Install Gateway Daemon Safely

Table of contents

1. What Is the Daemon?
2. Install the Daemon
3. Verify the Service
4. Enable Autostart
5. Manage the Daemon
6. Next Steps
7. FAQ

What Is the Daemon?

The OpenClaw Gateway daemon runs in the background and:

• Listens for incoming messages from your channels
• Executes scheduled tasks (heartbeat, cron)
• Serves the web dashboard
• Manages sessions and memory

Install the Daemon

Run the daemon install command:

openclaw install-daemon

This will:

• Windows: Install a background service
• macOS: Create a LaunchAgent in ~/Library/LaunchAgents
• Linux: Install a systemd user service

Verify the Service

Check that the Gateway is running:

openclaw gateway status

You should see “Gateway is running on ws://127.0.0.1:18789”.

Enable Autostart

The install command enables autostart by default. To verify:

• Windows: Check Services app for “OpenClaw Gateway”.
• macOS: Run launchctl list | grep openclaw.
• Linux: Run systemctl --user status openclaw.

Manage the Daemon

Common commands:

• Start: openclaw start
• Stop: openclaw stop
• Restart: openclaw restart
• Status: openclaw gateway status

Next Steps

• Open the Dashboard
• Connect WhatsApp
• Connect Telegram
• Security Overview
• Gateway Architecture

FAQ

Q: Do I need to run this as root/admin?
A: No. The daemon runs as your user. Only use sudo if you want a system-wide service (not recommended).

Q: Can I run multiple instances?
A: Only one Gateway per user. For remote setups, use the Remote Gateway pattern.

Q: How do I uninstall the daemon?
A: Run openclaw uninstall-daemon.

Q: Where are logs?
A: In ~/.openclaw/logs. Use openclaw logs to tail.

Recommended next

Open the Dashboard