openclaw-aws

OpenClaw AWS is a CLI that makes it simple to provision and manage OpenClaw bots on AWS. It creates a minimal Ubuntu EC2 setup with secure SSM-only access.

Install

# Recommended: install in your bot folder
mkdir my-openclaw-bot
cd my-openclaw-bot
npm init -y
npm install @salza80/openclaw-aws

# Run the CLI with npx
npx openclaw-aws --help

# Optional: install globally if you prefer not to use npx
npm install -g @salza80/openclaw-aws
openclaw-aws --help

Prerequisites

• Node.js 22+
• AWS CLI v2 installed and authenticated (SSO recommended)
  • Install AWS CLI v2: AWS CLI install guide
  • Configure SSO: AWS CLI SSO setup guide

Quick Start

# Initialize your bot with interactive prompts
# This will generate a config file
npx openclaw-aws init

# Set the API key required by your selected provider
# Default provider from init is Anthropic unless you choose another one
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your-api-key

# Deploy
npx openclaw-aws deploy

# Wait for deploy to finish. View the status of your bot
npx openclaw-aws status

The examples below use the recommended local-install workflow with npx openclaw-aws.

To access your bot:

# Open the dashboard to view in your browser (port forwarded via secure SSM - not public access)
npx openclaw-aws dashboard
# Opens http://localhost:18789 in your browser - short delay before it works - refresh browser after 5 seconds

# Or connect to the instance via SSM - for full terminal access
npx openclaw-aws connect

See the OpenClaw docs for ongoing configuration and usage guidance for your bot: OpenClaw Documentation

Managing multiple bots / instances:

# This will generate another config file
npx openclaw-aws init
# deploy it
npx openclaw-aws deploy

# List all bot configs
npx openclaw-aws list

# View status of the currently selected config
npx openclaw-aws status
# View status of all configs
npx openclaw-aws status --all

# See the currently selected config.
# Commands default to this config.
npx openclaw-aws current

# Select another config
npx openclaw-aws use <name>

# Run any command against a specific config or all configs with --name <name> or --all

# get help with commands
npx openclaw-aws --help

Commands

openclaw-aws init

Interactive setup wizard to create a config.

Example:

npx openclaw-aws init

openclaw-aws deploy

Deploy infrastructure to AWS.

Example:

npx openclaw-aws deploy
npx openclaw-aws deploy --name my-bot
npx openclaw-aws deploy --all

openclaw-aws status

Check deployment and instance status.

Example:

npx openclaw-aws status
npx openclaw-aws status --all

openclaw-aws dashboard

Forward port 18789 to access the OpenClaw dashboard locally.

Example:

npx openclaw-aws dashboard

openclaw-aws connect

Connect to your EC2 instance via SSM.

Example:

npx openclaw-aws connect

openclaw-aws start

Start a stopped instance.

Example:

npx openclaw-aws start

openclaw-aws stop

Stop a running instance to save costs.

Example:

npx openclaw-aws stop

openclaw-aws restart

Reboot the instance.

Example:

npx openclaw-aws restart

openclaw-aws outputs

Show CloudFormation stack outputs.

Example:

npx openclaw-aws outputs --name my-bot

openclaw-aws logs

Fetch instance logs (cloud-init and OpenClaw services).

Example:

npx openclaw-aws logs
npx openclaw-aws logs --init
npx openclaw-aws logs --service --tail 100
npx openclaw-aws logs --service --follow

openclaw-aws destroy

Delete all AWS resources.

Options:

• --name <name> - Config name
• --all - Destroy all configs
• --force - Skip confirmation
• --delete-config - Delete configuration file

Example:

npx openclaw-aws destroy --name my-bot
npx openclaw-aws destroy --all

# Force delete without confirmation
npx openclaw-aws destroy --name my-bot --force

openclaw-aws list

List configs.

Example:

npx openclaw-aws list

openclaw-aws current

Show the current config.

Example:

npx openclaw-aws current

openclaw-aws use

Select a config.

Example:

npx openclaw-aws use my-bot

Configuration

Configuration is created with the init command, and stored per config in .openclaw-aws/configs/<name>.json. The current selection is stored in .openclaw-aws/current.json.

Example configuration:

{
  "version": "1.0",
  "aws": {
    "region": "us-east-1"
  },
  "instance": {
    "type": "t3.small",
    "name": "openclaw-my-bot"
  },
  "network": {
    "useDefaultVpc": true
  },
  "features": {
    "cloudWatchLogs": true
  },
  "openclaw": {
    "apiProvider": "anthropic-api-key"
  },
  "stack": {
    "name": "OpenclawStack-my-bot"
  }
}

If you want to use a named AWS CLI profile, you can add an optional aws.profile field manually.

Multiple Bots (Configs)

To manage multiple bots, create one config per bot and switch between them:

npx openclaw-aws init --name bot-a
npx openclaw-aws init --name bot-b
npx openclaw-aws list
npx openclaw-aws use bot-b
npx openclaw-aws current

Start/Stop (Cost Control)

Use stop to save costs when you don’t need the bot running, and start to resume.

npx openclaw-aws stop --name my-bot
npx openclaw-aws start --name my-bot

Benefits & Setup

• Ubuntu 24.04 LTS on EC2
• SSM-only access (no SSH, no inbound ports)
• Encrypted EBS by default
• IMDSv2 enforced for metadata security

Architecture

The deployment creates:

• EC2 Instance - Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, t3.small by default (or your chosen type)
  • IMDSv2 enforced (SSRF protection)
  • Encrypted EBS volume (data at rest encryption)
  • Public IP assigned (required for outbound connectivity)
• Security Group - Zero inbound rules (SSM access only, no SSH)
• IAM Role - Least-privilege with SSM access
• VPC - Uses default VPC by default (option to create new VPC)

Security

• No inbound ports (SSM access only)
• No SSH (disabled by design)
• Encrypted storage with EBS
• SSM sessions are auditable in CloudTrail

Troubleshooting - Instance not appearing in SSM

Wait 2-3 minutes after deployment. Check status:

npx openclaw-aws status

"Config file not found"

Run the init command first:

npx openclaw-aws init
npx openclaw-aws list
npx openclaw-aws use my-bot

Deployment fails

Check AWS credentials:

aws sts get-caller-identity

Port forwarding fails

Ensure SSM plugin is installed and instance is ready:

npx openclaw-aws status

Restart instance if the gateway or SSM has crashed:

npx openclaw-aws restart

Development

For developers contributing to openclaw-aws:

Setup

# 1. Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/salza80/openclaw-aws.git
cd openclaw-aws

# 2. Use Node 22+
nvm use

# 3. Install dependencies
npm install

# 4. Build the project
npm run build

# 5. Link for local testing
npm link

# 6. Test the CLI
openclaw-aws --help
openclaw-aws init

# 7. Watch mode for development (auto-rebuild on changes)
npm run watch

Requirements for Development

• Node.js 22+
• AWS CLI with configured credentials
• AWS account with CDK bootstrapped
• All dependencies install automatically via npm install

Testing Changes

# After making changes, rebuild
npm run build

# Test locally in another folder (ie openclaw-aws-test)
openclaw-aws init
openclaw-aws deploy

# Or use watch mode for auto-rebuild
npm run watch

License

MIT

Author

Sally Mclean [email protected]