OpenClaw Instance Administration

The Iron Law

DETECT PLATFORM FIRST. DIAGNOSE BEFORE CHANGING. VERIFY AFTER EVERY ACTION.

Never assume the OS or hosting environment. Never make changes without checking current state. Never claim success without verification.

---

When to Use

Use this skill for:

• Installing, updating, or migrating OpenClaw instances
• Gateway lifecycle management (start, stop, restart, health checks)
• Host-level administration (packages, services, firewall, users, disks)
• Security hardening and audits
• Monitoring setup and troubleshooting
• Backup and disaster recovery
• Platform-specific configuration (macOS, Ubuntu/Debian, Docker, OCI, Proxmox)
• Channel configuration (WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord, Slack, Signal)
• Tailscale setup and management (Serve, Funnel, SSH, ACLs)
• gogcli (Google Workspace CLI) setup and troubleshooting
• OpenClaw scheduler, memory, plugins, and MCP server management

Do NOT use for:

• Writing OpenClaw extensions or plugins (use plugin-dev skills)
• Designing cloud architecture from scratch (use cloud-architect persona)
• Application-level code debugging (use /octo:debug)

---

The Process

Phase 1: Detect Platform

You MUST detect the platform before running any administrative commands.

# Detect OS
uname -s  # Darwin = macOS, Linux = Ubuntu/Debian/Proxmox host

# If Linux, detect distro
cat /etc/os-release 2>/dev/null | head -5

# Check if inside Docker
[ -f /.dockerenv ] && echo "Docker container" || echo "Not Docker"

# Check if on Proxmox host
command -v pveversion &>/dev/null && pveversion 2>/dev/null

# Check if inside Proxmox LXC
[ -f /proc/1/environ ] && grep -q container=lxc /proc/1/environ 2>/dev/null && echo "Proxmox LXC"

# Check for OCI metadata
curl -s -m 2 http://169.254.169.254/opc/v2/instance/ -H "Authorization: Bearer Oracle" 2>/dev/null | head -5

Set the platform context before proceeding:

• macOS: Homebrew, launchd, Application Firewall, APFS
• Ubuntu/Debian: apt, systemd, ufw, ext4/ZFS
• Docker: docker compose, container logs, volume management
• OCI: ARM architecture, VCN security, Tailscale, systemd
• Proxmox: qm/pct, vzdump, ZFS, LXC bind mounts

---

Phase 2: Assess Current State

Run diagnostics appropriate to the platform:

OpenClaw Diagnostics (All Platforms)

# Check OpenClaw installation
command -v openclaw &>/dev/null && openclaw --version

# Gateway status
openclaw status --all

# Health check
openclaw health

# Doctor (auto-detect and report issues)
openclaw doctor

# Security audit
openclaw security audit

macOS Host Diagnostics

# Service status
launchctl list | grep openclaw

# System resources
vm_stat | head -10
df -h /

# Homebrew health
brew doctor 2>&1 | head -20

# Firewall status
/usr/libexec/ApplicationFirewall/socketfilterfw --getglobalstate

Ubuntu/Debian Host Diagnostics

# Service status
systemctl --user status openclaw-gateway 2>/dev/null || systemctl status openclaw-gateway

# System resources
free -h
df -h /

# Failed services
systemctl --failed

# Firewall status
ufw status verbose

# Pending updates
apt list --upgradable 2>/dev/null | head -20

Docker Diagnostics

# Container status
docker compose ps

# Container health
docker inspect --format='{{.State.Health.Status}}' openclaw-gateway 2>/dev/null

# Resource usage
docker stats --no-stream

# Disk usage
docker system df

Proxmox Diagnostics

# Proxmox version
pveversion -v

# VM/LXC list
qm list 2>/dev/null
pct list 2>/dev/null

# Storage status
pvesm status

# ZFS health
zpool status 2>/dev/null

# Cluster status
pvecm status 2>/dev/null

---

Phase 3: Execute the Requested Action

Route to the appropriate workflow based on user intent:

Installation Workflows

Platform	Method
macOS	curl -fsSL https://openclaw.ai/install.sh | bash && openclaw onboard --install-daemon
Ubuntu/Debian	curl -fsSL https://openclaw.ai/install.sh | bash && openclaw onboard --install-daemon
Docker	git clone https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw.git && cd openclaw && ./docker-setup.sh
OCI ARM	Install Node.js 22 + build-essential, then curl installer, enable systemd lingering, configure Tailscale
Proxmox LXC	Create Ubuntu/Debian LXC, install Node.js 22, curl installer, configure bind mounts for persistence

Service Lifecycle

Action	macOS	Linux	Docker
Start	launchctl start gui/$UID/com.openclaw.gateway	systemctl --user start openclaw-gateway	docker compose up -d
Stop	launchctl stop gui/$UID/com.openclaw.gateway	systemctl --user stop openclaw-gateway	docker compose down
Restart	openclaw gateway restart	openclaw gateway restart	docker compose restart
Status	launchctl list | grep openclaw	systemctl --user status openclaw-gateway	docker compose ps
Logs	openclaw logs --follow	journalctl --user -u openclaw-gateway -f	docker compose logs -f

Update Workflow

1. Backup config, credentials, and workspace:

   cp ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json.bak
   cp -r ~/.openclaw/credentials/ ~/.openclaw/credentials.bak/

2. Update using the appropriate method:

   # Installer (recommended)
   curl -fsSL https://openclaw.ai/install.sh | bash
   
   # npm
   npm i -g openclaw@latest
   
   # Docker
   docker compose pull && docker compose up -d

3. Verify the update:

   openclaw --version
   openclaw doctor
   openclaw health

Security Hardening Checklist

1. Gateway binds to loopback only (127.0.0.1 / ::1)
2. Token auth enabled — tokens treated as admin credentials
3. Tailscale or VPN for remote access — never expose port 18789
4. Filesystem restrictions: tools.exec.applyPatch.workspaceOnly: true, tools.fs.workspaceOnly: true
5. Docker sandboxing enabled for agent tool execution
6. DM pairing policy enforced for unknown senders
7. openclaw security audit --deep --fix passes clean
8. Credential permissions: chmod 700 ~/.openclaw/credentials/
9. Firewall: only required ports open (SSH, Tailscale UDP 41641)
10. Use Anthropic Opus 4.6 as agent model (best prompt injection resistance)

---

Phase 4: Verify Outcome

After every action, verify it took effect:

# Check gateway is running
openclaw status

# Check health
openclaw health

# Run doctor to catch issues
openclaw doctor

# If security changes were made
openclaw security audit

Report the before/after state and any remaining issues.

---

Key File Paths

Path	Purpose
~/.openclaw/openclaw.json	Main configuration (JSON5)
~/.openclaw/credentials/	API keys and auth tokens
~/.openclaw/workspace/	Agent workspace data
~/.openclaw/sandboxes/	Sandbox isolation directories
~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.openclaw.gateway.plist	macOS launchd service
~/.config/systemd/user/openclaw-gateway.service	Linux systemd user service

---

OpenClaw CLI Quick Reference

openclaw status [--all|--deep]         # Health overview
openclaw health                        # Gateway health check
openclaw doctor [--fix]                # Diagnostics + auto-fix
openclaw logs [--follow]               # Gateway logs
openclaw security audit [--deep] [--fix]  # Security scan

openclaw gateway start|stop|restart    # Service lifecycle
openclaw gateway install|uninstall     # Daemon management
openclaw configure                     # Interactive config wizard
openclaw update [--channel ...]        # Self-update

openclaw channels list|status|add|remove  # Messaging channels
openclaw models list|status [--probe]     # AI model config
openclaw agents list|add|delete           # Agent management
openclaw sessions list|history            # Session management
openclaw skills list|info|check           # Skills
openclaw plugins list|install|doctor      # Plugins
openclaw cron status|list|add|edit|rm     # Scheduled jobs

---

Tailscale Management

tailscale up [--ssh]                             # Connect to tailnet
tailscale serve https / http://127.0.0.1:18789  # Expose OpenClaw to tailnet
tailscale serve status                           # Check serve config
tailscale status                                 # List connected devices
tailscale ping <hostname>                        # Test connectivity
tailscale netcheck                               # Network diagnostics

Rules:

• Use tailscale serve for OpenClaw access (tailnet only)
• Warn before tailscale funnel (exposes to public internet)
• Docker: use sidecar pattern with network_mode: "service:tailscale"
• Proxmox LXC: add TUN device to container config before installing

Channel Integration

Channel	Library	Admin Setup
WhatsApp	Baileys	openclaw channels login whatsapp → scan QR
Telegram	Grammy	Token from @BotFather → set in config
Discord	discord.js	Bot token from Developer Portal
Slack	Bolt	App manifest + bot/app tokens (Socket Mode)
Signal	signal-cli	openclaw channels login signal → linked device

openclaw channels list|status|add|remove|login|logout
openclaw channels dm-allow <channel> user:@username
openclaw channels info <channel> [--dm-list|--detailed]

Integration with Other Skills

Scenario	Route
Infrastructure architecture needed	Hand off to cloud-architect persona
Application-level bug found	Hand off to /octo:debug
Security vulnerability in code	Hand off to /octo:security
Need CI/CD pipeline for deployment	Hand off to deployment-engineer persona
OpenClaw extension development	Hand off to plugin-dev skills

---

Red Flags — Don't Do This

Action	Why It's Wrong
Assume the OS without checking	macOS and Linux commands differ significantly
Expose port 18789 to the internet	Gateway should only bind to loopback; use Tailscale
Run openclaw security audit --fix without --deep first	Understand the findings before auto-remediating
Skip backup before updating	Updates can break config; always back up first
Use docker compose down -v without warning	Destroys volumes and all data
Grant manage all-resources in OCI IAM	Violates least-privilege; use scoped policies
Run privileged LXC containers on Proxmox	Unprivileged LXC is safer; only privilege if absolutely needed