Openclaw Keepalive

Keep OpenClaw gateway running 24/7 on a laptop or workstation. Use when: (1) user reports gateway disconnects or crashes, (2) user asks how to make OpenClaw...

Security Scan

The instructions match a keep-alive purpose but the skill omits required-binary declarations and provenance, and it tells users to run privileged system commands (including an opaque `openclaw gateway install`) — this mismatch and unknown origin merit caution.

Purpose & Capability

The SKILL.md describes exactly the actions you'd expect to keep a gateway alive (registering services, power settings, healthchecks). However the registry metadata declares no required binaries or credentials while the instructions clearly require an 'openclaw' CLI and administrative tools (sudo, systemctl, schtasks/powershell, pmset, powercfg, npm, nssm). This mismatch (declared requirements: none vs actual commands: many) is a material incoherence.

Instruction Scope

Instructions stay on-topic (service registration, auto-restart, healthchecks, preventing sleep). They do, however, recommend system-wide and potentially disruptive changes (masking suspend targets, globally disabling sleep, altering power plans) and run privileged commands. The doc also instructs installing packages from npm (pm2) and using `openclaw gateway install` — the latter is opaque and could execute arbitrary privileged operations; the skill does not provide verification steps or show what that install command does.

Install Mechanism

There is no install spec (instruction-only), which is lower risk from the registry side. But the instructions ask users to run npm install -g pm2 (pulls remote code) and to run an unverified 'openclaw' CLI install command. Because there is no homepage, source repo, or checksums, the guidance to install or run global packages raises trust questions even though the mechanism itself is common.

Credentials

The skill does not request credentials or environment variables and the actions described do not require service tokens. No disproportionate secret or unrelated credential access is declared or implied.

Persistence & Privilege

The skill advises creating system services and changing OS-level power settings which require elevated privileges — appropriate for the task but high‑impact. Because the skill lacks provenance and the primary action (`openclaw gateway install`) is not auditable here, granting those privileges before verification could be risky.

What to consider before installing

This skill's instructions are coherent for keeping a local gateway running, but there are two red flags: (1) the README assumes and runs an 'openclaw' CLI and several admin-level OS commands while the registry metadata lists no required binaries or source, and (2) there's no homepage or repository to inspect what 'openclaw gateway install' actually does. Before running anything: (a) obtain the openclaw binary from an official, verifiable source (homepage or repo) and inspect its install script or run it in a sandbox/VM, (b) avoid running opaque install commands with sudo until you can review them, (c) prefer non-global installs (avoid npm -g) or pin package versions and review packages, (d) back up system settings before changing power/sleep configuration, and (e) consider using an isolated machine or container if you must test these instructions. If the publisher can provide a source repository, release checksums, or documentation showing exactly what 'openclaw gateway install' does, that information would raise confidence and could change the assessment to benign.

OpenClaw Gateway Keepalive

Ensure the OpenClaw gateway process stays running across reboots, crashes, sleep, and network interruptions.

Quick Start (Recommended)

Register as a system service with one command (all platforms):

openclaw gateway install

Effects:

• ✅ Auto-start on boot — no terminal needed
• ✅ Runs in background — survives terminal close
• ✅ Survives screen lock — independent of user session
• ✅ Auto-restart on crash — OS-level process supervision

Verify:

openclaw gateway status

Expected output:

• Service: Scheduled Task (registered) ✅
• RPC probe: ok ✅
• Port: [127.0.0.1:18789] ✅

Commands

Command	Description
openclaw gateway install	Register as system service (one-time)
openclaw gateway uninstall	Remove system service
openclaw gateway start	Start gateway manually
openclaw gateway stop	Stop gateway
openclaw gateway restart	Restart gateway
openclaw gateway status	Check gateway status
openclaw logs --follow	Tail real-time logs

Platform Differences

Windows

• Registers via Task Scheduler (schtasks)
• Service name: OpenClaw Gateway
• Survives screen lock and user session disconnect

macOS

• Registers via launchd plist
• Supports KeepAlive=true for auto-restart

Linux

• Registers via systemd service
• Supports Restart=on-failure policy

Prevent Sleep (Critical)

The gateway requires the computer to stay awake. Configure power settings:

Windows

# List current power plans
powercfg /list

# Never sleep when plugged in
powercfg /change standby-timeout-ac 0

# Allow display off but keep system awake
powercfg /change monitor-timeout-ac 10

macOS

# Prevent system sleep
sudo pmset -a sleep 0

# Prevent disk sleep
sudo pmset -a disksleep 0

# Allow display off but keep system running
sudo pmset -a displaysleep 10

Linux

# Disable suspend
sudo systemctl mask sleep.target suspend.target hibernate.target hybrid-sleep.target

Network Recovery

The gateway's WebSocket connection auto-reconnects after network interruptions using exponential backoff (1s → 2s → 4s → ...).

Manual restart if needed:

openclaw gateway restart

Troubleshooting

Gateway Unresponsive

openclaw gateway status    # Check process status
openclaw logs --follow     # View real-time logs
openclaw gateway restart   # Attempt restart

Service Not Registered

openclaw gateway install   # Re-register
openclaw gateway status    # Verify

Frequent Crashes

1. Check logs with openclaw logs --follow for crash cause
2. Ensure sufficient memory (Node.js process needs at least 512MB free)
3. Check for port conflicts (default: 18789)
4. Update to latest version

Advanced: External Process Supervisors

If gateway install is not stable enough, use external tools:

Option A: pm2 (Recommended, Cross-Platform)

npm install -g pm2
pm2 start openclaw -- gateway start
pm2 save
pm2 startup  # Generate startup command

Option B: NSSM (Windows Only)

nssm install OpenClaw "C:\Program Files\nodejs\node.exe" "openclaw gateway start"
nssm set OpenClaw AppExit Default Restart
nssm start OpenClaw

Option C: Windows Task Scheduler (Manual)

# Create auto-start task with 1-minute restart on failure
schtasks /create /tn "OpenClaw Gateway" /tr "openclaw gateway start" /sc onstart /rl highest /f

# Or use Task Scheduler GUI for finer restart policies

Healthcheck Scripts

Schedule these with cron or Task Scheduler for periodic health checks with auto-restart.

Windows (healthcheck.cmd)

@echo off
REM OpenClaw Gateway Healthcheck Script (Windows)
REM Run periodically via Task Scheduler or cron
REM Exit code 0 = healthy, 1 = failed to recover

echo [%date% %time%] Checking OpenClaw Gateway status...

openclaw gateway status >nul 2>&1
if %errorlevel% neq 0 (
    echo [%date% %time%] Gateway not responding. Attempting restart...
    openclaw gateway restart >nul 2>&1
    timeout /t 5 >nul
    openclaw gateway status >nul 2>&1
    if %errorlevel% neq 0 (
        echo [%date% %time%] CRITICAL: Gateway failed to restart!
        exit /b 1
    ) else (
        echo [%date% %time%] Gateway restarted successfully.
        exit /b 0
    )
) else (
    echo [%date% %time%] Gateway is running normally.
    exit /b 0
)

Linux/macOS (healthcheck.sh)

#!/bin/bash
# OpenClaw Gateway Healthcheck Script (Linux/macOS)
# Usage: bash healthcheck.sh - can be scheduled via cron
# Example cron: */5 * * * * /path/to/healthcheck.sh >> /var/log/openclaw-healthcheck.log 2>&1

TIMESTAMP=$(date '+%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S')

echo "[$TIMESTAMP] Checking OpenClaw Gateway status..."

if openclaw gateway status > /dev/null 2>&1; then
    echo "[$TIMESTAMP] Gateway is running normally."
    exit 0
else
    echo "[$TIMESTAMP] Gateway not responding. Attempting restart..."
    openclaw gateway restart > /dev/null 2>&1
    sleep 5
    
    if openclaw gateway status > /dev/null 2>&1; then
        echo "[$TIMESTAMP] Gateway restarted successfully."
        exit 0
    else
        echo "[$TIMESTAMP] CRITICAL: Gateway failed to restart!"
        exit 1
    fi
fi

Save to a location of your choice and schedule:

• Windows: Task Scheduler → Run every 5 minutes
• Linux/macOS: */5 * * * * /path/to/healthcheck.sh >> /var/log/openclaw-healthcheck.log 2>&1