OpenClaw Server Security & Installation

Overview

This skill guides the setup of a secure, self-hosted OpenClaw instance. It covers SSH hardening, Firewall configuration, Tailscale VPN setup, and the OpenClaw installation itself.

Workflow

Phase 1: System Hardening

1. Lock down SSH

• Goal: Keys only, no passwords, no root login.
• Action: Modify /etc/ssh/sshd_config.
• Commands:

# Backup config
      sudo cp /etc/ssh/sshd_config /etc/ssh/sshd_config.bak
      # Disable Password Auth
      sudo sed -i 's/^#*PasswordAuthentication .*/PasswordAuthentication no/' /etc/ssh/sshd_config
      # Disable Root Login
      sudo sed -i 's/^#*PermitRootLogin .*/PermitRootLogin no/' /etc/ssh/sshd_config
      # Reload SSH
      sudo sshd -t && sudo systemctl reload ssh

1. Default-deny Firewall

• Goal: Block everything incoming by default.
• Action: Install and enable UFW.
• Commands:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install ufw -y
      sudo ufw default deny incoming
      sudo ufw default allow outgoing
      sudo ufw enable

Note: Ensure you have console access or a fallback before enabling if SSH is not yet allowed on another interface, though we configure Tailscale next.

1. Brute-force Protection

• Goal: Auto-ban IPs after failed login attempts.
• Action: Install Fail2ban.
• Commands:

sudo apt install fail2ban -y
      sudo systemctl enable --now fail2ban

Phase 2: Network Privacy (Tailscale)

1. Install Tailscale

• Goal: Create a private VPN mesh network.
• Commands:

curl -fsSL https://tailscale.com/install.sh | sh
      sudo tailscale up

• Wait for user to authenticate the Tailscale link.

1. Configure SSH & Web via Tailscale

• Goal: Allow traffic only from the Tailscale subnet (100.64.0.0/10) and remove public access.
• Commands:

# Allow SSH over Tailscale
      sudo ufw allow from 100.64.0.0/10 to any port 22 proto tcp
      # Remove public SSH access (Adjust rule name/number as needed)
      sudo ufw delete allow OpenSSH || sudo ufw delete allow 22/tcp
      # Allow Web ports over Tailscale
      sudo ufw allow from 100.64.0.0/10 to any port 443 proto tcp
      sudo ufw allow from 100.64.0.0/10 to any port 80 proto tcp

1. Disable IPv6 (Optional)

• Goal: Reduce attack surface.
• Commands:

sudo sed -i 's/IPV6=yes/IPV6=no/' /etc/default/ufw
      if ! grep -q "net.ipv6.conf.all.disable_ipv6 = 1" /etc/sysctl.conf; then
        echo "net.ipv6.conf.all.disable_ipv6 = 1" | sudo tee -a /etc/sysctl.conf
      fi
      sudo sysctl -p && sudo ufw reload

Phase 3: OpenClaw Installation

1. Install OpenClaw

• Commands:

npm install -g openclaw && openclaw doctor

1. Configure Owner Access

• Required Input: Ask the user for their Telegram ID.
• Action: Update the config to allowlist only that ID.
• JSON Config Target (verify location via openclaw doctor):

{ 
        "dmPolicy": "allowlist", 
        "allowFrom": ["YOUR_TELEGRAM_ID"], 
        "groupPolicy": "allowlist" 
      }

1. Secure Credentials

• Goal: Restrict file permissions.
• Commands:

chmod 700 ~/.openclaw/credentials 2>/dev/null || true
      chmod 600 .env 2>/dev/null || true

1. Final Audit

• Action: Run the built-in security audit.
• Command:

openclaw security audit --deep

Verification Status

Run to confirm:

sudo ufw status verbose
ss -tulnp
tailscale status
openclaw doctor