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Kubernetes
OpenClaw on Kubernetes
A minimal starting point for running OpenClaw on Kubernetes — not a production-ready deployment. It covers the core resources and is meant to be adapted to your environment.
Why not Helm?
OpenClaw is a single container with some config files. The interesting customization is in agent content (markdown files, skills, config overrides), not infrastructure templating. Kustomize handles overlays without the overhead of a Helm chart. If your deployment grows more complex, a Helm chart can be layered on top of these manifests.
What you need
- A running Kubernetes cluster (AKS, EKS, GKE, k3s, kind, OpenShift, etc.)
kubectlconnected to your cluster- An API key for at least one model provider
快速开始
“`bash theme={“theme”:{“light”:”min-light”,”dark”:”min-dark”}}
Replace with your provider: ANTHROPIC, GEMINI, OPENAI, or OPENROUTER
export _API_KEY=”…”
./scripts/k8s/deploy.sh
kubectl port-forward svc/openclaw 18789:18789 -n openclaw
open http://localhost:18789
Retrieve the gateway token and paste it into the Control UI:
```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"min-light","dark":"min-dark"}}
kubectl get secret openclaw-secrets -n openclaw -o jsonpath='{.data.OPENCLAW_GATEWAY_TOKEN}' | base64 -d
For local debugging, ./scripts/k8s/deploy.sh --show-token prints the token after deploy.
Local testing with Kind
If you don’t have a cluster, create one locally with Kind:
“`bash theme={“theme”:{“light”:”min-light”,”dark”:”min-dark”}}
./scripts/k8s/create-kind.sh # auto-detects docker or podman
./scripts/k8s/create-kind.sh –delete # tear down
Then deploy as usual with `./scripts/k8s/deploy.sh`.
## Step by step
### 1) Deploy
**Option A** — API key in environment (one step):
```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"min-light","dark":"min-dark"}}
# Replace with your provider: ANTHROPIC, GEMINI, OPENAI, or OPENROUTER
export <PROVIDER>_API_KEY="..."
./scripts/k8s/deploy.sh
The script creates a Kubernetes Secret with the API key and an auto-generated gateway token, then deploys. If the Secret already exists, it preserves the current gateway token and any provider keys not being changed.
Option B — create the secret separately:
“`bash theme={“theme”:{“light”:”min-light”,”dark”:”min-dark”}}
export _API_KEY=”…”
./scripts/k8s/deploy.sh –create-secret
./scripts/k8s/deploy.sh
Use `--show-token` with either command if you want the token printed to stdout for local testing.
### 2) Access the gateway
```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"min-light","dark":"min-dark"}}
kubectl port-forward svc/openclaw 18789:18789 -n openclaw
open http://localhost:18789
What gets deployed
Namespace: openclaw (configurable via OPENCLAW_NAMESPACE)
├── Deployment/openclaw # Single pod, init container + gateway
├── Service/openclaw # ClusterIP on port 18789
├── PersistentVolumeClaim # 10Gi for agent state and config
├── ConfigMap/openclaw-config # openclaw.json + AGENTS.md
└── Secret/openclaw-secrets # Gateway token + API keys
Customization
Agent instructions
Edit the AGENTS.md in scripts/k8s/manifests/configmap.yaml and redeploy:
“`bash theme={“theme”:{“light”:”min-light”,”dark”:”min-dark”}}
./scripts/k8s/deploy.sh
### Gateway config
Edit `openclaw.json` in `scripts/k8s/manifests/configmap.yaml`. See [Gateway configuration](/gateway/configuration) for the full reference.
### Add providers
Re-run with additional keys exported:
```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"min-light","dark":"min-dark"}}
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY="..."
export OPENAI_API_KEY="..."
./scripts/k8s/deploy.sh --create-secret
./scripts/k8s/deploy.sh
Existing provider keys stay in the Secret unless you overwrite them.
Or patch the Secret directly:
“`bash theme={“theme”:{“light”:”min-light”,”dark”:”min-dark”}}
kubectl patch secret openclaw-secrets -n openclaw
-p ‘{“stringData”:{“_API_KEY”:”…”}}’
kubectl rollout restart deployment/openclaw -n openclaw
### Custom namespace
```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"min-light","dark":"min-dark"}}
OPENCLAW_NAMESPACE=my-namespace ./scripts/k8s/deploy.sh
Custom image
Edit the image field in scripts/k8s/manifests/deployment.yaml:
“`yaml theme={“theme”:{“light”:”min-light”,”dark”:”min-dark”}}
image: ghcr.io/openclaw/openclaw:latest # or pin to a specific version from https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/releases
### Expose beyond port-forward
The default manifests bind the gateway to loopback inside the pod. That works with `kubectl port-forward`, but it does not work with a Kubernetes `Service` or Ingress path that needs to reach the pod IP.
If you want to expose the gateway through an Ingress or load balancer:
* Change the gateway bind in `scripts/k8s/manifests/configmap.yaml` from `loopback` to a non-loopback bind that matches your deployment model
* Keep gateway auth enabled and use a proper TLS-terminated entrypoint
* Configure the Control UI for remote access using the supported web security model (for example HTTPS/Tailscale Serve and explicit allowed origins when needed)
## Re-deploy
```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"min-light","dark":"min-dark"}}
./scripts/k8s/deploy.sh
This applies all manifests and restarts the pod to pick up any config or secret changes.
Teardown
“`bash theme={“theme”:{“light”:”min-light”,”dark”:”min-dark”}}
./scripts/k8s/deploy.sh –delete
This deletes the namespace and all resources in it, including the PVC.
## Architecture notes
* The gateway binds to loopback inside the pod by default, so the included setup is for `kubectl port-forward`
* No cluster-scoped resources — everything lives in a single namespace
* Security: `readOnlyRootFilesystem`, `drop: ALL` capabilities, non-root user (UID 1000)
* The default config keeps the Control UI on the safer local-access path: loopback bind plus `kubectl port-forward` to `http://127.0.0.1:18789`
* If you move beyond localhost access, use the supported remote model: HTTPS/Tailscale plus the appropriate gateway bind and Control UI origin settings
* Secrets are generated in a temp directory and applied directly to the cluster — no secret material is written to the repo checkout
## File structure
scripts/k8s/
├── deploy.sh # Creates namespace + secret, deploys via kustomize
├── create-kind.sh # Local Kind cluster (auto-detects docker/podman)
└── manifests/
├── kustomization.yaml # Kustomize base
├── configmap.yaml # openclaw.json + AGENTS.md
├── deployment.yaml # Pod spec with security hardening
├── pvc.yaml # 10Gi persistent storage
└── service.yaml # ClusterIP on 18789
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