How Do I Set Up OpenClaw on WSL2 with Daemon Mode? A Complete Guide

Mar 25, 2026

Problem

I wanted to run OpenClaw as a 24/7 AI assistant on my Windows machine. I tried the native Windows installation first, but I kept running into issues with Scheduled Tasks, gateway service management, and dependency problems. The service would crash randomly, and getting it to restart automatically was a nightmare.

Then I realized: WSL2 with systemd support is the answer. Here’s the complete setup guide that took me three days to figure out.

Why WSL2 Instead of Native Windows?

I initially tried running OpenClaw directly on Windows. These were my problems:

Scheduled Tasks are unreliable - The Windows Task Scheduler doesn’t handle service crashes well. I had to write custom PowerShell scripts just to detect if the service was down.
Gateway service management is painful - Starting, stopping, and monitoring the gateway service required manual intervention or complex scripts.
Dependency hell - Node.js versions, Sharp native builds, Python paths… every update broke something.

WSL2 with systemd solves all of this. You get proper service management, automatic restarts, and a Linux environment where OpenClaw is designed to run.

Step 1: Install WSL2 with systemd Enabled

First, I needed WSL2 with systemd support. This is critical - without systemd, you can’t run services as daemons.

wsl --install

This installs Ubuntu by default. After the installation completes and you’ve set up your username, verify WSL2 is running:

wsl --list --verbose

Output should show:

NAME      STATE           VERSION
Ubuntu    Running         2

If it shows version 1, upgrade it:

wsl --set-version Ubuntu 2

Step 2: Enable systemd in WSL2

This was the key step I missed initially. Without systemd, there’s no service management.

[boot]
systemd=true

Create or edit this file in your WSL2 instance:

sudo nano /etc/wsl.conf

Add the systemd configuration, then restart WSL2:

wsl --shutdown

Wait a few seconds, then start WSL2 again:

wsl

Verify systemd is running:

systemctl --version

You should see systemd version output, not an error.

Step 3: Install OpenClaw

Now install OpenClaw using the official installer:

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

The installer will:

Check your system dependencies
Install Node.js if needed (LTS version)
Set up the OpenClaw CLI
Configure the environment

I ran into an issue where the installer couldn’t find Node.js. If this happens, install it manually:

# Install Node.js 20.x LTS
curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_20.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt-get install -y nodejs

# Verify installation
node --version
npm --version

Step 4: Install OpenClaw Gateway as a Service

This is where daemon mode comes in. The gateway service needs to run continuously to handle AI requests.

openclaw gateway install

This command:

Creates a systemd service file
Enables the service to start on boot
Starts the service immediately

Check the service status:

systemctl status openclaw-gateway

You should see active (running) in the output.

If the service failed to start, check the logs:

journalctl -u openclaw-gateway -n 50

Step 5: Run OpenClaw Doctor

After installation, always run the diagnostic tool:

openclaw doctor

This checks:

Node.js version compatibility
Service status
Configuration files
Network connectivity
API key validity

The doctor command saved me multiple times. After any update or configuration change, run it to catch issues early.

Common Mistakes I Made

Mistake 1: Skipping systemd

I spent hours trying to run OpenClaw without systemd enabled. I used nohup and screen, but the process would die when WSL2 restarted. systemd is required for true daemon mode.

Mistake 2: Wrong WSL Distro Name

When running wsl --set-version Ubuntu 2, I used the wrong distro name. Check your installed distros:

wsl --list --verbose

The name in the first column is what you use in commands.

Mistake 3: Not Running Doctor After Updates

After updating OpenClaw, I assumed everything would work. It didn’t. Always run:

openclaw doctor

The doctor found a configuration mismatch that broke my gateway service.

Mistake 4: Ignoring Node.js Version

OpenClaw requires Node.js 18.x or higher. I had an old version installed:

# Check your version
node --version

# If it's old, upgrade
curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_20.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt-get install -y nodejs

Mistake 5: Sharp Build Errors

Sharp is a native image processing library. It often fails to build on Windows/WSL2. I got this error:

npm ERR! sharp: Command failed
npm ERR! sharp: Prebuilt libvips not found

Solution - install build dependencies:

sudo apt-get install -y build-essential libvips-dev
npm rebuild sharp

Verify Everything Works

After setup, verify the daemon is running correctly:

# Check service status
systemctl status openclaw-gateway

# Check if port is listening
ss -tlnp | grep 3000

# Test the gateway
curl http://localhost:3000/health

You should see the gateway responding with a health status.

Why This Matters

With WSL2 + systemd daemon mode, I get:

24/7 availability - The service runs in the background without keeping a terminal open
Automatic restarts - If the gateway crashes, systemd restarts it
Boot persistence - When Windows restarts, WSL2 starts, and systemd starts OpenClaw
Resource efficiency - No need for Scheduled Tasks or wrapper scripts

The setup is now set-and-forget. I haven’t touched it in weeks.

systemd Service Files

When you run openclaw gateway install, it creates a service file at:

/etc/systemd/system/openclaw-gateway.service

You can view it with:

cat /etc/systemd/system/openclaw-gateway.service

Typical content:

[Unit]
Description=OpenClaw Gateway Service
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=yourusername
WorkingDirectory=/home/yourusername/.openclaw
ExecStart=/usr/bin/node /home/yourusername/.openclaw/gateway.js
Restart=always
RestartSec=10

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

WSL2 Memory Management

WSL2 can consume a lot of memory. Create a .wslconfig file to limit resources:

[wsl2]
memory=4GB
processors=2
swap=2GB

This keeps WSL2 from eating all your RAM.

Final Words + More Resources

My intention with this article was to help others share my knowledge and experience. If you want to contact me, you can contact by email: Email me

Here are also the most important links from this article along with some further resources that will help you in this scope:

👨‍💻 OpenClaw Official Site
👨‍💻 WSL2 Documentation
👨‍💻 systemd in WSL2

Oh, and if you found these resources useful, don’t forget to support me by starring the repo on GitHub!