611db3969f
Friendlier tone, leads with why you'd want this, then quick start, then details. Reflects all current features including Homebrew, emoji font, desktop shortcuts, and default browser setup. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
4.3 KiB
OpenClaw on Proxmox — One Script, Full AI Assistant
Deploy your own OpenClaw AI assistant on any Proxmox server in minutes. One command, zero manual setup.
Why use this?
- Self-hosted AI assistant — OpenClaw runs entirely on your hardware, under your control
- One command to deploy — no manual package installation, no config file editing, no guesswork
- Full remote desktop — access a graphical XFCE desktop from any browser via noVNC
- Ready-to-use browser — Chromium pre-configured and set as default, works out of the box in LXC
- Lightweight container — runs in an unprivileged LXC (not a full VM), so it's fast and resource-efficient
- Auto-starts on boot — all services (gateway, VNC, noVNC) are systemd-managed
- Onboarding made easy — desktop shortcut walks you through OpenClaw setup step by step
- Homebrew included — install OpenClaw skills right away
Quick Start
SSH into your Proxmox host and run:
bash <(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/adadrag/Openclaw-Proxmox/main/setup-openclaw-lxc.sh)
That's it. The script will ask for a password, pick sensible defaults for everything else, and print your connection URLs when done.
Alternative install methods
Download first, then run:
wget -O setup-openclaw-lxc.sh https://raw.githubusercontent.com/adadrag/Openclaw-Proxmox/main/setup-openclaw-lxc.sh
chmod +x setup-openclaw-lxc.sh
./setup-openclaw-lxc.sh
Clone the repo:
git clone https://github.com/adadrag/Openclaw-Proxmox.git
cd Openclaw-Proxmox
chmod +x setup-openclaw-lxc.sh
./setup-openclaw-lxc.sh
What you get
After the script finishes, you'll have a fully configured LXC container with:
| What | How to access |
|---|---|
| OpenClaw Dashboard | http://<container-ip>:18789/#token=<your-token> |
| Remote Desktop | http://<container-ip>:6080/vnc.html |
| SSH | ssh root@<container-ip> |
The script prints all of this (including the token) at the end.
Desktop Shortcuts
Once you open the remote desktop via noVNC, you'll find two shortcuts ready to go:
| Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|
| OpenClaw Setup Wizard | Opens the interactive onboarding wizard (openclaw onboard) to configure your channels, workspace, and skills |
| OpenClaw Dashboard | Opens Chromium with the dashboard URL and auth token pre-filled — no manual token entry needed |
Requirements
- Proxmox VE 8.x+
- Root access on the Proxmox host
- Internet connectivity (for downloading packages)
Configuration
The script prompts you interactively (all optional except password):
| Option | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Password | (required) | Container root password (also used for VNC) |
| Disk size | 32 GB | Container root filesystem size |
| Memory | 4096 MB | RAM allocation |
| CPU cores | 4 | Number of CPU cores |
| VNC resolution | 1920x1080 | Remote desktop resolution |
Everything else is auto-detected — VMID, storage, networking (DHCP).
What the script installs
All inside the container (nothing is installed on the Proxmox host):
- Debian 13 LXC (unprivileged, nesting enabled)
- Node.js 22 + OpenClaw
- Homebrew (for OpenClaw skills)
- XFCE4 desktop + TigerVNC + noVNC
- Chromium (patched for LXC, set as default browser)
- Noto Color Emoji font (for proper terminal rendering)
- Three systemd services:
openclaw-gateway,vncserver,novnc
Container Management
pct enter <VMID> # Shell into the container
pct stop <VMID> # Stop the container
pct start <VMID> # Start the container
pct status <VMID> # Check container status
Troubleshooting
Service not starting?
pct exec <VMID> -- systemctl status openclaw-gateway
pct exec <VMID> -- systemctl status vncserver
pct exec <VMID> -- systemctl status novnc
Chromium won't launch? The script patches this automatically. If you installed Chromium separately:
sed -i 's|Exec=/usr/bin/chromium|Exec=/usr/bin/chromium --no-sandbox|g' /usr/share/applications/chromium.desktop
"Unable to contact settings server" in XFCE?
apt-get install -y dbus-x11
License
MIT License. See LICENSE for details.