OpenClaw Proxmox LXC Setup

Automated setup script that deploys an OpenClaw AI assistant inside a Proxmox LXC container, complete with a remote desktop (noVNC) and Chromium browser.

What it does

A single Bash script that runs on your Proxmox host and:

1. Creates a Debian 13 unprivileged LXC container
2. Installs Node.js 22 and OpenClaw
3. Installs XFCE4 desktop with TigerVNC and noVNC
4. Installs Chromium (patched for LXC --no-sandbox)
5. Configures systemd services for everything (auto-start on boot)
6. Prints connection URLs when done

Installation & Usage

Option 1: One-liner (download and run)

# SSH into your Proxmox host, then:
bash <(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/adadrag/Openclaw-Proxmox/main/setup-openclaw-lxc.sh)

Option 2: Download first, then run

# Download the script
wget -O setup-openclaw-lxc.sh https://raw.githubusercontent.com/adadrag/Openclaw-Proxmox/main/setup-openclaw-lxc.sh

# Make it executable
chmod +x setup-openclaw-lxc.sh

# Run it
./setup-openclaw-lxc.sh

Option 3: 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

The script will interactively prompt you for a container password and optional settings (disk size, memory, cores, VNC resolution), then handle everything else automatically.

Requirements

• Proxmox VE 8.x+
• Root access on the Proxmox host
• Internet connectivity (for downloading packages)
• Available storage for container rootfs

Configuration Options

The script prompts for the following (with defaults):

Option	Default	Description
Password	(required)	Container root password (also used for VNC)
Disk size	32 GB	Container root filesystem size
Memory	4096 MB	Container RAM allocation
CPU cores	4	Number of CPU cores
VNC resolution	1920x1080	Remote desktop resolution

Everything else is auto-detected:

• VMID — next available ID in the cluster
• Storage — auto-selects template and rootfs storage
• Networking — DHCP on vmbr0

Services

The script creates and enables three systemd services inside the container:

Service	Port	Description
openclaw-gateway	18789	OpenClaw AI gateway (token auth)
vncserver	5901	TigerVNC server (localhost only)
novnc	6080	noVNC web proxy (exposes VNC via browser)

Desktop Shortcuts

The script places two shortcuts on the XFCE desktop (visible via noVNC):

Icon	Name	What it does
OpenClaw Setup Wizard	openclaw-onboard.desktop	Opens a terminal running openclaw onboard — the interactive onboarding wizard to configure your gateway, workspace, channels, and skills
OpenClaw Dashboard	openclaw-dashboard.desktop	Opens Chromium with the dashboard URL and auth token pre-filled (http://127.0.0.1:18789/#token=<your-token>) — no manual token entry needed

Access Points

After setup, the script prints all connection details:

• OpenClaw Dashboard: http://<container-ip>:18789/#token=<your-token> (auto-authenticated)
• Remote Desktop (noVNC): http://<container-ip>:6080/vnc.html
• SSH: ssh root@<container-ip>

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? Chromium needs --no-sandbox inside LXC containers. The script patches this automatically, but if you installed Chromium separately, run:

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? This means dbus-x11 is missing. The script installs it, but if you see this error:

apt-get install -y dbus-x11

License

MIT License. See LICENSE for details.