Clawdbot Docker Installation Tutorial: One-Click docker-compose Deployment Complete Guide

I wasn't planning to Dockerize anything last week. I just wanted my little helper bot to stop breaking when I closed my laptop. Clawdbot had been running in a terminal tab like a houseplant that keeps wilting, fine when I watched it, droopy when I didn't. So I tried a simple "Clawdbot Docker" setup. Not because I love containers (I don't), but because I wanted one less thing to babysit.

If you’re still running Clawdbot locally or from source, this earlier guide covers the basic setup and day-to-day usage before things get containerized. How to use Clawdbot

This is what I did, what worked, and the small frictions I noticed. I tested this on macOS (Apple Silicon) in January 2026 and ran it again on a low-power Linux mini PC over the weekend. If you're hoping for a productivity empire, this isn't that. It's just a calm way to keep a tiny bot running without thinking about it too much.

Preparation Before Docker Installation

It hasn't asked for attention in I didn't overthink the pre-work, but a few small checks spared me the usual rabbit hole.

Hardware requirements / Docker environment check

• I confirmed Docker Desktop was already installed and updated on macOS. On Linux, I used the Docker Engine with docker-compose-plugin. If you need a refresher, the official docs are still the best: Docker Desktop and Compose.

• For Apple Silicon, I've learned to glance at image compatibility. If an image doesn't ship for arm64, Rosetta won't help you here. Multi-arch images (linux/amd64, linux/arm64) spare headaches.
• Memory: containers can be frugal, but services that do any AI-adjacent processing can spike. I set Docker Desktop's memory around 4 GB. Probably overkill for Clawdbot, but it kept logs clean and fans quiet.
• Networking: I decided on a single exposed port for the bot's small web panel (if available) and internal networking for the rest. My rule: expose only what I actually open in a browser.

None of this is glamorous. But I've learned that a 2‑minute environment check often saves 20 minutes of "why won't it start?" later.

docker-compose Quick Deployment

I started with a goal: run Clawdbot under Docker so it survives reboots and isn't tied to whichever device I'm currently using. Compose made that feel less like a chore and more like a small, tidy box for the bot.

Configuration file explanation

Here's the rough shape of the compose file I used. Yours may look different depending on how Clawdbot is packaged, but the pattern holds steady:

aivolumes: &aivolumes
- clawdbot_data:/app/data
- ./config:/app/config:ro
services:
clawdbot:
image: clawdbot/clawdbot:latest # if there's no official image, build from a Dockerfile
cotainer_name: clawdbot
restart: unless-stopped
environment:
- BOT_MODE=assistant
- TZ=America/New_York
# Secrets go in an .env file, not here
- API_KEY=${API_KEY}
ports:
- "127.0.0.1:8087:8080" # bind to localhost only
volumes: *aivolumes
healthcheck:
test: ["CMD", "curl", "-f", "http://localhost:8080/health" ]
interval: 30s
timeout: 5s
retries: 3
start_period: 10s
volumes:
clawdbot_data:

A few notes from actually running this:

• I kept config read-only. It's a nudge against accidental edits from inside the container.
• The .env file sat next to docker-compose.yml with API keys and tokens. Compose picks it up automatically, which meant fewer chances to leak secrets in the file.
• The healthcheck is boring but useful. When I intentionally crashed the bot once (curiosity, not malice), Docker restarted it without drama.

If you don't have an image, building from a Dockerfile is fine. I did a quick version using a small Python base image and copied the bot's code in. It added two minutes to the setup, then ran cleanly.

Port & volume settings

Ports: I bound the service to localhost (127.0.0.1) on my Mac. That way nothing is exposed on the network unless I decide to. On the Linux mini PC, I changed it to 0.0.0.0:8087:8080 because I wanted to use the web panel from my laptop. Small risk, small convenience. If you do that, put a reverse proxy in front with auth.

Volumes: I only mounted two things, data and config. Data lets Clawdbot remember things between restarts (logs, small caches, preferences). Config is where I keep prompts, small rules, and any schedules. I tried using ephemeral storage once. The bot felt oddly amnesic after every restart. Not charming.

After writing the file, it was the usual:

docker compose pull
docker compose up -d

The first run took about a minute. Then it stayed up. I stopped checking it every few hours, which was the whole point.

Security Configuration Essentials

I'm not running a bank here, but the "Clawdbot Docker" setup still touches my personal notes and small routines. I'd rather it not shout across the network.

• Secrets in .env: I put tokens, API keys, and webhook secrets into a local .env file (permissions 600). Fewer copy-paste mistakes.
• Localhost binding: If I'm only using the interface locally, I bind to 127.0.0.1. When I need remote access, I switch to a reverse proxy with basic auth and TLS. Traefik or Caddy make this tolerable.
• Logs: I set the logging driver to json-file with a size cap. It's not glamorous, but it prevents "disk full" surprises.
• Read-only root filesystem: If the image cooperates, adding read_only: true and a writable tmpfs keeps the surface area small. Not every image likes it: worth a quick test.

Sandbox strategy / Least privilege

• Principle of least privilege: the container runs as a non-root user. If the image defaults to root (many do), a simple user: "1000:1000" or a Dockerfile USER step fixes it.
• Network isolation: by default, I keep Clawdbot on its own Compose network. If it needs to talk to another service, I connect them explicitly. No broad bridges.
• Capabilities: dropping extra Linux capabilities and disabling privilege escalation is a quiet win. In Compose: cap_drop: ["ALL"], security_opt: ["no-new-privileges:true"]. If something breaks, I add back only what's needed.

None of this is heroic. It's just enough friction to protect me from my future self, who inevitably forgets which ports were open.

Updates and Rollback

I don't like chasing updates, but I don't like stale software more. My compromise is boring and reliable:

• Tags: I avoid :latest in production-ish setups. For Clawdbot, I pinned to a dated tag once I saw it was stable (for example, clawdbot:2026.01). If there's no tagging scheme, I note the image digest after a good run.
• Rolling forward: once a week, I do a quick docker compose pull and docker compose up -d. If something goes sideways, I roll back with the previous tag or digest. Five minutes, maybe ten if coffee gets involved.
• Backups: the clawdbot_data volume holds the memory of the bot, preferences, small caches. I snapshot it before big updates with a simple docker run --rm -v clawdbot_data:/data -v $(pwd):/backup alpine tar czf /backup/clawdbot_data.tgz /data. Not pretty, but it works.

I had one minor hiccup: a mid-January image changed a small config path. The healthcheck caught the failure and kept restarting. I pinned the older tag, restored the config, and moved on. Mild annoyance, no real drama.

Common Docker Errors & Fixes

A few things tripped me up, mostly predictable, occasionally silly:

• Port already in use: 8080 is the Starbucks of ports. If docker compose up complains, I switch to 8087 or bind to a different host port. On macOS, lsof -i :8080 tells you who's hogging it.
• Architecture mismatch: I pulled an amd64-only image on Apple Silicon and watched it hang. If that happens, check docker manifest inspect for available architectures, or build locally with the right platform.
• Permission denied on volumes: running as a non-root user is good until the container can't write to /app/data. I fixed it with a one-time chown on the mounted directory or by setting proper UID/GID in the container.
• Logs filling disk: once the bot had a chatty day and my json logs ballooned. log-opts with max-size and max-file in the Docker daemon config kept things civilized.
• Healthcheck flapping: I got a failing healthcheck because the endpoint needed auth. Point it to a simple /health or /status that doesn't require tokens, or disable it until you have one.
• Can't reach the web panel remotely: I had bound to 127.0.0.1. That's correct for local use, wrong for remote. Switching to 0.0.0.0 and putting Caddy in front solved it without exposing raw ports.

None of these were unique to "Clawdbot Docker," which is part of the comfort: the fixes are familiar, and the bot doesn't demand special treatment.

A small note on expectations: if your version of Clawdbot needs GPUs or heavy local models, Docker becomes more opinionated. On my setups, I kept it lightweight, mostly text, small jobs, low memory. Your mileage may vary.

I'll keep this running for now. It hasn't asked for attention in days, which is a compliment in my world. The next time I forget to check on it, I'm curious whether it'll still be quietly doing its thing, or reminding me it exists at exactly the wrong moment.

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