Raspberry Pi

Run a persistent, always-on OpenClaw Gateway on a Raspberry Pi. Since the Pi is just the gateway (models run in the cloud via API), even a modest Pi handles the workload well — typical hardware cost is $35–80 one-time, no monthly fees.

# Hardware compatibility

Minimum: 1 GB RAM, 1 core, 500 MB free disk, 64-bit OS. Recommended: 2 GB+ RAM, 16 GB+ SD card (or USB SSD), Ethernet.

# Prerequisites

• Raspberry Pi 4 or 5 with 2 GB+ RAM (4 GB recommended)
• MicroSD card (16 GB+) or USB SSD (better performance)
• Official Pi power supply
• Network connection (Ethernet or WiFi)
• 64-bit Raspberry Pi OS (required -- do not use 32-bit)
• About 30 minutes

# Setup

ssh user@gateway-host

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
sudo apt install -y git curl build-essential

# Set timezone (important for cron and reminders)
sudo timedatectl set-timezone America/Chicago

curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_24.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt install -y nodejs
node --version

sudo fallocate -l 2G /swapfile
sudo chmod 600 /swapfile
sudo mkswap /swapfile
sudo swapon /swapfile
echo '/swapfile none swap sw 0 0' | sudo tee -a /etc/fstab

# Reduce swappiness for low-RAM devices
echo 'vm.swappiness=10' | sudo tee -a /etc/sysctl.conf
sudo sysctl -p

curl -fsSL https://openclaw.ai/install.sh | bash

openclaw onboard --install-daemon

openclaw status
systemctl --user status openclaw-gateway.service
journalctl --user -u openclaw-gateway.service -f

ssh user@gateway-host 'openclaw dashboard --no-open'

ssh -N -L 18789:127.0.0.1:18789 user@gateway-host

# Performance tips

Use a USB SSD -- SD cards are slow and wear out. A USB SSD dramatically improves performance. See the Pi USB boot guide.

Enable module compile cache -- Speeds up repeated CLI invocations on lower-power Pi hosts:

grep -q 'NODE_COMPILE_CACHE=/var/tmp/openclaw-compile-cache' ~/.bashrc || cat >> ~/.bashrc <<'EOF' # pragma: allowlist secret
export NODE_COMPILE_CACHE=/var/tmp/openclaw-compile-cache
mkdir -p /var/tmp/openclaw-compile-cache
export OPENCLAW_NO_RESPAWN=1
EOF
source ~/.bashrc

Reduce memory usage -- For headless setups, free GPU memory and disable unused services:

echo 'gpu_mem=16' | sudo tee -a /boot/config.txt
sudo systemctl disable bluetooth

systemd drop-in for stable restarts -- If this Pi is mostly running OpenClaw, add a service drop-in:

systemctl --user edit openclaw-gateway.service

[Service]
Environment=OPENCLAW_NO_RESPAWN=1
Environment=NODE_COMPILE_CACHE=/var/tmp/openclaw-compile-cache
Restart=always
RestartSec=2
TimeoutStartSec=90

Then systemctl --user daemon-reload && systemctl --user restart openclaw-gateway.service. On a headless Pi, also enable lingering once so the user service survives logout: sudo loginctl enable-linger "$(whoami)".

# Recommended model setup

Since the Pi only runs the gateway, use cloud-hosted API models:

{
  "agents": {
    "defaults": {
      "model": {
        "primary": "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6",
        "fallbacks": ["openai/gpt-5.4-mini"]
      }
    }
  }
}

Do not run local LLMs on a Pi — even small models are too slow to be useful. Let Claude or GPT do the model work.

# ARM binary notes

Most OpenClaw features work on ARM64 without changes (Node.js, Telegram, WhatsApp/Baileys, Chromium). The binaries that occasionally lack ARM builds are typically optional Go/Rust CLI tools shipped by skills. Verify a missing binary's release page for linux-arm64 / aarch64 artifacts before falling back to building from source.

# Persistence and backups

OpenClaw state lives under:

• ~/.openclaw/ — openclaw.json, per-agent auth-profiles.json, channel/provider state, sessions.
• ~/.openclaw/workspace/ — agent workspace (SOUL.md, memory, artifacts).

These survive reboots. Take a portable snapshot with:

openclaw backup create

If you keep these on an SSD, both performance and longevity improve over the SD card.

# Troubleshooting

Out of memory -- Verify swap is active with free -h. Disable unused services (sudo systemctl disable cups bluetooth avahi-daemon). Use API-based models only.

Slow performance -- Use a USB SSD instead of an SD card. Check for CPU throttling with vcgencmd get_throttled (should return 0x0).

Service will not start -- Check logs with journalctl --user -u openclaw-gateway.service --no-pager -n 100 and run openclaw doctor --non-interactive. If this is a headless Pi, also verify lingering is enabled: sudo loginctl enable-linger "$(whoami)".

ARM binary issues -- If a skill fails with "exec format error", check whether the binary has an ARM64 build. Verify architecture with uname -m (should show aarch64).

WiFi drops -- Disable WiFi power management: sudo iwconfig wlan0 power off.

# Next steps

• Channels -- connect Telegram, WhatsApp, Discord, and more
• Gateway configuration -- all config options
• Updating -- keep OpenClaw up to date

# Related

• Install overview
• Linux server
• Platforms