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 is lost on restart. Bake every external binary a skill needs into the image at build time.

The examples below cover three binaries only, alphabetically:

• gog (from gogcli) for Gmail access
• goplaces for Google Places
• wacli for WhatsApp

These are examples, not a complete list. Install as many binaries as your skills need using the same pattern. When you add a skill that needs a new binary later:

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 (gogcli — installs as `gog`)
# Copy the current Linux asset URL from https://github.com/steipete/gogcli/releases
RUN curl -L https://github.com/steipete/gogcli/releases/latest/download/gogcli_linux_amd64.tar.gz \
  | tar -xzO gog > /usr/local/bin/gog; \
  chmod +x /usr/local/bin/gog

# Example binary 2: Google Places CLI
# Copy the current Linux asset URL from https://github.com/steipete/goplaces/releases
RUN curl -L https://github.com/steipete/goplaces/releases/latest/download/goplaces_linux_amd64.tar.gz \
  | tar -xzO goplaces > /usr/local/bin/goplaces; \
  chmod +x /usr/local/bin/goplaces

# Example binary 3: WhatsApp CLI
# Copy the current Linux asset URL from https://github.com/steipete/wacli/releases
RUN curl -L https://github.com/steipete/wacli/releases/latest/download/wacli-linux-amd64.tar.gz \
  | tar -xzO wacli > /usr/local/bin/wacli; \
  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 URLs above are examples. For ARM-based VMs, choose the arm64 assets. For reproducible builds, pin versioned release URLs.

Build and launch

docker compose build
docker compose up -d openclaw-gateway

If the 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 the gateway is up:

docker compose logs -f openclaw-gateway
curl -fsS http://127.0.0.1:18789/healthz

/healthz returning a 200 response confirms the gateway process is listening and healthy; the built-in image HEALTHCHECK polls the same endpoint.

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
Channel/provider creds	/home/node/.openclaw/credentials/	Host volume mount	Channel and provider credential material
Model auth profiles	/home/node/.openclaw/agents/	Host volume mount	agents/<agentId>/agent/auth-profiles.json (OAuth, API keys)
Legacy OAuth key file	/home/node/.config/openclaw/	Host volume mount	Read-only compat for pre-migration OAuth sidecars; openclaw doctor --fix migrates these into auth-profiles.json
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
Plugin packages	/home/node/.openclaw/npm, /home/node/.openclaw/git	Host volume mount	Downloadable plugin package roots
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

Related

• Docker
• Podman
• ClawDock