How to Deploy OpenClaw on Render

Prerequisites

• ✓A Render account (free tier available)
• ✓An API key from your preferred model provider

Steps

1. 1

   Create a Render service from the OpenClaw Blueprint

   yaml` Blueprint. This Blueprint defines the service type, Docker runtime, plan, and health check path that OpenClaw needs to run correctly on Render.

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   services:
     - type: web
       name: openclaw
       runtime: docker
       plan: starter
       healthCheckPath: /health

2. 2

   Wire OpenClaw to the correct port and persistent disk

   The Blueprint sets the gateway port and points OpenClaw’s state and workspace directories at a mounted disk under `/data`. It also configures `OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN` with `generateValue: true` so Render auto-generates a cryptographically secure shared secret for the gateway.

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       envVars:
         - key: OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_PORT
           value: "8080"
         - key: OPENCLAW_STATE_DIR
           value: /data/.openclaw
         - key: OPENCLAW_WORKSPACE_DIR
           value: /data/workspace
         - key: OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN
           generateValue: true # auto-generates a secure token
       disk:
         name: openclaw-data
         mountPath: /data
         sizeGB: 1

3. 3

   Choose the right Render plan for your OpenClaw usage

   Pick a plan that matches how you intend to run OpenClaw. The Blueprint defaults to `starter`, which keeps the service always on and supports a 1GB+ disk; switching to `free` is fine for testing but you lose persistent disk and OpenClaw state resets on each deploy.

   yamlCopy

   plan: starter

4. 4

   Verify the service URL pattern after deployment

   Once Render finishes building the Docker image and deploying the container, it exposes your OpenClaw gateway on a predictable URL. You will use this URL for the Control UI and any external integrations that talk to the gateway.

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   Once deployed, your service URL follows the pattern `https://<service-name>.onrender.com`.

5. 5

   Access the Control UI using the generated gateway token

   Open the web dashboard for OpenClaw and authenticate using the shared secret stored in `OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN`. The deploy template auto-generates this token; you can find it in Dashboard → your service → Environment and use it whenever you connect to the gateway.

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   The web dashboard is available at `https://<your-service>.onrender.com/`.Connect using the configured shared secret. This deploy template auto-generates `OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN` (find it in **Dashboard → your service → Environment**); if you replace it with password auth, use that password instead.

6. 6

   Use Render logs and shell access to monitor OpenClaw

   Use the Logs view to inspect build, deploy, and runtime logs so you can diagnose startup issues or misconfigurations. When you need to run maintenance or inspect files, open a Shell session; the persistent disk that holds OpenClaw state and workspace is mounted at `/data`.

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   For debugging, open a shell session via **Dashboard → your service → Shell**. The persistent disk is mounted at `/data`.

7. 7

   Create backups of OpenClaw state from the Render shell

   From a Shell session in the Render Dashboard, run the OpenClaw backup command to export state, config, auth profiles, and workspace. This creates a portable backup archive you can download or move to another environment for migration or disaster recovery.

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   openclaw backup create

8. 8

   Configure a custom domain for your OpenClaw gateway

   If you want a friendly hostname instead of the default Render URL, attach a custom domain in the service settings. Render will instruct you to configure a CNAME pointing to the Render hostname and then automatically provisions a TLS certificate.

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   3.   Configure DNS as instructed (CNAME to `*.onrender.com`)

Configuration

Troubleshooting

Port mismatch — ensure `OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_PORT=8080` is set so the gateway binds to the port Render expects

openclaw backup create

Frequently asked questions