GCP

Install gcloud CLI (or use Console)

Install from cloud.google.com/sdk/docs/install, then:

gcloud initgcloud auth login

Or do every step below through the Cloud Console web UI instead.

Create a GCP project

gcloud projects create my-openclaw-project --name="OpenClaw Gateway"gcloud config set project my-openclaw-projectgcloud services enable compute.googleapis.com

Enable billing at console.cloud.google.com/billing (required for Compute Engine).

Console equivalent: IAM & Admin > Create Project, enable billing, then APIs & Services > Enable APIs > "Compute Engine API" > Enable.

Create the VM

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

SSH into the VM

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

Console: click "SSH" next to the VM in the Compute Engine dashboard.

SSH key propagation can take 1-2 minutes after VM creation; wait and retry if connection is refused.

Install Docker (on the VM)

sudo apt-get updatesudo apt-get install -y git curl ca-certificatescurl -fsSL https://get.docker.com | sudo shsudo usermod -aG docker $USER

Log out and back in for the group change to take effect, then SSH back in:

exit

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

Verify:

docker --versiondocker compose version

Clone the OpenClaw repository

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

This guide builds a custom image so any binaries you bake in survive restarts.

Create persistent host directories

Docker containers are ephemeral; all long-lived state must live on the host.

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

Configure environment variables

Create .env in the repository root:

OPENCLAW_IMAGE=openclaw:latestOPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN=OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_BIND=lanOPENCLAW_GATEWAY_PORT=18789 OPENCLAW_CONFIG_DIR=/home/$USER/.openclawOPENCLAW_WORKSPACE_DIR=/home/$USER/.openclaw/workspace GOG_KEYRING_PASSWORD=XDG_CONFIG_HOME=/home/node/.openclaw

Set OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN to manage the stable gateway token through .env; otherwise configure gateway.auth.token before relying on clients across restarts. If neither is set, OpenClaw uses a runtime-only token for that startup. Generate a keyring password for GOG_KEYRING_PASSWORD:

openssl rand -hex 32

Do not commit this file. It holds container/runtime env such as OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN. Stored provider OAuth/API-key auth lives in the mounted ~/.openclaw/agents/<agentId>/agent/auth-profiles.json.

Docker Compose configuration

Create or update docker-compose.yml:

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      - ${OPENCLAW_WORKSPACE_DIR}:/home/node/.openclaw/workspace    ports:      # Recommended: keep the Gateway loopback-only on the VM; access via SSH tunnel.      # To expose it publicly, remove the `127.0.0.1:` prefix and firewall accordingly.      - "127.0.0.1:${OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_PORT}:18789"    command:      [        "node",        "dist/index.js",        "gateway",        "--bind",        "${OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_BIND}",        "--port",        "${OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_PORT}",        "--allow-unconfigured",      ]

--allow-unconfigured is only for bootstrap convenience, not a substitute for real gateway configuration. Still set auth (gateway.auth.token or password) and a safe bind mode for your deployment.

Shared Docker VM runtime steps

Follow the shared runtime guide for the common Docker host flow:

• Bake required binaries into the image
• Build and launch
• What persists where
• Updates

GCP-specific launch notes

If the build fails with Killed or exit code 137 during pnpm install --frozen-lockfile, the VM is out of memory. Use e2-small at minimum, or e2-medium for more reliable first builds.

When binding to LAN (OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_BIND=lan), configure a trusted browser origin before continuing:

docker compose run --rm openclaw-cli config set gateway.controlUi.allowedOrigins '["http://127.0.0.1:18789"]' --strict-json

Replace 18789 with your configured port if you changed it.

Access from your laptop

Create an SSH tunnel to forward the Gateway port:

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

Open http://127.0.0.1:18789/ in your browser.

Reprint a clean dashboard link:

docker compose run --rm openclaw-cli dashboard --no-open

If the UI prompts for shared-secret auth, paste the configured token or password into Control UI settings (this Docker flow writes a token by default; use your configured password instead if you switched to password auth).

If Control UI shows unauthorized or disconnected (1008): pairing required, approve the browser device:

docker compose run --rm openclaw-cli devices listdocker compose run --rm openclaw-cli devices approve <requestId>

See Docker VM Runtime for the shared persistence map and update flow.