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Run a persistent OpenClaw Gateway on Oracle Cloud’s Always Free ARM tier (up to 4 OCPU, 24 GB RAM, 200 GB storage) at no cost.

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Prerequisites

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Setup

1

Create an OCI instance

  1. Log into Oracle Cloud Console.
  2. Navigate to Compute > Instances > Create Instance.
  3. Configure:
    • Name: openclaw
    • Image: Ubuntu 24.04 (aarch64)
    • Shape: VM.Standard.A1.Flex (Ampere ARM)
    • OCPUs: 2 (or up to 4)
    • Memory: 12 GB (or up to 24 GB)
    • Boot volume: 50 GB (up to 200 GB free)
    • SSH key: Add your public key
  4. Click Create and note the public IP address.
If instance creation fails with “Out of capacity”, try a different availability domain or retry later. Free tier capacity is limited.
2

Connect and update the system

ssh ubuntu@YOUR_PUBLIC_IP

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
sudo apt install -y build-essential
build-essential is required for ARM compilation of some dependencies.
3

Configure user and hostname

sudo hostnamectl set-hostname openclaw
sudo passwd ubuntu
sudo loginctl enable-linger ubuntu
Enabling linger keeps user services running after logout.
4

Install Tailscale

curl -fsSL https://tailscale.com/install.sh | sh
sudo tailscale up --ssh --hostname=openclaw
From now on, connect via Tailscale: ssh ubuntu@openclaw.
5

Install OpenClaw

curl -fsSL https://openclaw.ai/install.sh | bash
source ~/.bashrc
When prompted “How do you want to hatch your bot?”, select Do this later.
6

Configure the gateway

Use token auth with Tailscale Serve for secure remote access.
openclaw config set gateway.bind loopback
openclaw config set gateway.auth.mode token
openclaw doctor --generate-gateway-token
openclaw config set gateway.tailscale.mode serve
openclaw config set gateway.trustedProxies '["127.0.0.1"]'

systemctl --user restart openclaw-gateway.service
gateway.trustedProxies=["127.0.0.1"] here is only for the local Tailscale Serve proxy’s forwarded-IP/local-client handling. It is not gateway.auth.mode: "trusted-proxy". Diff viewer routes keep fail-closed behavior in this setup: raw 127.0.0.1 viewer requests without forwarded proxy headers can return Diff not found. Use mode=file / mode=both for attachments, or intentionally enable remote viewers and set plugins.entries.diffs.config.viewerBaseUrl (or pass a proxy baseUrl) if you need shareable viewer links.
7

Lock down VCN security

Block all traffic except Tailscale at the network edge:
  1. Go to Networking > Virtual Cloud Networks in the OCI Console.
  2. Click your VCN, then Security Lists > Default Security List.
  3. Remove all ingress rules except 0.0.0.0/0 UDP 41641 (Tailscale).
  4. Keep default egress rules (allow all outbound).
This blocks SSH on port 22, HTTP, HTTPS, and everything else at the network edge. You can only connect via Tailscale from this point on.
8

Verify

openclaw --version
systemctl --user status openclaw-gateway.service
tailscale serve status
curl http://localhost:18789
Access the Control UI from any device on your tailnet:
https://openclaw.<tailnet-name>.ts.net/
Replace <tailnet-name> with your tailnet name (visible in tailscale status).

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Verify the security posture

With the VCN locked down (only UDP 41641 open) and the Gateway bound to loopback, public traffic is blocked at the network edge and admin access is tailnet-only. That removes the need for several traditional VPS hardening steps:
Traditional stepNeeded?Why
UFW firewallNoThe VCN blocks traffic before it reaches the instance.
fail2banNoPort 22 is blocked at the VCN; no brute-force surface.
sshd hardeningNoTailscale SSH does not use sshd.
Disable root loginNoTailscale authenticates by tailnet identity, not system users.
SSH key-only authNoSame — tailnet identity replaces system SSH keys.
IPv6 hardeningUsually notDepends on VCN/subnet settings; verify what is actually assigned/exposed.
Still recommended:
  • chmod 700 ~/.openclaw to restrict credential file permissions.
  • openclaw security audit for an OpenClaw-specific posture check.
  • Regular sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade for OS patches.
  • Review devices in the Tailscale admin console periodically.
Quick verification commands: 
# Confirm no public ports are listening
sudo ss -tlnp | grep -v '127.0.0.1\|::1'

# Verify Tailscale SSH is active
tailscale status | grep -q 'offers: ssh' && echo "Tailscale SSH active"

# Optional: disable sshd entirely once Tailscale SSH is confirmed working
sudo systemctl disable --now ssh

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ARM notes

The Always Free tier is ARM (aarch64). Most OpenClaw features work fine; a small number of native binaries need ARM builds:
  • Node.js, Telegram, WhatsApp (Baileys): pure JavaScript, no issues.
  • Most npm packages with native code: pre-built linux-arm64 artifacts available.
  • Optional CLI helpers (e.g. Go/Rust binaries shipped by skills): check for an aarch64 / linux-arm64 release before installing.
Verify the architecture with uname -m (should print aarch64). For binaries without an ARM build, install from source or skip them.

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Persistence and backups

OpenClaw state lives under:
  • ~/.openclaw/ — openclaw.json, per-agent auth-profiles.json, channel/provider state, and session data.
  • ~/.openclaw/workspace/ — the agent workspace (SOUL.md, memory, artifacts).
These survive reboots. To take a portable snapshot: 
openclaw backup create

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Fallback: SSH tunnel

If Tailscale Serve is not working, use an SSH tunnel from your local machine: 
ssh -L 18789:127.0.0.1:18789 ubuntu@openclaw
Then open http://localhost:18789.

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Troubleshooting

Instance creation fails (“Out of capacity”) — Free tier ARM instances are popular. Try a different availability domain or retry during off-peak hours. Tailscale will not connect — Run sudo tailscale up --ssh --hostname=openclaw --reset to re-authenticate. Gateway will not start — Run openclaw doctor --non-interactive and check logs with journalctl --user -u openclaw-gateway.service -n 50. ARM binary issues — Most npm packages work on ARM64. For native binaries, look for linux-arm64 or aarch64 releases. Verify architecture with uname -m.

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Next steps