AutoClaw Web: Installation Wizard for OpenClaw

AutoClaw Web is a guided web dashboard that enables beginners to install and configure OpenClaw on Ubuntu/Debian systems without deep technical knowledge. It transforms a complex multi-step deployment into a point-and-click wizard, automatically detecting and resolving common friction points like permission issues, cache problems, memory constraints, and systemd configuration.

Purpose and Significance

OpenClaw deployment historically required manual shell commands, environment understanding, and troubleshooting skills. AutoClaw Web bridges this gap by providing a step-by-step UI that guides users through diagnosis, dependency installation (Node.js, pnpm), OpenClaw setup, configuration, and service registration. The tool is designed around real pain points: it auto-detects low-memory conditions and configures swap, prevents index.html caching issues, catches heap OOM errors during gateway/node startup, and validates each step before marking it complete.

Key Features

One-Command Bootstrap: Single curl command initializes the full environment, handling apt updates, Node.js LTS installation, pnpm setup, and repository cloning.
Web-Based Dashboard: Three-panel interface shows overall progress (left), current step instructions with execute button (center), and real-time logs (right).
24-Character Token Authentication: Protects the dashboard with a cryptographically generated auth code, shown once at startup.
Automatic Issue Detection: Identifies and pre-emptively addresses memory constraints, cache problems, permission errors, and service startup failures.
Multi-Environment Support: Handles both standard VPS deployments (public IP) and Windows WSL setups (localhost) with environment-specific guidance.
Bilingual UI: Web interface toggles between Korean and English; shell tasks auto-detect system locale (LANG/LC_ALL) for terminal output.
Service Management: Registers OpenClaw gateway and node services with systemd (or launchd on macOS), enabling persistent operation across reboots.
State Persistence: Tracks completion flags, secrets, auth tokens, and execution logs in structured JSON files under `sh/state/`, allowing safe recovery and audit trails.

Getting Started

Prerequisites

Ubuntu or Debian system (native, VPS, or WSL on Windows)
SSH/terminal access
Internet connectivity for package downloads

Quick Install (All Platforms)

Run this single command in your target terminal:

curl -fsSL "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/my3rdstory/autoclaw-web/main/scripts/quickstart.sh" | bash

The quickstart script will: update package lists, install Node.js LTS via NodeSource, configure pnpm via corepack, clone the autoclaw repository (default: $HOME/autoclaw), install dependencies, and launch the dashboard on port 8787.

Access the Dashboard

VPS/Public IP: Visit `http://:8787` (or the address printed by quickstart)
WSL/Localhost: Visit `http://localhost:8787` from your Windows browser
Authentication: Copy the 24-character auth code from the terminal and paste it into the login screen

Follow the Wizard

The dashboard guides you through seven to ten sequential steps: system diagnosis, package verification, Node/pnpm installation, OpenClaw download, API/token configuration, service registration, and startup validation. Each step can be executed by clicking its button; logs appear in real-time on the right panel.

Special Considerations

WSL (Windows + Ubuntu)

WSL is a local Linux session within Windows, not a persistent server. The quickstart may prompt you to enable systemd (by editing /etc/wsl.conf) and restart WSL before the dashboard launches. For continuous operation, use tmux or nohup to background the process; otherwise, closing the WSL terminal stops the dashboard and any running OpenClaw services.

Low-Memory VPS (1GB RAM)

AutoClaw detects memory constraints and offers a swap configuration step early in the wizard. This prevents out-of-memory crashes during Node dependency installation and OpenClaw service startup.

Auth Code Recovery

If you forget the 24-character code, SSH into your server and delete `$HOME/autoclaw/sh/state/auth.json`. The next access will generate a new code. Note: old codes become invalid immediately.

Post-Installation Operation

Once setup completes, AutoClaw itself is optional. The actual OpenClaw services (gateway and node) run independently via systemd. Manage them with:

openclaw gateway status|start|stop
openclaw node status|restart|stop

AutoClaw is a setup tool only; after deployment, you operate OpenClaw directly.

Uninstallation

To remove AutoClaw and OpenClaw: (1) stop the dashboard (Ctrl+C), (2) optionally delete `$HOME/autoclaw`, (3) uninstall services with `sudo openclaw gateway/node uninstall`, (4) optionally remove `~/.openclaw` config directory and global CLI with `sudo npm rm -g openclaw`.

Who It's For

Beginner Developers: Those new to Linux deployment, systemd, or headless server management
OpenClaw Users: Anyone setting up a Telegram bot or AI agent on Ubuntu/Debian without prior DevOps experience
Teams Scaling Locally: Development shops needing a repeatable, low-friction setup process for team members
WSL Developers: Windows users who want to run OpenClaw locally for testing before deploying to production

Architecture and Code Structure

AutoClaw is organized around four layers: `scripts/quickstart.sh` (curl bootstrap), `server/` (Node.js web server + task execution + SSE logs), `web/` (single-page HTML UI), and `sh/` (shell task scripts and i18n packs). State is managed in JSON files (`secrets.json`, `auth.json`, step completion flags) under `sh/state/`, enabling idempotent re-runs and safe recovery. The auth system uses PBKDF2 hashing; task execution streams logs back to the client via Server-Sent Events for real-time feedback.

Security Notes

The dashboard requires a 24-character token auth code; it is shown once at startup and cannot be recovered—only reset by deleting the auth file.
API keys and secrets are stored locally in `sh/state/secrets.json`; keep this directory private.
On WSL, be aware that shutting down the WSL session terminates all running services—WSL is best suited for development/testing, not 24/7 production.
For persistent deployment, use a standalone VPS or always-on Linux machine.

Internationalization

The web UI supports Korean and English via a top-level toggle after login. Shell tasks auto-detect locale from LANG/LC_ALL environment variables, defaulting to English or Korean. Operational logs in the dashboard remain in Korean for debugging consistency.

Resources and Links

Repository: github.com/my3rdstory/autoclaw-web
OpenClaw Documentation: docs.openclaw.ai
Topics: webapp, moltbot, openclaw

Source: my3rdstory/autoclaw-web (GitHub), translated and adapted from Korean documentation.

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