Documentation Index
Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://claworc.com/docs/llms.txt
Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
Overview
Each instance is an isolated, secured OpenClaw agent running in its own container.
You can run many instances concurrently — each gets its own browser, terminal, storage, and configuration.
Images
Each OpenClaw instance runs an agent image plus a separate Chrome session image. The agent image is always running; the Chrome session image is provisioned on demand the first time you use the browser and stopped after an idle period.
Agent image
| Image | Purpose |
|---|
glukw/claworc-agent | Runs OpenClaw, the terminal, and SSH |
Browser images
All images except glukw/claworc-browser-chrome support AMD64 and ARM64 architectures. Use latest to always pull the most recent build.
Homebrew is preinstalled in the agent image, so you can install additional packages inside any instance using brew install without extra setup.
Legacy images. Earlier instances ran the browser inside the agent container using glukw/openclaw-vnc-chrome, glukw/openclaw-vnc-chromium, or glukw/openclaw-vnc-brave. These images remain published and continue to work for instances created before the agent / browser split. New instances use the pair above. To switch an existing instance, see Migrating to on-demand browser. Updating the agent and browser images
When a new version of an image is published under the same tag (e.g. :latest), you can pull it without recreating the instance. Open the instance Settings tab, find the Agent Image field, and click Update. Claworc pulls the latest version of the tag, stops the container, and restarts it with the new image. Persistent volumes (home directory, Homebrew packages, browser profile) are preserved. The same Update button updates the browser image.
The Update button only appears for admins, only when the instance is running, and only for tag-based images (e.g. :latest). Digest-pinned images (@sha256:...) cannot be updated this way — change the image reference in the instance settings instead.
Creating an instance
Click New instance on the dashboard and fill in the form:
| Field | Description |
|---|
| Display name | Human-readable name shown in the dashboard |
| Image | Agent image — runs OpenClaw and the terminal. Defaults to glukw/claworc-agent. |
| Browser image | Chrome session image — Chrome, Chromium, or Brave. Defaults to the value set in admin Settings. |
| Idle timeout (min) | How long the Chrome session stays running while idle before being stopped. Leave empty to inherit the global default (15 minutes). See Accessing instances. |
| CPU limit | Maximum CPU cores allocated (e.g., 1.0) |
| Memory limit | Maximum RAM allocated (e.g., 2Gi) |
| API key override | Instance-specific API key; overrides the global key if set |
The display name is converted to a Kubernetes-safe name automatically: lowercased, spaces replaced with hyphens,
prefixed with bot-, truncated to 63 characters. Renaming an instance does not affect its underlying resources.
Resource sizing
A rough guide based on typical workloads:
| Workload | CPU | Memory |
|---|
| Light (simple tasks, browser will be slow) | 500m | 1Gi |
| Moderate (collaboration with the browser) | 1.0 | 2Gi |
| Heavy (multiple tabs, data analysis) | 2.0 | 4Gi |
CPU and memory defaults configured in Settings → Default Resource Limits
are applied only when a new instance is created. Changing them later does not
affect existing instances. To update resources on an existing instance, edit
it on the instance Settings → Resources card.
Starting, stopping, and restarting
From the dashboard, click the ⋮ menu next to any instance:
- Start — starts a stopped container
- Stop — stops a running container gracefully
- Restart — stops then starts the container; useful when the agent is stuck
- Clone — copies all settings and files into a new instance
- Delete — permanently removes the instance and all its data (PVCs in Kubernetes, volumes in Docker)
Delete is irreversible. All persistent data — Chrome profile, Homebrew packages, OpenClaw configuration, and clawdbot data — is permanently deleted.
Container security
Agent containers run with hardened defaults:
- No privileged mode. Containers use the Docker/Kubernetes default set of Linux capabilities. Seccomp is enabled.
- Privilege escalation blocked. SUID bits are removed from unnecessary binaries.
sudo is available only for package management (apt-get).
- No kernel access. Mount, module loading, and
/proc writes are blocked.
These settings apply automatically to all new and restarted instances in both Kubernetes and Docker modes.
Connection status
Each instance row shows a small colored dot indicating whether Claworc can reach the instance:
| Dot color | State |
|---|
| Green | Connected |
| Yellow | Connecting or Reconnecting |
| Gray | Disconnected |
| Red | Failed |
Instance settings
Open any instance and switch to the Settings tab to view and edit its configuration. The tab is organized into several cards: Instance Details, Resources, Environment Variables, Enabled Models (admins only), SSH Connection Status, and Backups (admins only).
Instance details
The Instance Details card shows the display name, agent image, VNC resolution, timezone, user-agent, and timestamps. Many of these fields are editable inline — click Edit next to a field, make your change, and click Save.
| Field | Who can edit | Notes |
|---|
| Display Name | Admins | Renaming does not affect the underlying container or Kubernetes resource names. |
| Agent Image | Read-only (use Update to pull latest) | See Updating the agent and browser images. |
| VNC Resolution | Admins | Format: WIDTHxHEIGHT (e.g. 1920x1080). Leave empty for the global default. Requires a restart to take effect. |
| Timezone | All users | IANA timezone string (e.g. America/New_York). Leave empty for the global default. Requires a restart to take effect. |
| User-Agent | All users | Custom Chromium User-Agent string. Leave empty for the global default. Requires a restart to take effect. |
Resources
The Resources card displays CPU and memory requests and limits, plus storage sizes. Admins can click Edit to change CPU and memory values for a running instance.
| Field | Format | Example |
|---|
| CPU Request | Millicores or decimal cores | 500m or 0.5 |
| CPU Limit | Millicores or decimal cores | 2000m or 2 |
| Memory Request | Mebibytes or gibibytes | 512Mi or 1Gi |
| Memory Limit | Mebibytes or gibibytes | 4Gi |
Live resource usage
When viewing the Settings tab of a running instance, Claworc displays live CPU and memory usage next to the limit values. Usage is shown as an absolute value and a percentage of the configured limit (e.g. using 312m / 16%). Stats refresh automatically every 10 seconds.
In Kubernetes mode, live resource stats require the metrics-server to be installed in the cluster. Without it, usage data is unavailable. Configuration hierarchy
Claworc separates configuration into two levels: global defaults that apply to every instance, and per-instance overrides that apply to one instance only. Anything not overridden at the instance level is inherited from the global defaults automatically.
| Level | Where to set it | Scope |
|---|
| Global default | Settings | All instances with no override |
| Per-instance override | Instance detail page | That instance only |
openclaw.json for agent behavior (model selection, tools, integrations).
See Configuration for the full reference, including per-instance override options and examples.
Backups
Admins can create compressed snapshots of any instance’s filesystem and restore them later.
You can back up on demand from the instance detail page or set up scheduled backups from the
Backups page in the sidebar.
See Backups for the full guide.
Shared folders
Shared folders let you mount a named volume into multiple instances so they can read and write the
same files. Any authenticated user can create shared folders from the Shared Folders page in
the sidebar.
See Shared folders for setup and limitations.
Enabling models for an instance
The Settings tab on each instance detail page includes an Enabled Models section (visible to admins). This controls which LLM providers and models the OpenClaw agent can use.
You can use global providers configured in Settings, or click Add provider to create a provider that belongs only to this instance. Instance-specific providers are useful when you need a dedicated API key or a provider that other instances should not access. See Configuration for details on both options.
Once providers are available, click Edit next to Enabled Models and check the models you want to make available. You can also set a Default model — the model the agent uses unless instructed otherwise.
Claworc pushes the model configuration to the container over SSH in the background. A toast notification confirms when the update is complete.
Troubleshooting an instance
On the instance Settings tab, the SSH Connection Status card lets you:
- Run a connectivity test
- Manually reconnect
- View the SSH key fingerprint used for this instance
If an instance is stuck in Reconnecting, check:
- Whether the container is actually running (
kubectl get pods -n claworc)
- Whether network policies allow egress from the control plane to agent pods on port 22
- The connection event log for the specific failure reason
