When OpenClaw stops responding, it can halt your entire automation workflow. Whether the process has frozen, crashed silently, or simply won't accept new requests, getting it back online quickly is critical. This guide walks you through systematic troubleshooting steps to diagnose the root cause and restore service.
Why This Is Hard to Do Yourself
These are the common pitfalls that trip people up.
Process appears running but frozen
OpenClaw PID exists but doesn't respond to requests or signals
Port conflicts blocking restart
Another process is using OpenClaw's port, preventing clean startup
Database or file locks
SQLite lock files or session state preventing process from starting
Silent OOM kills
Linux kernel killing process due to memory exhaustion without clear logs
Step-by-Step Guide
Verify if OpenClaw process is running
Check whether the OpenClaw process exists and what state it's in.
ps aux | grep openclaw
# Look for the node/python process
# Note the PID if it exists
systemctl status openclaw # If using systemd
# Or check your process manager (pm2, supervisor, etc.)Check for port conflicts
Ensure OpenClaw's configured port is available and not blocked by another service.
lsof -i :3000 # Replace 3000 with your OpenClaw port
# Or use netstat
netstat -tuln | grep 3000
# If another process is using the port:
sudo kill -9 <PID> # Force kill the conflicting processExamine recent logs for errors
Review OpenClaw logs to identify crash causes, stack traces, or error patterns.
tail -n 100 ~/.openclaw/logs/openclaw.log
# Or if using systemd:
journalctl -u openclaw -n 100 --no-pager
# Look for:
# - Uncaught exceptions
# - EADDRINUSE (port conflict)
# - Database errors
# - Memory allocation failuresForce restart the OpenClaw service
Kill any stuck processes and perform a clean restart.
# Find and kill all OpenClaw processes
pkill -9 -f openclaw
# Remove any stale lock files
rm -f ~/.openclaw/*.lock
rm -f ~/.openclaw/db/*.lock
# Start OpenClaw fresh
systemctl restart openclaw # Or your start command
# Verify it started:
curl http://localhost:3000/healthCheck system resource exhaustion
Monitor CPU, memory, and disk to identify resource bottlenecks.
top -p $(pgrep -f openclaw)
# Or use htop for better visualization
htop -p $(pgrep -f openclaw)
# Check disk space:
df -h
# Check for OOM kills in system logs:
dmesg | grep -i "killed process"
journalctl -k | grep -i "out of memory"Validate configuration files
Ensure config files are valid JSON/YAML and contain no syntax errors.
# For JSON config:
jq . ~/.openclaw/config.json
# If this fails, you have invalid JSON
# For YAML config:
yamllint ~/.openclaw/config.yml
# Check for common issues:
# - Trailing commas in JSON
# - Incorrect indentation in YAML
# - Missing required fields
# - Invalid environment variable referencesSkip the Troubleshooting Marathon
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