🦞 OpenClaw VM

A cross platform virtual machine for running OpenClaw, the open-source AI agent. Provides a hardened sandbox with firewall rules, optional local inference via Ollama, and remote access over SSH.

Features

Quick Setup

• One-Command Install — Get up and running instantly. A simple curl script automates the installation of VirtualBox, Vagrant, and the CLI.
• Cross-Platform — Native support for macOS (Intel & Apple Silicon) and Linux (Debian, Fedora, Arch) with automatic architecture detection.

Secure

• Isolation — A full VM boundary with no shared folders and a hardened UFW firewall keeps your host system untouchable.
• Sandboxed Secrets — Agent skills are strictly restricted; they cannot access host files or internal VM credentials.

Modular

• Modular Inference — Install Ollama only if you want local models. Skip it to save disk space and RAM when leveraging cloud providers.
• Hot-Swapping — Change models, add skills, or update API keys from inside the VM without re-provisioning.

Remote Access

• Headless Hosting — Deploy on a Mac Mini or home server and SSH in from any device on your local network.

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How to Run

1. Install

curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DaevMithran/openclaw-vm/main/install.sh | bash

This detects your OS and installs VirtualBox and Vagrant using the appropriate package manager (Homebrew on macOS, apt/dnf/pacman on Linux), then clones the repo and adds openclaw-vm to your PATH.

2. Start the VM

openclaw-vm start

3. Configure OpenClaw

openclaw-vm ssh
openclaw onboard # Interactive setup (first time)

Or skip onboard by providing an existing config:

openclaw-vm start --config ~/openclaw.json

Validate your config at any time:

openclaw config validate

4. Start the Gateway

openclaw-vm ssh
openclaw gateway # Start the gateway
openclaw status # Check it's running

5. Interact

Visit http://localhost:18789 in your browser for WebChat, or use openclaw tui inside the VM for a terminal interface.

Config Flags

Use flags with openclaw-vm config for VM resources:

openclaw-vm config --ram 16384 --cpus 8
openclaw-vm config --ollama
openclaw-vm config --no-ollama
openclaw-vm config --password my-secure-password
# Apply changes to a running VM
openclaw-vm provision

OpenClaw Configuration

Once inside the VM, use OpenClaw's built-in commands to configure models, API keys, skills, and channels:

openclaw onboard # Interactive setup (first time)
openclaw config # Validate config
openclaw gateway # Start the gateway
openclaw status # Check status
openclaw tui # Terminal chat interface

Remote Access

Host the VM on a Mac Mini or server and SSH in from other devices on your LAN.

Setup

Set a SSH password via the interactive wizard or CLI flags:

openclaw-vm config --password your-strong-password
openclaw-vm provision

Then connect from any machine on the network:

ssh vagrant@<host-ip> -p 2222

Password auth is opt-in. If no password is set, SSH uses Vagrant key-only (host only). When enabled, SSH is hardened automatically: root login disabled, max 3 auth attempts.

Headless Mode

The VM runs headlessly by default (no GUI window). Deploy it on a Mac Mini or home server and manage it entirely over SSH:

# On the server
openclaw-vm start
openclaw-vm ssh -c "openclaw gateway"

Project Structure

openclaw-vm/
├── openclaw-vm # CLI wrapper (start, stop, ssh, config, provision)
├── install.sh # One-line installer (curl | bash)
├── Vagrantfile # VM definition (VirtualBox / ARM64)
├── config/ # Generated at first run (gitignored)
├── scripts/
│ ├── provision.sh # System provisioning (root): Node, firewall, SSH, optional Ollama
│ └── user-setup.sh # User setup: OpenClaw install, workspace
└── README.md

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Contributing

Contributions are welcome. Please open an issue first to discuss what you'd like to change.

License

MIT

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