Managing Your Instance
Your OpenClaw instance is a dedicated environment running your AI agent and all its connected channels. Each instance runs in its own isolated container with its own storage, configuration, and resources.
What Is an Instance?
When you subscribe to OpenClaw Host, we provision a dedicated Kubernetes pod for you. This pod contains:
- The OpenClaw gateway that handles all messaging connections
- Your AI agent configuration (model selection, personality, tools)
- Your channel connections (Telegram, Discord, Slack, etc.)
- Persistent storage for conversation history, memory, and configuration
Your instance is fully isolated from other users. No data is shared between instances.
Dashboard Overview
Go to your OpenClaw Dashboard and click Instance to see your instance management page. From here you can:
- View instance status and resource usage
- Connect and manage channels
- Configure your AI provider
- View logs
- Restart your instance
Status Indicators
Your instance can be in one of several states:
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Running | Your instance is healthy and processing messages. |
| Starting | Your instance is booting up. This usually takes 30-60 seconds. |
| Stopped | Your instance is not running. This can happen if your subscription is inactive. |
| Provisioning | A brand-new instance is being created for the first time. |
Auto-Restart and Health Checks
OpenClaw Host continuously monitors your instance:
- Health checks run every 30 seconds to verify the gateway is responsive.
- If a health check fails, the system automatically restarts your instance.
- If a restart fails repeatedly, the instance is flagged for manual review and our team is notified.
You do not need to manually monitor uptime. If something goes wrong, the system handles recovery automatically.
During a restart, there may be a brief period (typically under 60 seconds) where your bot does not respond to messages. Messages received during this window are queued and processed once the instance is back.
Manual Restart
If your instance is behaving unexpectedly, you can restart it manually:
- Go to Instance in the dashboard.
- Click Restart Instance.
The restart typically completes in under a minute.
Resource Limits
Your instance's resources depend on your plan:
| Starter | Pro | Power | |
|---|---|---|---|
| vCPU | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| RAM | 4 GB | 4 GB | 8 GB |
| Disk | 10 GB | 20 GB | 50 GB |
If you need more resources, you can upgrade your plan from the Billing page.