Autostart | Friends of the Crustacean 🦞🤝 | Page 1

barren loom Apr 23, 2026, 4:38 AM

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I need some help with the auto-start. I always need to open the Ubuntu terminal and type OpenClaw to boot it up. Any way I can make it auto-run? So, whenever my PC turns on, it'll boot up automatically?

sonic sparrowBOT Apr 23, 2026, 4:38 AM

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sharp obsidianBOT Apr 23, 2026, 4:38 AM

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sonic sparrowBOT Apr 23, 2026, 4:38 AM

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orchid zealotBOT Apr 23, 2026, 4:40 AM

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Yep, you can make it auto-start.

First, can you check your version so we don’t send you down the wrong path:

openclaw --version

On Ubuntu, the usual fix is to install the Gateway as a user service:

openclaw gateway install
openclaw gateway status

That sets up a systemd user service so OpenClaw starts automatically instead of needing a terminal window.

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If you want it to keep running even after logout, or start on boot for a headless box, also run:

sudo loginctl enable-linger "$(whoami)"

If you’d rather re-run the guided setup, this also does the daemon install step:

openclaw onboard --install-daemon

Docs:

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If you paste the output of openclaw --version and openclaw gateway status, I can tell you the exact next step.

barren loom Apr 23, 2026, 5:35 AM

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Alright, I ran all the commands. Now how to check? Can I close the terminal and see?

orchid zealotBOT Apr 23, 2026, 5:36 AM

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Yep, if the service installed properly, you can close the terminal.

Quick check first:

openclaw gateway status

On Ubuntu, this is also useful:

systemctl --user status openclaw-gateway.service

What you want to see is basically running / active.

How to test it:

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Run openclaw gateway status
Close the terminal
Reopen a new terminal later and run openclaw gateway status again, or check if your bot/dashboard still responds
Best final test: reboot the PC

One important detail:

If you enabled linger, it can start on boot even before login
Without linger, it usually starts when you log into Ubuntu

If you want, paste the output of openclaw gateway status and I’ll confirm whether it’s set up right.

barren loom Apr 23, 2026, 5:39 AM

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Should I close the terminal now and message my bot?

orchid zealotBOT Apr 23, 2026, 5:39 AM

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Yep, exactly, close the terminal and message your bot.

If it still responds, the auto-start/background service is working 🎉

If it does not respond, reopen terminal and check:

openclaw gateway status
openclaw logs --follow

If you want true final confirmation, reboot once and message the bot again after startup.

barren loom Apr 23, 2026, 5:42 AM

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It went offline after closing the terminal

orchid zealotBOT Apr 23, 2026, 5:42 AM

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Ah, got it, that means you were still running the foreground process, and the background service either didn’t install or didn’t start.

Can you paste these 4 outputs:

openclaw --version
openclaw gateway status
systemctl --user status openclaw-gateway.service --no-pager
journalctl --user -u openclaw-gateway.service -n 50 --no-pager

Most likely fix, if the service is missing or inactive:

openclaw gateway install --force
openclaw gateway start

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openclaw gateway status

Then close the terminal and test again.

If systemctl says the service doesn’t exist, that’s the clue. If it exists but failed, the journalctl output will tell us why.

barren loom Apr 23, 2026, 5:45 AM

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openclaw-gateway.service                                                                                                                          wrakeeb@DESKTOPMRKJH:~$ openclaw gateway status                          🦞 OpenClaw 2026.4.21 (f788c88) — Less clicking, more shipping, fewer "where did that file go" moments.                                                                                                                                             Service: systemd (enabled)                                                                                                                                                   File logs: /tmp/openclaw/openclaw-2026-04-23.log                                                                                                                             Command: /usr/bin/node /home/wrakeeb/.npm-global/lib/node_modules/openclaw/dist/index.js gateway --port 18789                                                                Service file: ~/.config/systemd/user/openclaw-gateway.service                                                                                                                Service env: OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_PORT=18789                          Config (cli): ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json                                                                                                                                      Config (service): ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json                                                                                                                                                           Gateway: bind=loopback (127.0.0.1), port=18789 (service args)                                                                                                                Probe target: ws://127.0.0.1:18789                                                                                                                                           Dashboard: http://127.0.0.1:18789/                                                                                                                                           Probe note: Loopback-only gateway; only local clients can connect.                                                                       Runtime: running (pid 720, state active, sub running, last exit 0, reason 0)                                                                                                 Warm-up: launch agents can take a few seconds. Try again shortly.                                                                                                            Connectivity probe: failed                                                                                                                                                   Probe target: ws://127.0.0.1:18789                                                                                                                                             connect ECONNREFUSED 127.0.0.1:18789                                                                                                                                       Capability: unknown                                                     Gateway port 18789 is not listening (service appears running).                                                                                                               Logs: journalctl --user -u openclaw-gateway.service -n 200 --no-pager                                                                                                        Restart log: ~/.openclaw/logs/gateway-restart.log                                        Troubles: run openclaw status                                                                                                                                                Troubleshooting: https://docs.openclaw.ai/troubleshooting

orchid zealotBOT Apr 23, 2026, 5:46 AM

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Nice, this tells us a lot.

The service is installed, but the actual Gateway is not successfully opening port 18789. So systemd is alive, but OpenClaw itself is not fully starting.

Next step, please run these and paste the output:

journalctl --user -u openclaw-gateway.service -n 200 --no-pager
openclaw doctor
openclaw status

One quick thing you can try first:

openclaw gateway install --force

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openclaw gateway restart
openclaw gateway status

If it still says:

Runtime: running
but Connectivity probe: failed
and connect ECONNREFUSED 127.0.0.1:18789

then the logs will show the real reason, usually:

config issue
startup crash
missing env/auth
or a bad install state

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Paste the journalctl output next, that’s the key piece now.

barren loom Apr 23, 2026, 5:48 AM

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I was this

journalctl --user -u openclaw-gateway.service -n 200 --no-pager
openclaw doctor
openclaw status```

The output is so big, can't paste

orchid zealotBOT Apr 23, 2026, 5:48 AM

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No worries, just send the important bits, not the whole thing.

Try these smaller ones:

journalctl --user -u openclaw-gateway.service -n 60 --no-pager | tail -40
openclaw doctor | tail -40
openclaw status | tail -40

If that’s still noisy, filter just likely error lines:

journalctl --user -u openclaw-gateway.service --no-pager | grep -iE "error|fail|exception|refused|missing|invalid" | tail -40

Or honestly, a screenshot of the bottom part of the terminal is fine too. I mainly need the last error lines.

barren loom Apr 23, 2026, 5:50 AM

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which part to send?

orchid zealotBOT Apr 23, 2026, 5:51 AM

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Send these parts only:

The last 30-40 lines from:

journalctl --user -u openclaw-gateway.service -n 60 --no-pager

From openclaw doctor and openclaw status, send only lines that mention:

error
failed
refused
missing
invalid
warning

If easier, just take a screenshot of the bottom of the terminal after running those commands. That should be enough.

barren loom Apr 23, 2026, 5:51 AM

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``

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orchid zealotBOT Apr 23, 2026, 5:52 AM

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Looks like Discord ate the paste 😅

Can you resend either:

a screenshot of the bottom of the terminal, or
the last 30-40 lines from:

journalctl --user -u openclaw-gateway.service -n 60 --no-pager

That’s the part I need most.

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Thanks, that helps.

Those log lines are not the real crash, the newest ones mostly say OpenClaw was still starting up. So I think the service may have been installed while your manual terminal-run was still active.

Try this exact sequence:

openclaw gateway restart
sleep 20
openclaw gateway status

Then check the result:

If it says Connectivity probe: ok, you’re good, close terminal and test the bot.
If it still says connect ECONNREFUSED, then send just the last 20 lines from:

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journalctl --user -u openclaw-gateway.service -n 20 --no-pager

The important bit now is the status after a clean restart.

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