Deploy openclaw.ai on Linode

Log in to the Linode Cloud Manager and create a new Linode:

1. Click Create → Linode
2. Under Choose a Distribution, select Ubuntu 24.04 LTS or a newer supported LTS release
3. Select your preferred Region (pick the datacenter closest to you)
4. Under Linode Plan, choose a current Shared CPU plan with at least 2 GB RAM
5. Set a strong Root Password
6. Under SSH Keys, add your public key (recommended for security)
7. Click Create Linode

Wait for the status to show Running (usually 1–2 minutes), then connect:

# Replace with your Linode's IP from the Cloud Manager
ssh root@your-linode-ip

Update the package index and upgrade all installed packages:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

openclaw.ai requires Node.js 22.22.3+, 24.15+, or 25.9+ (installer defaults to Node 26). Install it from the official NodeSource repository:

curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_26.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt-get install -y nodejs
node --version  # Should show v26.x.x

Run the official one-line installer:

curl -fsSL https://openclaw.ai/install.sh | bash

Launch the interactive onboarding wizard. The --install-daemon flag automatically configures openclaw.ai to run as a background service:

openclaw onboard --install-daemon

The wizard will walk you through:

• Authentication setup (API keys for your LLM provider)
• Gateway configuration (port, allowed origins)
• Optional channel setup (Slack, Discord, etc.)

Confirm everything is running correctly:

# Check system configuration
openclaw doctor

# Verify the gateway is healthy
openclaw health

# Print the authenticated dashboard URL
openclaw dashboard --no-open

# On your local computer, forward the private Gateway port
ssh -N -L 18789:127.0.0.1:18789 root@your-linode-ip
# Then open http://127.0.0.1:18789

Set up a Cloud Firewall for SSH while keeping the Gateway private:

1. In Cloud Manager, go to Firewalls → Create Firewall
2. Name it (e.g., openclaw-fw) and assign it to your Linode
3. Add the following Inbound Rules:

Label              Protocol   Ports    Sources
SSH                TCP        22       My IP

4. Set the default Inbound Policy to Drop
5. Click Save Changes

The --install-daemon flag from Step 5 already set up a systemd user service. To check its status:

# Check gateway status via openclaw CLI
openclaw gateway status

# Or check directly via systemd
systemctl --user status openclaw-gateway

# View live logs
journalctl --user -u openclaw-gateway -f

The service will automatically restart on failure and start on boot.