OpenClaw on GCP Compute Engine (Docker, Production VPS Guide)

Goal

Run a persistent OpenClaw Gateway on a GCP Compute Engine VM using Docker, with durable state, baked-in binaries, and safe restart behavior. If you want “OpenClaw 24/7 for ~$5-12/mo”, this is a reliable setup on Google Cloud. Pricing varies by machine type and region; pick the smallest VM that fits your workload and scale up if you hit OOMs.

What are we doing (simple terms)?

Create a GCP project and enable billing
Create a Compute Engine VM
Install Docker (isolated app runtime)
Start the OpenClaw Gateway in Docker
Persist ~/.openclaw + ~/.openclaw/workspace on the host (survives restarts/rebuilds)
Access the Control UI from your laptop via an SSH tunnel

The Gateway can be accessed via:

SSH port forwarding from your laptop
Direct port exposure if you manage firewalling and tokens yourself

This guide uses Debian on GCP Compute Engine. Ubuntu also works; map packages accordingly. For the generic Docker flow, see Docker.

Quick path (experienced operators)

Create GCP project + enable Compute Engine API
Create Compute Engine VM (e2-small, Debian 12, 20GB)
SSH into the VM
Install Docker
Clone OpenClaw repository
Create persistent host directories
Configure .env and docker-compose.yml
Bake required binaries, build, and launch

What you need

GCP account (free tier eligible for e2-micro)
gcloud CLI installed (or use Cloud Console)
SSH access from your laptop
Basic comfort with SSH + copy/paste
~20-30 minutes
Docker and Docker Compose
Model autentifikatsiya ma’lumotlari
Optional provider credentials
- WhatsApp QR
- Telegram bot token
- Gmail OAuth

1. Install gcloud CLI (or use Console)

Option A: gcloud CLI (recommended for automation) Install from https://cloud.google.com/sdk/docs/install Initialize and authenticate:

gcloud init
gcloud auth login

Option B: Cloud Console All steps can be done via the web UI at https://console.cloud.google.com

2. Create a GCP project

CLI:

gcloud projects create my-openclaw-project --name="OpenClaw Gateway"
gcloud config set project my-openclaw-project

Enable billing at https://console.cloud.google.com/billing (required for Compute Engine). Enable the Compute Engine API:

gcloud services enable compute.googleapis.com

Console:

Go to IAM & Admin > Create Project
Name it and create
Enable billing for the project
Navigate to APIs & Services > Enable APIs > search “Compute Engine API” > Enable

3. Create the VM

Machine types:

Type	Specs	Narx	Eslatmalar
e2-small	2 vCPU, 2GB RAM	~$12/oy	Tavsiya etilgan
e2-micro	2 vCPU (bo‘lishilgan), 1GB RAM	Bepul qatlamga mos	Yuklama ostida OOM bo‘lishi mumkin

CLI:

gcloud compute instances create openclaw-gateway \
  --zone=us-central1-a \
  --machine-type=e2-small \
  --boot-disk-size=20GB \
  --image-family=debian-12 \
  --image-project=debian-cloud

Console:

Compute Engine > VM instances > Create instance bo‘limiga o‘ting
Nomi: openclaw-gateway
Mintaqa: us-central1, Zona: us-central1-a
Mashina turi: e2-small
Yuklash diski: Debian 12, 20GB
Yaratish

4. VM ga SSH orqali kiring

CLI:

gcloud compute ssh openclaw-gateway --zone=us-central1-a

Console: Compute Engine boshqaruv panelida VM yonidagi “SSH” tugmasini bosing. Eslatma: VM yaratilgandan so‘ng SSH kalitlari tarqalishi 1–2 daqiqa vaqt olishi mumkin. Agar ulanish rad etilsa, kuting va qayta urinib ko‘ring.

5. Docker’ni o‘rnating (VM’da)

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y git curl ca-certificates
curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com | sudo sh
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER

Guruh o‘zgarishi kuchga kirishi uchun tizimdan chiqib qayta kiring:

exit

So‘ng yana SSH orqali kiring:

gcloud compute ssh openclaw-gateway --zone=us-central1-a

Tekshirish:

docker --version
docker compose version

6. OpenClaw repozitoriyasini klonlash

git clone https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw.git
cd openclaw

Ushbu qo‘llanma binarlarning saqlanib qolishini kafolatlash uchun maxsus image qurishingizni nazarda tutadi.

7. Doimiy host kataloglarini yarating

Docker konteynerlari vaqtinchalik (ephemeral). Uzoq muddatli barcha holat host’da saqlanishi kerak.

mkdir -p ~/.openclaw
mkdir -p ~/.openclaw/workspace

8. Muhit o‘zgaruvchilarini sozlash

Repozitoriya ildizida .env yarating.

OPENCLAW_IMAGE=openclaw:latest
OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN=change-me-now
OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_BIND=lan
OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_PORT=18789

OPENCLAW_CONFIG_DIR=/home/$USER/.openclaw
OPENCLAW_WORKSPACE_DIR=/home/$USER/.openclaw/workspace

GOG_KEYRING_PASSWORD=change-me-now
XDG_CONFIG_HOME=/home/node/.openclaw

Kuchli maxfiy kalitlar yarating:

openssl rand -hex 32

Ushbu faylni commit qilmang.

9. Docker Compose konfiguratsiyasi

docker-compose.yml ni yarating yoki yangilang.

services:
  openclaw-gateway:
    image: ${OPENCLAW_IMAGE}
    build: .
    restart: unless-stopped
    env_file:
      - .env
    environment:
      - HOME=/home/node
      - NODE_ENV=production
      - TERM=xterm-256color
      - OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_BIND=${OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_BIND}
      - OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_PORT=${OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_PORT}
      - OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN=${OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN}
      - GOG_KEYRING_PASSWORD=${GOG_KEYRING_PASSWORD}
      - XDG_CONFIG_HOME=${XDG_CONFIG_HOME}
      - PATH=/home/linuxbrew/.linuxbrew/bin:/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin
    volumes:
      - ${OPENCLAW_CONFIG_DIR}:/home/node/.openclaw
      - ${OPENCLAW_WORKSPACE_DIR}:/home/node/.openclaw/workspace
    ports:
      # Tavsiya etiladi: Gateway’ni VM’da faqat loopback’da qoldiring; SSH tunneli orqali kiring.
      # Uni ommaviy tarzda ochish uchun `127.0.0.1:` prefiksini olib tashlang va firewall’ni moslang.
      - "127.0.0.1:${OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_PORT}:18789"

      # Ixtiyoriy: faqat iOS/Android tugunlarini ushbu VM ga ulab, Canvas host kerak bo‘lsa.
      # Agar buni ommaviy ochsangiz, /gateway/security ni o‘qing va firewall’ni moslang.
      # - "18793:18793"
    command:
      [
        "node",
        "dist/index.js",
        "gateway",
        "--bind",
        "${OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_BIND}",
        "--port",
        "${OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_PORT}",
      ]

10. Kerakli binarlarni imijga qoʻshib pishiring (muhim)

Ishlayotgan konteyner ichiga binarlarni oʻrnatish — bu tuzoq. Ishga tushirish vaqtida oʻrnatilgan har qanday narsa qayta ishga tushirilganda yoʻqoladi. Skill’lar talab qiladigan barcha tashqi binarlar imijni qurish vaqtida oʻrnatilishi shart. Quyidagi misollar faqat uchta keng tarqalgan binarni koʻrsatadi:

gog — Gmail’ga kirish uchun
goplaces — Google Places uchun
wacli — WhatsApp uchun

Bular misollar, toʻliq roʻyxat emas. Xuddi shu andoza yordamida istalgancha binarlarni oʻrnatishingiz mumkin. Agar keyinroq qoʻshimcha binarlarga bogʻliq yangi skill’lar qoʻshsangiz, quyidagilarni bajarishingiz kerak:

Dockerfile’ni yangilang
Imijni qayta yarating
Konteynerlarni qayta ishga tushiring

Misol Dockerfile

FROM node:22-bookworm

RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y socat && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*

# Example binary 1: Gmail CLI
RUN curl -L https://github.com/steipete/gog/releases/latest/download/gog_Linux_x86_64.tar.gz \
  | tar -xz -C /usr/local/bin && chmod +x /usr/local/bin/gog

# Example binary 2: Google Places CLI
RUN curl -L https://github.com/steipete/goplaces/releases/latest/download/goplaces_Linux_x86_64.tar.gz \
  | tar -xz -C /usr/local/bin && chmod +x /usr/local/bin/goplaces

# Example binary 3: WhatsApp CLI
RUN curl -L https://github.com/steipete/wacli/releases/latest/download/wacli_Linux_x86_64.tar.gz \
  | tar -xz -C /usr/local/bin && chmod +x /usr/local/bin/wacli

# Add more binaries below using the same pattern

WORKDIR /app
COPY package.json pnpm-lock.yaml pnpm-workspace.yaml .npmrc ./
COPY ui/package.json ./ui/package.json
COPY scripts ./scripts

RUN corepack enable
RUN pnpm install --frozen-lockfile

COPY . .
RUN pnpm build
RUN pnpm ui:install
RUN pnpm ui:build

ENV NODE_ENV=production

CMD ["node","dist/index.js"]

11. Qurish va ishga tushirish

docker compose build
docker compose up -d openclaw-gateway

Binarlarni tekshiring:

docker compose exec openclaw-gateway which gog
docker compose exec openclaw-gateway which goplaces
docker compose exec openclaw-gateway which wacli

Kutilgan chiqish:

/usr/local/bin/gog
/usr/local/bin/goplaces
/usr/local/bin/wacli

12. Gateway’ni tekshirish

docker compose logs -f openclaw-gateway

Muvaffaqiyat:

[gateway] listening on ws://0.0.0.0:18789

13. Noutbukingizdan kirish

Gateway portini yoʻnaltirish uchun SSH tunnel yarating:

gcloud compute ssh openclaw-gateway --zone=us-central1-a -- -L 18789:127.0.0.1:18789

Brauzeringizda oching: http://127.0.0.1:18789/ Gateway tokeningizni joylashtiring.

Nima qayerda saqlanadi (asosiy manba)

OpenClaw Docker’da ishlaydi, ammo Docker asosiy manba emas. Barcha uzoq muddatli holat qayta ishga tushirishlar, qayta qurishlar va qayta yuklashlardan omon qolishi kerak.

Komponent	Joylashuv	Saqlanish mexanizmi	Izohlar
Gateway konfiguratsiyasi	`/home/node/.openclaw/`	Host volume mount	`openclaw.json`, tokenlarni o‘z ichiga oladi
Model autentifikatsiya profillari	`/home/node/.openclaw/`	Host volume mount	OAuth tokenlari, API kalitlari
Skill konfiguratsiyalari	`/home/node/.openclaw/skills/`	Host volume mount	Ko‘nikma darajasi holati
Agent ish maydoni	/home/node/.openclaw/workspace/	Host volume mount	Kod va agent artefaktlari
WhatsApp sessiyasi	`/home/node/.openclaw/`	Host volume mount	QR orqali kirishni saqlaydi
Gmail kalitlar ombori	`/home/node/.openclaw/`	Xost hajmi + parol	`GOG_KEYRING_PASSWORD` talab qilinadi
Tashqi binar fayllar	/usr/local/bin/	Docker imiji	Build vaqtida joylashtirilishi shart
Node ish vaqti	Konteyner fayl tizimi	Docker imiji	Har bir imij buildida qayta yig‘iladi
OS paketlari	Konteyner fayl tizimi	Docker imiji	Ish vaqtida o‘rnatmang
Docker konteyneri	Vaqtinchalik	Qayta ishga tushiriladi	O‘chirish xavfsiz

Yangilanishlar

VM’da OpenClaw’ni yangilash uchun:

cd ~/openclaw
git pull
docker compose build
docker compose up -d

Nosozliklarni bartaraf etish

SSH ulanishi rad etildi VM yaratilgandan so‘ng SSH kalitlari tarqalishi 1–2 daqiqa vaqt olishi mumkin. Kuting va qayta urinib ko‘ring. OS Login muammolari OS Login profilingizni tekshiring:

gcloud compute os-login describe-profile

Hisobingizda zarur IAM ruxsatlari (Compute OS Login yoki Compute OS Admin Login) mavjudligiga ishonch hosil qiling. Xotira yetishmasligi (OOM) Agar e2-micro’dan foydalanib OOM muammosiga duch kelsangiz, e2-small yoki e2-medium’ga yangilang:

# Avval VM’ni to‘xtating
gcloud compute instances stop openclaw-gateway --zone=us-central1-a

# Mashina turini o‘zgartiring
gcloud compute instances set-machine-type openclaw-gateway \
  --zone=us-central1-a \
  --machine-type=e2-small

# VM’ni ishga tushiring
gcloud compute instances start openclaw-gateway --zone=us-central1-a

Xizmat hisoblari (xavfsizlik bo‘yicha eng yaxshi amaliyot)

Shaxsiy foydalanish uchun standart foydalanuvchi hisobingiz yetarli. Avtomatlashtirish yoki CI/CD quvurlari uchun minimal ruxsatlarga ega alohida xizmat hisobini yarating:

Xizmat hisobini yarating:

gcloud iam service-accounts create openclaw-deploy \
  --display-name="OpenClaw Deployment"

Compute Instance Admin rolini (yoki torroq maxsus rolni) bering:

gcloud projects add-iam-policy-binding my-openclaw-project \
  --member="serviceAccount:[email protected]" \
  --role="roles/compute.instanceAdmin.v1"

Avtomatlashtirish uchun Owner rolidan foydalanishdan saqlaning. Eng kam imtiyozlar tamoyilidan foydalaning. IAM rollari tafsilotlari uchun https://cloud.google.com/iam/docs/understanding-roles sahifasiga qarang.

Keyingi qadamlar

Xabar almashish kanallarini sozlang: Channels
Mahalliy qurilmalarni tugunlar sifatida juftlang: Nodes
Gateway-ni sozlang: Gateway configuration

O‘rnatish haqida umumiy ma’lumot

Boshqa o‘rnatish usullari

Texnik xizmat

Xosting va joylashtirish

Kengaytirilgan

GCP

OpenClaw on GCP Compute Engine (Docker, Production VPS Guide)

Goal

What are we doing (simple terms)?

Quick path (experienced operators)

What you need

1. Install gcloud CLI (or use Console)

2. Create a GCP project

3. Create the VM

4. VM ga SSH orqali kiring

5. Docker’ni o‘rnating (VM’da)

6. OpenClaw repozitoriyasini klonlash

7. Doimiy host kataloglarini yarating

8. Muhit o‘zgaruvchilarini sozlash

9. Docker Compose konfiguratsiyasi

10. Kerakli binarlarni imijga qoʻshib pishiring (muhim)

11. Qurish va ishga tushirish

12. Gateway’ni tekshirish

13. Noutbukingizdan kirish

Nima qayerda saqlanadi (asosiy manba)

Yangilanishlar

Nosozliklarni bartaraf etish

Xizmat hisoblari (xavfsizlik bo‘yicha eng yaxshi amaliyot)

Keyingi qadamlar

​OpenClaw on GCP Compute Engine (Docker, Production VPS Guide)

​Goal

​What are we doing (simple terms)?

​Quick path (experienced operators)

​What you need

​1. Install gcloud CLI (or use Console)

​2. Create a GCP project

​3. Create the VM

​4. VM ga SSH orqali kiring

​5. Docker’ni o‘rnating (VM’da)

​6. OpenClaw repozitoriyasini klonlash

​7. Doimiy host kataloglarini yarating

​8. Muhit o‘zgaruvchilarini sozlash

​9. Docker Compose konfiguratsiyasi

​10. Kerakli binarlarni imijga qoʻshib pishiring (muhim)

​11. Qurish va ishga tushirish

​12. Gateway’ni tekshirish

​13. Noutbukingizdan kirish

​Nima qayerda saqlanadi (asosiy manba)

​Yangilanishlar

​Nosozliklarni bartaraf etish

​Xizmat hisoblari (xavfsizlik bo‘yicha eng yaxshi amaliyot)

​Keyingi qadamlar

OpenClaw on GCP Compute Engine (Docker, Production VPS Guide)

Goal

What are we doing (simple terms)?

Quick path (experienced operators)

What you need

1. Install gcloud CLI (or use Console)

2. Create a GCP project

3. Create the VM

4. VM ga SSH orqali kiring

5. Docker’ni o‘rnating (VM’da)

6. OpenClaw repozitoriyasini klonlash

7. Doimiy host kataloglarini yarating

8. Muhit o‘zgaruvchilarini sozlash

9. Docker Compose konfiguratsiyasi

10. Kerakli binarlarni imijga qoʻshib pishiring (muhim)

11. Qurish va ishga tushirish

12. Gateway’ni tekshirish

13. Noutbukingizdan kirish

Nima qayerda saqlanadi (asosiy manba)

Yangilanishlar

Nosozliklarni bartaraf etish

Xizmat hisoblari (xavfsizlik bo‘yicha eng yaxshi amaliyot)

Keyingi qadamlar