Troubleshooting Guides
Diagnose and fix common OpenClaw issues including crashes, connection failures, API errors, and performance problems.
How to Fix OpenClaw Not Responding
When OpenClaw stops responding, it can halt your entire automation workflow. Whether the process has frozen, crashed silently, or simply won't accept new requests, getting it back online quickly is critical. This guide walks you through systematic troubleshooting steps to diagnose the root cause and restore service.
How to Fix OpenClaw High Memory Usage
OpenClaw instances can consume excessive memory due to large conversation contexts, unbounded caches, memory leaks in skills, or simply having too many features enabled simultaneously. High memory usage leads to slow response times, system swap thrashing, and eventual OOM (out of memory) kills. This guide helps you identify memory hogs and optimize resource usage.
How to Fix OpenClaw API Key Errors
API key errors are among the most frustrating OpenClaw issues because they prevent any LLM interaction. Whether you're seeing 401 Unauthorized responses, "Invalid API key" messages, or silent failures, the root cause is usually one of a few common configuration mistakes. This guide systematically checks each potential failure point.
How to Fix OpenClaw Docker Container Crashing
Docker containers crashing in restart loops are particularly challenging to debug because logs may not persist between crashes. Whether your OpenClaw container is being OOMKilled, failing on startup due to missing volumes, or crashing from network connectivity issues, this guide provides a systematic approach to diagnosis and resolution.
How to Fix OpenClaw 502 Bad Gateway Errors
A 502 Bad Gateway error means your reverse proxy (nginx, Caddy, Apache) can't communicate with the upstream OpenClaw service. This might be because OpenClaw crashed, is listening on the wrong port, the proxy configuration has errors, or timeouts are too aggressive for long LLM responses. This guide walks through each failure point.
How to Fix OpenClaw Skills Not Loading
OpenClaw skills extend functionality but can fail to load due to syntax errors in skill.md, missing npm/pip dependencies, file permission issues, or incorrect directory structure. When skills don't load, OpenClaw may start successfully but lack critical capabilities. This guide helps you diagnose and fix skill loading failures.
How to Fix OpenClaw WhatsApp Connection Issues
WhatsApp integration is one of OpenClaw's most powerful features, but it depends on maintaining a persistent websocket connection and keeping your phone session alive. Issues can arise from expired QR codes, unreachable webhook URLs, session timeouts, or your phone going offline. This guide helps you diagnose and restore WhatsApp connectivity.
How to Fix OpenClaw Context Window Errors
When conversations grow too long or skills return massive outputs, OpenClaw can exceed the LLM provider's maximum context window. This results in errors like "context_length_exceeded" or "maximum context length is X tokens, but input is Y tokens." This guide shows you how to configure context compaction, summarization, and limits to keep conversations within bounds.
How to Fix OpenClaw Rate Limiting Errors
LLM providers enforce rate limits to prevent abuse and ensure fair resource allocation. When OpenClaw exceeds these limits, you'll see 429 Too Many Requests errors. This can happen from burst traffic, aggressive polling, running multiple OpenClaw instances with the same API key, or simply hitting tier limits. This guide shows you how to implement proper retry logic, request queuing, and key distribution.
How to Fix OpenClaw SSL Certificate Errors
SSL certificate errors prevent secure HTTPS access to your OpenClaw instance and can break integrations that require valid certificates. Common issues include expired certificates, incomplete certificate chains, self-signed certificates being rejected by clients, and auto-renewal failures. This guide walks through diagnosis and fixes for all SSL scenarios.
How to Fix OpenClaw Installation Errors
Installation is the first hurdle in using OpenClaw. Whether you're hitting Homebrew errors, npm package conflicts, Node.js version issues, or permission errors, this guide provides systematic troubleshooting steps to get past common installation blockers and get OpenClaw running.
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