Implementation:Openclaw Openclaw DockerSetupScript
| Knowledge Sources | |
|---|---|
| Domains | Deployment, Docker |
| Last Updated | 2026-02-06 12:00 GMT |
Overview
Concrete tool for building and bootstrapping the OpenClaw Docker deployment provided by the docker-setup.sh script and the Dockerfile.
Description
The docker-setup.sh script is the primary entry point for Docker-based OpenClaw deployments. It validates that Docker and Docker Compose are available, sets up configuration and workspace directories, generates a secure gateway authentication token (via openssl or Python fallback), persists all environment variables to a .env file, and orchestrates the full build-onboard-start lifecycle.
The Dockerfile defines how the OpenClaw image is constructed: it starts from node:22-bookworm, installs Bun, enables corepack, optionally installs extra APT packages, performs a deterministic pnpm install, builds the TypeScript source and UI, hardens with non-root execution, and sets the default gateway command.
The script also supports advanced configuration through environment variables such as OPENCLAW_EXTRA_MOUNTS for additional volume mounts and OPENCLAW_HOME_VOLUME for named Docker volumes, generating a docker-compose.extra.yml overlay when needed.
Usage
Run docker-setup.sh from the repository root to perform a complete Docker deployment. The script handles building, onboarding, and starting the gateway in one flow.
Code Reference
Source Location
- Repository: openclaw
- File:
docker-setup.sh(lines 173-178 for build step),Dockerfile(lines 1-49)
Signature
# docker-setup.sh - Build step (lines 173-178)
echo "==> Building Docker image: $IMAGE_NAME"
docker build \
--build-arg "OPENCLAW_DOCKER_APT_PACKAGES=${OPENCLAW_DOCKER_APT_PACKAGES}" \
-t "$IMAGE_NAME" \
-f "$ROOT_DIR/Dockerfile" \
"$ROOT_DIR"
# Dockerfile (lines 1-49)
FROM node:22-bookworm
RUN curl -fsSL https://bun.sh/install | bash
ENV PATH="/root/.bun/bin:${PATH}"
RUN corepack enable
WORKDIR /app
ARG OPENCLAW_DOCKER_APT_PACKAGES=""
RUN if [ -n "$OPENCLAW_DOCKER_APT_PACKAGES" ]; then \
apt-get update && \
DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends $OPENCLAW_DOCKER_APT_PACKAGES && \
apt-get clean && \
rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/* /var/cache/apt/archives/*; \
fi
COPY package.json pnpm-lock.yaml pnpm-workspace.yaml .npmrc ./
COPY ui/package.json ./ui/package.json
COPY patches ./patches
COPY scripts ./scripts
RUN pnpm install --frozen-lockfile
COPY . .
RUN OPENCLAW_A2UI_SKIP_MISSING=1 pnpm build
ENV OPENCLAW_PREFER_PNPM=1
RUN pnpm ui:build
ENV NODE_ENV=production
RUN chown -R node:node /app
USER node
CMD ["node", "dist/index.js", "gateway", "--allow-unconfigured"]
Import
# No import needed; run the script directly:
./docker-setup.sh
I/O Contract
Inputs
| Name | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| OPENCLAW_IMAGE | string (env var) | No | Docker image name/tag. Defaults to openclaw:local.
|
| OPENCLAW_CONFIG_DIR | string (env var) | No | Host path for OpenClaw config. Defaults to $HOME/.openclaw.
|
| OPENCLAW_WORKSPACE_DIR | string (env var) | No | Host path for workspace data. Defaults to $HOME/.openclaw/workspace.
|
| OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_PORT | string (env var) | No | Host port for the gateway. Defaults to 18789.
|
| OPENCLAW_BRIDGE_PORT | string (env var) | No | Host port for the bridge. Defaults to 18790.
|
| OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_BIND | string (env var) | No | Gateway bind mode. Defaults to lan.
|
| OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN | string (env var) | No | Gateway auth token. Auto-generated if not set. |
| OPENCLAW_DOCKER_APT_PACKAGES | string (env var) | No | Space-separated list of extra APT packages to install in the image. |
| OPENCLAW_EXTRA_MOUNTS | string (env var) | No | Comma-separated list of additional Docker volume mounts. |
| OPENCLAW_HOME_VOLUME | string (env var) | No | Named Docker volume for the home directory. |
Outputs
| Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Docker image | Docker image | Built image tagged as $OPENCLAW_IMAGE.
|
| .env file | File | Environment variables persisted for Docker Compose. |
| Running gateway | Docker container | The openclaw-gateway service started via Docker Compose.
|
Usage Examples
Basic Usage
# Default build and start
./docker-setup.sh
# Custom image name and extra packages
OPENCLAW_IMAGE=my-openclaw:v1 \
OPENCLAW_DOCKER_APT_PACKAGES="ffmpeg imagemagick" \
./docker-setup.sh
Post-Setup Commands
# View gateway logs
docker compose -f docker-compose.yml logs -f openclaw-gateway
# Run health check
docker compose -f docker-compose.yml exec openclaw-gateway \
node dist/index.js health --token "$OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN"
# Add a Telegram channel
docker compose -f docker-compose.yml run --rm openclaw-cli \
channels add --channel telegram --token <token>