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Hosting

GCP

Run a persistent OpenClaw Gateway on a Debian Compute Engine VM. This page covers GCP provisioning, network access, and machine operations; the shared Docker VM runtime page owns container setup, persistence, custom binaries, verification, and updates.

Pricing varies by machine type and region. Use at least 6 GB RAM for a source image build. On a smaller machine, use the official pre-built image described in Docker VM runtime.

What you need

  • A GCP project with billing enabled
  • The gcloud CLI or the Cloud Console
  • SSH access from your laptop
  • Model and optional channel credentials
  • About 20 minutes

Provision the VM

  • Initialize gcloud

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

    bash
    gcloud initgcloud auth login

    You can perform the same steps in the Cloud Console.

  • Create the project

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

    Enable billing in the Billing console. Compute Engine will not start without it.

  • Choose a machine

    Type Specs Notes
    e2-standard-2 2 vCPU, 8 GB RAM Recommended for source image builds
    e2-medium 2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM Use the official pre-built image
    e2-small 2 vCPU, 2 GB RAM Use the official pre-built image

    Create a Debian 12 VM:

    bash
    gcloud compute instances create openclaw-gateway \  --zone=us-central1-a \  --machine-type=e2-standard-2 \  --boot-disk-size=20GB \  --image-family=debian-12 \  --image-project=debian-cloud

  • Review firewall access

    Keep TCP 18789 closed to the public Internet. The SSH tunnel below needs only SSH access to the VM:

    bash
    gcloud compute firewall-rules list \  --format='table(name,network,direction,sourceRanges.list():label=SOURCE_RANGES,allowed[].map().firewall_rule().list():label=ALLOW)'

    Restrict SSH source ranges to your administrative network when possible. If you intentionally expose the Gateway through a reverse proxy or tailnet, follow Gateway security rather than adding a broad 0.0.0.0/0 rule for port 18789.

  • Connect over SSH

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

    SSH key propagation can take a minute or two after VM creation. Wait and retry if the first connection is refused.

  • Install Docker

    On the VM:

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

    Reconnect so the group change takes effect, then verify the installation:

    bash
    gcloud compute ssh openclaw-gateway --zone=us-central1-adocker --versiondocker compose version

    • Configure the Docker runtime

    On the VM, follow Docker VM runtime from Before you begin through Verify and administer the Gateway. The maintained setup script uses these GCP host paths by default:

    bash
    export OPENCLAW_CONFIG_DIR="$HOME/.openclaw"export OPENCLAW_WORKSPACE_DIR="$HOME/.openclaw/workspace"export OPENCLAW_AUTH_PROFILE_SECRET_DIR="$HOME/.openclaw-auth-profile-secrets"

    If a source build ends with Killed, ResourceExhausted, or exit code 137, resize the VM before retrying.

    Access the Control UI

    From your laptop, open an SSH tunnel and leave it running:

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

    Open http://127.0.0.1:18789/. Paste the Gateway token from the VM's .env when prompted. To reprint the dashboard URL or approve a browser device, run on the VM:

    bash
    cd openclawdocker compose run --rm openclaw-cli dashboard --no-opendocker compose run --rm openclaw-cli devices listdocker compose run --rm openclaw-cli devices approve <requestId>

    Troubleshooting

    SSH connection refused

    Wait one or two minutes for SSH key propagation, then retry. Check the VM is running and that an ingress firewall rule allows TCP 22 from your current network.

    OS Login issues

    bash
    gcloud compute os-login describe-profile

    Ensure your account has Compute OS Login or Compute OS Admin Login permission.

    Resize after an out-of-memory build

    bash
    gcloud compute instances stop openclaw-gateway --zone=us-central1-agcloud compute instances set-machine-type openclaw-gateway \  --zone=us-central1-a \  --machine-type=e2-mediumgcloud compute instances start openclaw-gateway --zone=us-central1-a

    Use a deployment service account

    For personal setup, your user account is enough. Automation should use a dedicated service account with the narrowest role that works:

    bash
    gcloud iam service-accounts create openclaw-deploy \  --display-name="OpenClaw Deployment" gcloud projects add-iam-policy-binding my-openclaw-project \  --member="serviceAccount:[email protected]" \  --role="roles/compute.instanceAdmin.v1"

    Avoid the Owner role. See Understanding roles.

    Next steps

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