OpenClaw Gateway Not Running
Diagnose an OpenClaw Gateway service that is installed but stopped, restarting, or blocked before it becomes reachable.
Gateway status shows a stopped runtime, the service never becomes healthy, or all connected channels fail together.
Start with service state and logs. A channel cannot work while its Gateway is stopped, so avoid rotating channel tokens until the control plane is healthy.
Quick diagnosis
openclaw status
openclaw gateway status
openclaw logs --follow
openclaw doctorMatch the first stable error
- A message about missing
gateway.modeor local mode means configuration needs repair. EADDRINUSEor “another gateway instance is already listening” means the port is occupied.- Refusing a non-loopback bind without auth is a security guardrail, not a random crash.
- A permissions error often means the service user cannot read state or write its workspace.
Repair configuration safely
Run the validator first:
openclaw config validate
openclaw doctorIf doctor offers a migration, review it before using openclaw doctor --fix. Do not delete the entire state directory to clear one schema error.
Restart once the cause is fixed
Restart through the supported Gateway service command for your installed version, then check status and probe again.
Expected result
Gateway status reports Runtime: running and Connectivity probe: ok. Logs show normal activity rather than the same fatal line repeating.
Source notes
Technical facts on this page were checked against primary sources.