---
title: "Deploy OpenClaw | All-in-one Personal AI Assistant"
description: "Self Host Openclaw w/ Web Setup + Admin Dashboard + TUI + Pairing & more"
category: "Automation"
url: https://railway.com/deploy/self-host-openclaw
---

# Deploy OpenClaw | All-in-one Personal AI Assistant

Self Host Openclaw w/ Web Setup + Admin Dashboard + TUI + Pairing & more

**[Deploy OpenClaw | All-in-one Personal AI Assistant on Railway](https://railway.com/template/self-host-openclaw)**

Machine-readable deploy manifest (JSON, validated by TemplateCI): https://railway.com/deploy/self-host-openclaw/manifest.json

- **Creator:** Heimdall
- **Category:** Automation
- **Total deploys:** 395

## Template content

### OpenClaw 🦞  https://openclaw.ai/favicon.svg

- **Source:** praveen-ks-2001/openclaw-railway
- **Public domain:** Yes

## Documentation

![OpenClaw logo](https://opengraph.githubassets.com/027231e34679f13d043884e2d69bd69e052e500e3bf7b5b03c72101eda21b724/openclaw/openclaw)

# Deploy and Host OpenClaw

Deploy OpenClaw — the open-source personal AI assistant with 328k+ GitHub stars — on Railway with a single click. OpenClaw is a self-hosted agent runtime that connects your favorite chat apps (WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord, Slack, iMessage, and 20+ more) to powerful AI models like Claude, GPT, and Gemini, letting an AI agent browse the web, manage files, run commands, and work autonomously on your behalf.

Self-host OpenClaw on Railway with this template and get a fully configured **gateway, a browser-based setup wizard, admin dashboard with live terminal, and persistent storage** — no CLI or SSH access needed. 


## 🚀 Getting Started with OpenClaw on Railway | Deployment Guide

Once your Railway deploy is live, open your service URL — you'll be redirected to the `/setup` wizard automatically. Pick your AI provider (Anthropic, OpenAI, Google Gemini, Groq, or OpenRouter), paste your API key, and optionally configure messaging channels like Telegram or Discord. Click **Launch OpenClaw** and the gateway starts within seconds.

### Step 1: Initial Setup via `/setup`

The `/setup` page is a **one-time configuration wizard** — it's where you select your AI provider, paste your API key, and optionally wire up messaging channels (Telegram, Discord, Slack, etc.). 

Once setup is complete, `/setup` **cannot be used again** without first wiping the existing configuration from the `/admin` panel. This is by design — `/setup` is an open URL (no password), so it only works when no config exists yet.

![OpenClaw setup wizard](https://res.cloudinary.com/asset-cloudinary/image/upload/v1774088297/openclaw_setup_page_rxowv8.png)

### Step 2: Access the **Admin Dashboard** at `/admin`

The `/admin` page is password-protected — log in with your `WRAPPER_ADMIN_PASSWORD` environment variable. This is your **one-stop control panel** for managing everything about your OpenClaw instance:

- **📊 Status** — real-time gateway health, uptime, and quick actions (restart/stop)
- **📋 Live Logs** — stream OpenClaw gateway logs with filtering, directly in the browser
- **💻 Terminal** — full PTY terminal running inside the container for diagnostics and management
- **🔗 Device Pairing** — approve or reject browser and device pairing requests in real time
- **⚙️ Config Editor** — view and edit `openclaw.json` with hot-reload support

![OpenClaw Admin Page Protection](https://res.cloudinary.com/asset-cloudinary/image/upload/v1774088295/Openclaw_Admin_Login_u1eqcu.png)

![OpenClaw admin dashboard](https://res.cloudinary.com/asset-cloudinary/image/upload/v1774088294/Openclaw_admin_UI_qzsxep.png)


> 💡 **Tip:** Full terminal access to your OpenClaw container is available directly from the **Admin → Terminal** panel.

![OpenClaw admin terminal — run openclaw CLI commands directly in the browser](https://res.cloudinary.com/asset-cloudinary/image/upload/v1774088288/Openclaw_admin_TUI_elvlpt.png)

### Step 3: Connect to the **OpenClaw UI**

Click the **"Open OpenClaw UI"** button in the top-right corner of the admin dashboard to open the main OpenClaw interface.

If this is your **first time connecting**, you'll need to set up the **OpenClaw gateway connection**:

1. **Open the gateway screen** — clicking "Open OpenClaw UI" will take you to the gateway connection page

![OpenClaw gateway connection screen](https://res.cloudinary.com/asset-cloudinary/image/upload/v1774088291/Openclaw_gateway_dlmpb3.png)

2. **Enter your gateway token** — copy your `OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN` from the Admin dashboard or your Railway environment variables, paste it into the gateway token field, and click **Connect**. Your browser will send a device pairing request to the gateway

![OpenClaw gateway — token entered and pairing request pending](https://res.cloudinary.com/asset-cloudinary/image/upload/v1774088290/Openclaw_gateway_token_passed_pairing_pending_fa7abr.png)

3. **Approve the pairing request** — switch back to the **Admin Dashboard → Pairing** panel and approve the incoming browser pairing request

![OpenClaw admin — approve device pairing request](https://res.cloudinary.com/asset-cloudinary/image/upload/v1774088289/Openclaw_Pairing_UI_spmo3x.png)

4. **Go back to the gateway and click Connect again** — once the pairing is approved, the OpenClaw UI will load and you're ready to start chatting with your self-hosted AI assistant

![OpenClaw UI — fully connected and ready to use](https://res.cloudinary.com/asset-cloudinary/image/upload/v1774088288/OpenClaw_UI_after_full_setup_rzkl2x.png)

## About Hosting OpenClaw 📖

OpenClaw (formerly ClawdBot/MoltBot) is a fully open-source (MIT), local-first personal AI agent created by Peter Steinberger. It runs as a long-lived Node.js gateway process that routes messages between chat platforms and AI coding agents.

**Key features:**

- 🔌 Multi-channel messaging — WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord, Slack, Signal, iMessage, and 20+ more
- 🤖 Multi-provider AI — Anthropic Claude, OpenAI GPT, Google Gemini, Groq, OpenRouter, or local models via Ollama
- 🧠 Autonomous agent — browses the web, manages files, runs commands, schedules tasks via heartbeat daemon
- 🎨 Live Canvas with A2UI — agent-driven visual workspace
- 🔒 Self-hosted & private — your data, conversations, and memory stay on your machine
- 📱 Companion apps for macOS, iOS, and Android


## Why Deploy OpenClaw on Railway ✅

One-click deploy with zero server configuration:

- 🟢 No Docker, volume, or network setup — Railway handles it all
- 🔐 Managed TLS and custom domains out of the box
- 🔄 One-click redeploys from Git with zero downtime
- 💾 Persistent volume keeps config, credentials, and conversations across deploys
- 🌐 Browser-based setup wizard — no terminal or SSH required
- 📊 Built-in admin dashboard with live logs, terminal, and device pairing

## Common Use Cases 💡

- **Personal AI assistant** — a 24/7 AI agent you message on WhatsApp or Telegram that can browse, code, and research autonomously
- **Automation hub** — schedule recurring tasks via the heartbeat daemon: daily summaries, monitoring, data pipelines

## Dependencies for OpenClaw 📦

- **OpenClaw** — installed globally in Docker via `npm install -g openclaw@${OPENCLAW_VERSION}` ([GitHub](https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw))
- **Node.js 22** — runtime for both the Express wrapper and OpenClaw gateway
- **node-pty** — native PTY for the admin terminal (compiled in Docker build stage)

### Deployment Dependencies

- **GitHub:** [openclaw/openclaw](https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw)
- **Docs:** [docs.openclaw.ai](https://docs.openclaw.ai/)

## 🖥️ Minimum Hardware Requirements for OpenClaw

| Resource | Minimum | Recommended |
|----------|---------|-------------|
| CPU | 1 vCPU | 2 vCPU |
| RAM | 2 GB (build OOMs on 1 GB) | 4 GB |
| Storage | 1 GB | 5 GB+ (grows with conversations and workspace) |
| Runtime | Node.js 22 | Node.js 22 |


## 🐳 Self-Hosting OpenClaw

If you prefer to self-host outside Railway, clone this repo and run with Docker:

```
git clone https://github.com/your-org/openclaw-railway-template.git
cd openclaw-railway-template
docker build -t openclaw-railway .
docker run -d \
  --name openclaw \
  -p 3000:3000 \
  -e PORT=3000 \
  -e OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN=your-secret-token \
  -v ./data:/data \
  openclaw-railway
```

Or run OpenClaw directly with the official Docker image:

```
docker run -d \
  --name openclaw \
  -p 18789:18789 \
  -v ~/.openclaw:/home/node/.openclaw \
  ghcr.io/openclaw/openclaw:latest
```

## 💰 Is OpenClaw Free?

OpenClaw is 100% free and open-source under the MIT license. There are no subscriptions, per-user fees, or platform charges. On Railway, the only cost is your infrastructure usage (typically $5–10/month for a small instance).

The real variable cost is AI model API usage — typically $5–30/month depending on your provider and usage intensity. Light users spend $5–10/month, regular users $15–30/month. You can also run it completely free using local models through Ollama.

## 🆚 OpenClaw vs Cursor vs Claude Code

| Feature | OpenClaw | Cursor | Claude Code |
|---------|----------|--------|-------------|
| Open Source | ✅ MIT | ❌ Proprietary | ❌ Proprietary |
| Self-Hostable | ✅ Full control | ❌ Cloud only | ❌ Cloud only |
| Multi-Channel Chat | ✅ 20+ platforms | ❌ IDE only | ❌ CLI only |
| Autonomous Agent | ✅ Heartbeat daemon | ⚠️ Background agents | ⚠️ Limited |
| IDE Integration | ⚠️ Via extensions | ✅ Native (VS Code fork) | ✅ CLI-native |
| Pricing | Free + API costs | $20–200/month | API costs |

OpenClaw shines when you need an always-on autonomous agent accessible from any chat platform. Cursor and Claude Code are better for in-editor coding assistance.

## ❓ FAQ

**What is OpenClaw?**
OpenClaw is an open-source, self-hosted personal AI assistant that connects 20+ messaging platforms (WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord, etc.) to AI models like Claude, GPT, and Gemini. It runs on your own hardware, keeping all data private.

**Can I use my own AI provider or local models?**
Yes. The setup wizard supports Anthropic, OpenAI, Google Gemini, Groq, and OpenRouter out of the box. For local models, configure Ollama as a custom OpenAI-compatible endpoint. You can also set fallback models in the config.

**Is it safe to expose OpenClaw to the public internet?**
This template uses token-based auth (`OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN`) and optional admin password protection. Device pairing requires explicit approval from the admin dashboard. Review the [OpenClaw security docs](https://docs.openclaw.ai/) before deploying to understand the trust model.

**How do I update OpenClaw to a newer version?**
Set the `OPENCLAW_VERSION` build argument in Railway (e.g., `2026.3.13`) and trigger a redeploy. Omit or set to `latest` to always pull the newest release on build.

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