How to Deploy OpenClaw on Northflank

Prerequisites

• ✓A Northflank account with permission to create services and volumes.
• ✓Access to the OpenClaw Railway template at https://railway.com/deploy/clawdbot-railway-template so you can mirror its settings on Northflank.
• ✓A domain or the ability to use Northflank’s generated HTTPS domain to reach the Control UI.
• ✓At least one messaging channel you plan to connect later (for example Telegram or Discord), as described under Channels in the OpenClaw docs.

Steps

1. 1

   Review what the Railway template gives you

   Before you mirror this on Northflank, understand what the Railway template configures: a hosted OpenClaw Gateway + Control UI with persistent storage. You will recreate the same pieces on Northflank: HTTP networking on port 8080, a volume at /data, and the required environment variables.

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   Deploy OpenClaw on Railway with a one-click template and access it through the web Control UI. This is the easiest “no terminal on the server” path: Railway runs the Gateway for you.

2. 2

   Create a Northflank service that listens on port 8080

   On Northflank, create a service that runs the OpenClaw container and exposes port 8080, matching the Railway configuration. This matters because the gateway listens on the port you later set in OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_PORT, and your HTTP proxy must forward to the same port.

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   Enable **HTTP Proxy** for the service.
   *   Port: `8080`

3. 3

   Attach a persistent volume mounted at /data

   Configure a Northflank volume and mount it at /data in the container, mirroring the Railway setup. OpenClaw uses this path to store its state, auth profiles, and workspace so your configuration survives restarts and redeploys.

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   Attach a volume mounted at:
   *   `/data`

4. 4

   Set the required OpenClaw environment variables

   Add the OpenClaw variables to your Northflank service so the gateway knows which port to bind to, what admin token to require, and where to store state and workspace. The token acts as your shared secret for the Control UI, so treat it like an admin password.

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   Set these variables on the service:
   *   `OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_PORT=8080` (required — must match the port in Public Networking)
   *   `OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN` (required; treat as an admin secret)
   *   `OPENCLAW_STATE_DIR=/data/.openclaw` (recommended)
   *   `OPENCLAW_WORKSPACE_DIR=/data/workspace` (recommended)

5. 5

   Expose the Control UI over HTTPS

   Once the service is running, configure Northflank routing so your public domain points to the service on port 8080. You will then access the Control UI at the /openclaw path using the shared secret from OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN.

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   Then open:
   *   `https://<your-railway-domain>/openclaw` — Control UI

6. 6

   Connect a messaging channel from the Control UI or shell

   After the gateway is reachable, use the Control UI at /openclaw or a shell inside the container to run onboarding. This is where you wire up Telegram, Discord, or other channels so OpenClaw can talk to real users.

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   Use the Control UI at `/openclaw` or run `openclaw onboard` via Railway’s shell for channel setup instructions:
   *   [Telegram](https://docs.openclaw.ai/channels/telegram) (fastest — just a bot token)
   *   [Discord](https://docs.openclaw.ai/channels/discord)
   *   [All channels](https://docs.openclaw.ai/channels)

7. 7

   Create a backup of your OpenClaw state

   Once your Northflank deployment is configured, create a backup so you can migrate or restore later. Run the backup command inside the container; it packages state, config, auth profiles, and workspace into a portable archive.

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   openclaw backup create

Configuration

Troubleshooting

OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_PORT=8080

OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN

Attach a volume mounted at:
*   `/data`

Frequently asked questions