Why Podman?

Podman is an excellent choice for running OpenClaw in a secure, rootless environment. Unlike Docker, it doesn't require a central daemon, making it more resilient and easier to manage in many Linux environments.

Prerequisite: Ensure Podman is installed on your system. Most modern Linux distributions include it in their default repositories.

1. Pull the Image

You can use the official OpenClaw image or build your own. To pull the latest stable image:

podman pull ghcr.io/openclaw/openclaw:latest

2. Create a Volume

To persist your configuration and memory, create a Podman volume:

podman volume create openclaw_data

3. Run Rootless

Execute the following command to start OpenClaw. This runs the container as your current user, without requiring sudo.

podman run -d \
  --name openclaw \
  -p 3000:3000 \
  -v openclaw_data:/app/data \
  ghcr.io/openclaw/openclaw:latest

4. Verify Installation

Check the logs to ensure everything is starting correctly:

podman logs -f openclaw

Once you see "Server listening on port 3000", you can access your dashboard at http://localhost:3000.

Note: If you are using a firewall, ensure port 3000 is open for local traffic.