Deploy OpenClaw on Railway

Deploy OpenClaw on Railway using a single-click template, then manage it through the web-based Control UI. For those who prefer avoiding server-side terminal work, this approach is the simplest: Railway handles Gateway hosting for you.

One-click deploy

Deploy on Railway

Deploy the template

Press the Deploy on Railway button located above.

Add a volume

Create a volume and mount it at /data (this is mandatory for persistent state).

Set variables

On the service, configure the following required Variables:

OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_PORT=8080 (mandatory; this must align with the port specified in Public Networking)
OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN (mandatory; treat this as an admin-level secret)
OPENCLAW_STATE_DIR=/data/.openclaw (mandatory for persistent state)
OPENCLAW_WORKSPACE_DIR=/data/workspace (mandatory for a persistent workspace)

Enable public networking

Within Public Networking, activate HTTP Proxy for the service, targeting port 8080.

Connect

Locate your public URL by navigating to Railway -> your service -> Settings -> Domains. This will be either an auto-generated domain (frequently https://<something>.up.railway.app) or a custom domain you've attached.

Access https://<your-railway-domain>/openclaw and authenticate with the shared secret you configured. The template defaults to OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN; should you switch to password-based authentication, use that password in its place.

From the Railway shell, execute the read-only deployment preflight:

openclaw doctor --json

What you get

Hosted OpenClaw Gateway + Control UI
Persistent storage via the Railway Volume (/data), ensuring openclaw.json, per-agent auth-profiles.json, channel/provider state, sessions, and workspace all survive redeploys

Connect a channel

For channel setup guidance, either use the Control UI at /openclaw or execute openclaw onboard through Railway's shell:

Discord
Telegram (quickest option, needing only a bot token)
All channels

Backups and migration

Export your state, config, auth profiles, and workspace:

openclaw backup create
openclaw backup restore <archive.tar.gz> --target <fresh-directory>

Restoration verifies and unpacks into a fresh staging directory; activation is a separate offline step. Consult Restore a full archive for rollback warnings and the activation sequence.

Next steps

Establish messaging channels: Channels
Adjust Gateway settings: Gateway configuration
Ensure OpenClaw stays current: Updating