Deploy and Host openclaw-railway-template on Railway

(Deprecating, use this instead: https://railway.com/deploy/openclaw-railway-template)

Production-ready deployment package for OpenClaw, an AI coding assistant that integrates with multiple chat platforms. Features a web-based management interface, enterprise-grade health monitoring, persistent storage, and automatic gateway management—no command-line experience required.

Battle-tested with over 2,000 production deployments.

NOTE1: Now includes auto-stable release detection but optionally you can pin the openclaw release you want to install with the OPENCLAW_VERSION env variable

NOTE2: If you experience a gateway disconnected issue in the UI, copy the value of OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN from Railway environment variables and paste it on the overview page, then click connect.

About Hosting openclaw-railway-template

This template wraps OpenClaw with a Node.js server providing complete lifecycle management through an intuitive web interface. Deploy in under 2 minutes, configure AI providers (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, custom OpenAI-compatible endpoints) and chat channels (Telegram, Discord, Slack) via password-protected /setup wizard. The wrapper automatically manages the OpenClaw gateway process, persists configuration to a Railway volume, and provides advanced management tools—all without SSH access.

Common Use Cases

• Personal AI Coding Assistant: Deploy your private AI assistant accessible via Telegram, Discord, or Slack for coding help, debugging, and automation
• Team Development Tool: Shared AI assistant for code reviews, architecture discussions, and pair programming across multiple channels
• Multi-Platform Bot: Single AI assistant responding across Telegram, Discord, and Slack simultaneously with unified configuration
• Self-Hosted LLM Integration: Connect OpenClaw to Ollama, vLLM, or LM Studio with custom endpoint configuration

Dependencies for openclaw-railway-template Hosting

• Railway Volume: Required for persistent storage of configuration, credentials, and workspace files (mounted at /data, 5GB recommended)
• AI Provider Account: API key for at least one provider (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, or custom OpenAI-compatible endpoint)
• Chat Platform Tokens (Optional): Bot tokens for Telegram, Discord, or Slack if you want chat integration

Deployment Dependencies

• OpenClaw GitHub Repository - The underlying AI assistant framework
• Railway Volumes Documentation - For understanding persistent storage
• Telegram BotFather - To create Telegram bot tokens
• Discord Developer Portal - To create Discord bot tokens

Implementation Details

The template uses a Node.js wrapper server that:

1. Builds OpenClaw from source during Docker build with pnpm for reliability
2. Provides a web-based setup wizard at /setup (protected by SETUP_PASSWORD)
3. Manages the OpenClaw gateway process automatically with health checks, auto-restart, and crash recovery
4. Reverse-proxies all traffic (including WebSockets) to the internal gateway with authentication
5. Offers advanced management tools including live config editor, debug console, device pairing helper, and backup/restore

Production-Hardened Security:

• All management endpoints protected by basic auth
• API keys and credentials automatically redacted from logs
• Gateway tokens persisted to volume with sync verification
• Secure volume isolation for configuration and workspace files

Key Management Features:

• Live Config Editor: Edit openclaw.json via web UI with automatic timestamped backups
• Debug Console: Execute 13+ allowlisted commands (gateway.restart, openclaw.doctor, openclaw.logs.tail, openclaw.devices.approve) without SSH
• Device Pairing Helper: Visual interface to approve WebSocket devices (fixes "pairing required" errors)
• Backup & Restore: One-click export/import of complete configuration archives
• Health Monitoring: Public /healthz endpoint with error tracking and automatic diagnostics

Key environment variables:

SETUP_PASSWORD=your-password            # Protects the setup wizard
OPENCLAW_STATE_DIR=/data/.openclaw     # Persists config/credentials
OPENCLAW_WORKSPACE_DIR=/data/workspace # Persists workspace files
OPENCLAW_VERSION=v2026.2.16            # Optional: pin specific version

Why Deploy on Railway

Production-Grade Infrastructure: Railway provides persistent volumes with snapshots, secure credential management, automatic HTTPS, real-time logs, and Hobby plan compatibility (512MB memory, ~250MB idle usage).

Proven at Scale: Battle-tested with over 2,000 production deployments. Comprehensive security hardening, error recovery, and real-world failure scenario validation ensure reliability for personal and team use.