Glibc Runner for OpenClaw

Run Node.js and OpenClaw natively on Android — no Termux, no chroot, no container.

A KernelSU / Magisk / APatch module that ships a minimal glibc runtime, letting you run upstream Linux node binaries directly on Android. Includes built-in OpenClaw gateway management with a beautiful WebUI.

Features

Native glibc runtime — 21 prebuilt aarch64 libraries (ld-linux-aarch64.so.1, libc.so.6, libssl.so.3, libstdc++.so.6, etc.)
Node.js any version — Install any Node.js version (v18+) directly from nodejs.org, no compilation needed
OpenClaw gateway — One-click install, start/stop toggle, auto-start on boot
WebUI dashboard — KernelSU Manager WebUI with two tabs: Node.js + OpenClaw
Boot service — Automatic gateway start after boot with network stabilization delay
Module toggle — Enable/disable via KernelSU Manager, gateway follows automatically via inotifyd
Action button — Quick toggle gateway from KernelSU Manager's action button
Maintenance tools — Backup/restore Node.js, clean npm cache, manage logs
CLI interface — Full CLI for scripting and automation
Upgrade-safe — Flashing a new module version preserves your node/ directory and data

Requirements

Requirement	Details
Architecture	ARM64 (aarch64) only
Root	KernelSU (≥ 10670), Magisk, or APatch
Android	10+ recommended
Storage	~50MB for module + ~100MB for Node.js + ~1.2GB for OpenClaw

Quick Install

1. Download & Flash

Download the latest release .zip from Releases, then flash it:

KernelSU Manager → Modules → Install from storage → select zip
Magisk Manager → Modules → Install from storage → select zip

2. Install Node.js (via WebUI)

Open the module's WebUI in KernelSU Manager:

Go to Modules → find Glibc Runner → tap the WebUI icon
In the Node.js tab, enter version (e.g. v22.15.0) and click Install Node
Wait for installation to complete (~30 seconds)

3. Install OpenClaw (optional)

Switch to the OpenClaw tab:

Enter version or leave latest
Click Install / Update
Toggle the Gateway Power switch to start

Or via CLI:

su -c 'glibc-runner.service start'

WebUI

The WebUI provides a complete management interface accessible from KernelSU Manager.

Node.js Tab

Runtime Status — State, Node/npm versions, last action
Install Node.js — Version input + Install button
Maintenance — Backup info, Restore Node, Clean All
Bootstrap Log — Live log with follow/clear

OpenClaw Tab

Gateway Status — Running state, port, version, installed status
Gateway Power — Toggle switch to start/stop
Install / Update — Version input + Install button
Maintenance — npm cache size, package size, logs, Rollback Version, Clean Cache
OpenClaw Log — Live gateway log with follow/clear

CLI Reference

All commands run as root (su -c '...'):

Service Management

# Start OpenClaw gateway
su -c 'glibc-runner.service start'

# Stop gateway
su -c 'glibc-runner.service stop'

# Restart gateway
su -c 'glibc-runner.service restart'

# Check gateway status
su -c 'glibc-runner.service gateway-status'

# Check Node.js status
su -c 'glibc-runner.service status'

# Fix bin wrappers after manual npm install
su -c 'glibc-runner.service fix-bins'

# Tail logs
su -c 'glibc-runner.service log openclaw'    # gateway log
su -c 'glibc-runner.service log service'     # service log
su -c 'glibc-runner.service log bootstrap'   # bootstrap log
su -c 'glibc-runner.service log runs'        # runs log

Node.js Management

# Install/update Node.js
su -c '/data/adb/glibc-runner/scripts/update.sh node-apply v22.15.0'

# Background install (non-blocking)
su -c '/data/adb/glibc-runner/scripts/update.sh node-apply-bg v22.15.0'

# Check Node.js status
su -c '/data/adb/glibc-runner/scripts/update.sh node-status'

# Rollback to previous version
su -c '/data/adb/glibc-runner/scripts/update.sh node-rollback-last'

OpenClaw Management

# Install/update OpenClaw
su -c '/data/adb/glibc-runner/scripts/update.sh openclaw-apply latest'
su -c '/data/adb/glibc-runner/scripts/update.sh openclaw-apply 2026.4.9'

# Check OpenClaw status
su -c '/data/adb/glibc-runner/scripts/update.sh openclaw-status'

# OpenClaw info (version, cache, sizes)
su -c '/data/adb/glibc-runner/scripts/update.sh openclaw-info'

Maintenance

# Backup info (Node.js backups, logs, sizes)
su -c '/data/adb/glibc-runner/scripts/update.sh backup-info'

# Clean all backups, staging, logs
su -c '/data/adb/glibc-runner/scripts/update.sh cleanup'

# Clean npm cache and gateway logs
su -c '/data/adb/glibc-runner/scripts/update.sh npm-cache-clean'

Using npm/node directly

# Run node
su -c '. /data/adb/glibc-runner/settings.ini && node --version'

# Install a global package
su -c '. /data/adb/glibc-runner/settings.ini && npm install -g <package>'

# Run any node script
su -c '. /data/adb/glibc-runner/settings.ini && node /path/to/script.js'

Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                  Android Device                  │
│                                                  │
│  ┌────────────────────────────────────────────┐  │
│  │          KernelSU / Magisk / APatch        │  │
│  │                                            │  │
│  │  /data/adb/modules/glibc-runner/           │  │
│  │  ├── module.prop                           │  │
│  │  ├── webroot/        ← WebUI (HTML/JS/CSS) │  │
│  │  ├── action.sh       ← Action button       │  │
│  │  └── system/bin/     ← CLI symlink         │  │
│  │                                            │  │
│  │  /data/adb/glibc-runner/                   │  │
│  │  ├── settings.ini    ← Shared config       │  │
│  │  ├── scripts/                              │  │
│  │  │   ├── glibc-runner.service  ← Service   │  │
│  │  │   ├── bootstrap.sh          ← Installer │  │
│  │  │   ├── update.sh             ← Updater   │  │
│  │  │   ├── start.sh              ← Boot      │  │
│  │  │   ├── glibc-runner.inotify  ← Toggle    │  │
│  │  │   └── npm-fix-bins.sh       ← Fixer     │  │
│  │  ├── lib/glibc/      ← 21 glibc .so files  │  │
│  │  ├── node/                                 │  │
│  │  │   ├── bin/node.real  ← Real ELF binary  │  │
│  │  │   ├── bin/node       ← glibc wrapper    │  │
│  │  │   ├── bin/npm        ← glibc wrapper    │  │
│  │  │   └── bin/openclaw   ← glibc wrapper    │  │
│  │  └── home/            ← $HOME for node     │  │
│  └────────────────────────────────────────────┘  │
│                                                  │
│  Boot Flow:                                      │
│  service.d → wait boot_completed + 25s           │
│           → start.sh                             │
│             → glibc-runner.service start          │
│             → inotifyd (watches disable file)     │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

How glibc wrappers work

Android uses Bionic libc, but upstream Node.js binaries are linked against GNU glibc. This module solves that by:

Shipping prebuilt glibc libraries for aarch64
Wrapping every binary with a shell script that invokes the glibc dynamic linker:

#!/system/bin/sh
GLIBC="/data/adb/glibc-runner/lib/glibc"
LD="$GLIBC/ld-linux-aarch64.so.1"
REAL="/data/adb/glibc-runner/node/bin/node.real"
exec "$LD" --library-path "$GLIBC" "$REAL" "$@"

This lets unmodified Linux ELF binaries run on Android without any patching.

Project Structure

.
├── META-INF/                    # Magisk/KSU flash metadata
├── module.prop                  # Module metadata
├── customize.sh                 # Flash-time installer
├── service.sh                   # Boot service (→ service.d/)
├── action.sh                    # KSU action button handler
├── uninstall.sh                 # Clean removal
├── glibc.tar.xz                # Prebuilt glibc libs (not in git)
├── glibc-runner/
│   ├── settings.ini             # Shared configuration
│   ├── config/
│   │   └── bootstrap.default.env
│   └── scripts/
│       ├── bootstrap.sh         # Node.js installer
│       ├── glibc-runner.service # Service manager (start/stop/status)
│       ├── update.sh            # Node.js/OpenClaw updater
│       ├── start.sh             # Boot entry point
│       ├── glibc-runner.inotify # Enable/disable toggle handler
│       └── npm-fix-bins.sh      # Fix bin wrappers after npm install
├── system/
│   └── bin/
│       └── glibc-runner.service # CLI symlink (→ PATH)
└── webroot/
    ├── index.html               # WebUI markup
    ├── scripts.js               # WebUI logic
    └── styles.css               # WebUI styling

Building from Source

Prerequisites

The glibc.tar.xz blob containing prebuilt aarch64 glibc libraries (not included in git — see Releases)

Build the flashable zip

# Clone the repo
git clone https://github.com/repotitan/glibc-runner-for-openclaw.git
cd glibc-runner-for-openclaw

# Download glibc.tar.xz from releases and place it in the root
# (or build your own — see CONTRIBUTING.md)

# Build zip
zip -r glibc-runner-v1.1.0.zip . \
  -x '.git/*' 'glibc-runner/node/*' 'glibc-runner/lib/glibc/*' \
  'README.md' 'CONTRIBUTING.md' 'LICENSE' '.gitignore'

Troubleshooting

Node.js install fails

# Check bootstrap log
su -c 'glibc-runner.service log bootstrap'

# Verify network
su -c 'ping -c 1 nodejs.org'

# Manual install with specific URL
su -c '/data/adb/glibc-runner/scripts/bootstrap.sh install-node v22.15.0'

Gateway won't start

# Check if openclaw is installed
su -c 'ls -la /data/adb/glibc-runner/node/bin/openclaw'

# Check gateway log
su -c 'glibc-runner.service log openclaw'

# Try manual start
su -c 'glibc-runner.service start'

npm can't find git

Git must be available on the device. Install via Termux:

pkg install git

The module automatically adds Termux's bin directory to PATH when running as root.

High disk usage

# Check what's using space
su -c '/data/adb/glibc-runner/scripts/update.sh openclaw-info'
su -c '/data/adb/glibc-runner/scripts/update.sh backup-info'

# Clean npm cache (~700MB after openclaw install)
su -c '/data/adb/glibc-runner/scripts/update.sh npm-cache-clean'

# Clean backups and logs
su -c '/data/adb/glibc-runner/scripts/update.sh cleanup'

Module disabled but gateway still running

# Force stop
su -c 'glibc-runner.service stop'

How It Differs from Other Solutions

Feature	Glibc Runner	Termux proot	Linux Deploy
Root required	Yes (KSU/Magisk)	No	Yes
Performance	Native speed	~10-30% slower	Near native
Disk usage	~10MB + node	~500MB+	~2GB+
Complexity	Flash & go	Manual setup	Complex setup
Node.js version	Any (official binaries)	Termux-patched only	Any
WebUI management	Yes	No	No
Boot auto-start	Yes	No	Manual

Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md for development guidelines.

License

MIT — use freely, contribute back if you can.

Made with ❤️ for the Android modding community

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 3 Commits
META-INF/com/google/android		META-INF/com/google/android
glibc-runner		glibc-runner
system/bin		system/bin
webroot		webroot
.gitignore		.gitignore
CONTRIBUTING.md		CONTRIBUTING.md
LICENSE		LICENSE
README.md		README.md
action.sh		action.sh
customize.sh		customize.sh
module.prop		module.prop
service.sh		service.sh
uninstall.sh		uninstall.sh

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Latest commit

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Glibc Runner for OpenClaw

Features

Requirements

Quick Install

1. Download & Flash

2. Install Node.js (via WebUI)

3. Install OpenClaw (optional)

WebUI

Node.js Tab

OpenClaw Tab

CLI Reference

Service Management

Node.js Management

OpenClaw Management

Maintenance

Using npm/node directly

Architecture

How glibc wrappers work

Project Structure

Building from Source

Prerequisites

Build the flashable zip

Troubleshooting

Node.js install fails

Gateway won't start

npm can't find git

High disk usage

Module disabled but gateway still running

How It Differs from Other Solutions

Contributing

License

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