guide Covers

This guide walks through installing OpenClaw using Docker, the easiest and most reliable way to run it locally.

By the end of this guide you’ll have:

OpenClaw running in a Docker container
The gateway configured
Your first agent ready to connect to AI providers

This method works on:

macOS
Linux
Windows (WSL2)
Synology / NAS environments that support Docker

What OpenClaw Actually Installs

Before installing, it helps to understand what you’re running.

OpenClaw consists of three main pieces:

Component	What it does
Gateway	The core service that runs the agent
Workspace	The environment where the agent performs tasks
AI Provider	The model powering the agent (OpenAI, Anthropic, etc.)

Docker packages these pieces into a container so you don’t need to manually install dependencies.

Requirements

Before installing OpenClaw you need:

1. Docker installed

Check if Docker is installed:

docker –version

If it isn’t installed yet:

macOS / Windows → Install Docker Desktop
Linux → Install Docker Engine

Minimum recommended system:

Resource	Recommendation
RAM	8GB
CPU	4 cores
Disk	10GB free

OpenClaw can run on less, but builds may take longer.

Step 1 — Clone the OpenClaw Repository

Download the project from GitHub.

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

cd openclaw

This repository includes:

Docker configuration
setup scripts
onboarding tools
environment configuration

Step 2 — Run the Docker Setup Script

The easiest way to install OpenClaw is using the included setup script.

./docker-setup.sh

This script automatically:

Builds or pulls the OpenClaw Docker image
Starts the Docker containers
Runs onboarding
Creates the .env configuration file
Generates your gateway token

You do not need to manually run Docker commands.

Optional: Use the Prebuilt Image (Faster)

If you want to avoid building locally, you can use the official container image.

OPENCLAW_IMAGE=ghcr.io/openclaw/openclaw:latest ./docker-setup.sh

This can save several minutes during installation.

Step 3 — Complete Onboarding

During setup you’ll be asked to configure your AI provider.

Common choices:

Provider	Notes
OpenAI	Most widely used
Anthropic	Often better for reasoning
Local models	Possible but requires more setup

You will typically enter an API key.

Example:

OPENAI_API_KEY=your_key_here

Step 4 — Start the Gateway

Once setup finishes, start OpenClaw.

docker compose up -d

This launches the gateway container in the background.

Step 5 — Verify OpenClaw Is Running

Check container status:

docker ps

You should see something like:

openclaw-gateway

If it is running, the installation succeeded.

You can also check logs:

docker logs openclaw-gateway

Where OpenClaw Stores Data

By default OpenClaw stores data inside the container.

For persistent data, you can mount a workspace folder.

Example:

./workspace:/workspace

This allows agents to keep files between restarts.

Updating OpenClaw

To update OpenClaw later:

git pull

docker compose pull

docker compose up -d

Troubleshooting

Docker build fails

Try using the prebuilt image:

OPENCLAW_IMAGE=ghcr.io/openclaw/openclaw:latest ./docker-setup.sh

Container stops immediately

Check logs:

docker logs openclaw-gateway

Most failures come from:

missing API keys
incorrect environment variables
port conflicts

Out of memory errors

OpenClaw builds can require several gigabytes of RAM.

Try increasing Docker memory limits or using the prebuilt image.

Optional Advanced Setup

Advanced users may want to enable:

sandbox mode
browser automation
persistent workspaces
multi-agent orchestration

These require additional Docker configuration.

Final Thoughts

Installing OpenClaw with Docker removes most of the complexity of dependency management. Once running, you can begin experimenting with autonomous agents, automation workflows, and AI-driven tasks.