OpenShell/docs/get-started/tutorials/run-openclaw.md

Run OpenClaw Safely

Run OpenClaw inside a NemoClaw sandbox with zero code changes. This tutorial takes you from a fresh cluster to an OpenClaw instance with inference routing and policy enforcement.

Prerequisites

• NemoClaw CLI installed. Refer to Installation.
• Docker installed and running.

Step 1: Deploy a Cluster

NemoClaw runs sandboxes on a lightweight Kubernetes cluster packaged in a single Docker container.

$ nemoclaw cluster admin deploy

Verify that the cluster is healthy.

$ nemoclaw cluster status

You should see the cluster version and a healthy status. If you already have a running cluster, skip this step.

Step 2: Launch OpenClaw

The sandbox image includes OpenClaw, the onboarding flow, and a helper script that configures the gateway and prints the access URL. One command starts everything.

$ nemoclaw sandbox create --name my-openclaw --forward 18789 -- openclaw-start

• --name my-openclaw — gives the sandbox a name for reconnection and management.
• --forward 18789 — forwards sandbox port 18789 to your machine so the OpenClaw UI is reachable locally.
• openclaw-start — runs openclaw onboard, starts the OpenClaw gateway in the background, and prints the UI URL and token.

The CLI returns when the script finishes. The port forward keeps running in the background.

Step 3: Access the OpenClaw UI

Once the sandbox is ready, open the Control UI and verify health.

• Control UI: http://127.0.0.1:18789/ — use the token printed during onboarding.
• Health check: run openclaw health from your host or inside the sandbox.

No changes are required in OpenClaw itself. It runs as-is inside the sandbox with full isolation.

What openclaw-start Does

Under the hood, the helper script runs:

openclaw onboard
nohup openclaw gateway run > /tmp/gateway.log 2>&1 &

It then prints the UI URL and token from ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json.

Step 4: Route Inference to a Private Model

By default, the sandbox blocks outbound traffic that does not match an explicit network policy. To route OpenClaw's inference calls to a private or self-hosted model, create an inference route and allow it in sandbox policy.

Create the Route

$ nemoclaw inference create \
  --routing-hint local \
  --base-url https://integrate.api.nvidia.com/ \
  --model-id nvidia/nemotron-3-nano-30b-a3b \
  --api-key $NVIDIA_API_KEY

Apply a Policy with the Route

Create a policy file openclaw-policy.yaml:

version: 1
filesystem_policy:
  include_workdir: true
  read_only: [/usr, /lib, /etc, /app, /var/log]
  read_write: [/sandbox, /tmp, /dev/null]
landlock:
  compatibility: best_effort
process:
  run_as_user: sandbox
  run_as_group: sandbox
inference:
  allowed_routes:
    - local

Update the running sandbox with the new policy.

$ nemoclaw sandbox policy set my-openclaw --policy openclaw-policy.yaml --wait

OpenClaw's inference calls are now transparently intercepted and routed to the configured backend. The agent's code does not change — it still targets the original API, and NemoClaw rewrites the destination and model per policy.

Step 5: Monitor and Iterate on Policy

Watch sandbox logs to see which connections are allowed or denied.

$ nemoclaw sandbox logs my-openclaw --tail --source sandbox

If you see denied actions that should be allowed, pull the current policy, add the missing network policy entry, and push it back.

$ nemoclaw sandbox policy get my-openclaw --full > current-policy.yaml

Edit current-policy.yaml to add a network_policies entry for the denied endpoint, then push it.

$ nemoclaw sandbox policy set my-openclaw --policy current-policy.yaml --wait

Refer to Policies for the full policy iteration workflow.

Step 6: Reconnect or Open a Second Session

You can reconnect to the sandbox from any terminal.

$ nemoclaw sandbox connect my-openclaw

For VS Code Remote-SSH access:

$ nemoclaw sandbox ssh-config my-openclaw >> ~/.ssh/config

Then connect via VS Code's Remote-SSH extension to the host my-openclaw.

Step 7: Verify Policy Enforcement

With the sandbox running and the OpenClaw UI accessible, confirm that the policy is doing its job.

Confirm the UI Is Accessible

Open http://127.0.0.1:18789/ in your browser and sign in with the token printed during onboarding. You should see the OpenClaw control dashboard.

Test a Blocked Action

From inside the sandbox, attempt to reach an endpoint that is not in the policy.

sandbox@my-openclaw:~$ curl https://example.com

The proxy blocks the connection because example.com is not in any network_policies entry and the request is not an inference API pattern. You should see a connection-refused or proxy-denied error.

Check the Denial in Logs

From your host, view the sandbox logs to see the deny entry.

$ nemoclaw sandbox logs my-openclaw --tail --source sandbox

Look for a log line with action: deny showing the destination host, port, binary (curl), and the reason. This confirms that the policy engine is evaluating every outbound connection and only allowing traffic that matches your policy.

Confirm Inference Routing

If you configured an inference route in Step 4, ask OpenClaw to perform a task that triggers an inference call through the UI. The logs show whether the request was intercepted and routed to your configured backend rather than the original API endpoint.

Step 8: Clean Up

Delete the sandbox when you are finished to free cluster resources.

$ nemoclaw sandbox delete my-openclaw

Quick Reference

Goal	How
Launch OpenClaw	nemoclaw sandbox create --name my-openclaw --forward 18789 -- openclaw-start
Reconnect	nemoclaw sandbox connect my-openclaw
Route inference to a private model	nemoclaw inference create --routing-hint local --base-url <URL> --model-id <MODEL> --api-key <KEY> and set inference.allowed_routes: [local] in policy
Update policy live	nemoclaw sandbox policy set my-openclaw --policy updated.yaml --wait
View logs	nemoclaw sandbox logs my-openclaw --tail --source sandbox
Delete	nemoclaw sandbox delete my-openclaw

Next Steps

• Sandboxes — full sandbox lifecycle management.
• Inference Routing — route AI API calls to local or self-hosted backends.
• Safety & Privacy — understanding and customizing sandbox policies.
• Network Access Control — per-binary, per-endpoint network rules.