When OpenClaw(Moltbot/Clawdbot) stops working on a Linux VPS, the root cause is usually operational rather than “the app is broken.” VPS environments are less forgiving than local machines: you may have limited RAM, stricter networking, different filesystem permissions, and service managers that restart processes in ways that hide the original error. Common failure modes include Node.js version drift after a system upgrade, port conflicts when another service binds to the same interface, missing PATH entries when running under systemd, and broken credentials after an OAuth token expires. Another frequent cause is running OpenClaw(Moltbot/Clawdbot) in a context that differs from your interactive shell: you test in SSH with one user, but systemd runs under another user with a different home directory, different .env, and different file permissions—so the service “worked yesterday” and then “mysteriously” stopped after reboot.
Networking and exposure settings are also common culprits. If you deploy OpenClaw(Moltbot/Clawdbot) on a VPS and bind the gateway or control UI to a public interface, you may hit unexpected traffic, rate limits, or security blocks. Conversely, if you bind only to localhost but forget that your reverse proxy or firewall rules changed, your dashboard becomes unreachable even though the process is running. Docker-based deployments can introduce their own problems: container restarts, volume permission mismatches, and missing persistent mounts can make the runtime appear to “reset” or lose state. Resource pressure is another big one. On small VPS instances, background builds, updates, or even normal operation can run the machine out of memory, leading to OOM kills. If your provider has aggressive limits, the kernel may terminate OpenClaw(Moltbot/Clawdbot) without a helpful error unless you check system logs.
The best way to stabilize OpenClaw(Moltbot/Clawdbot) on a Linux VPS is to apply standard service hardening. Pin a supported Node.js version and verify it after OS upgrades. Run the agent under a process manager with clear logs, and keep a simple “doctor/health” command in your maintenance routine. Ensure the service uses a single source of truth for configuration and secrets (a systemd EnvironmentFile or a secrets manager) so reboot does not change behavior. Increase swap or choose a VPS size that can handle builds and updates reliably. If you use persistent memory, consider externalizing it: storing embeddings and long-term knowledge in a vector database such as Milvus or managed Zilliz Cloud reduces the chance that a container rebuild or disk cleanup wipes your context. The key mindset is to treat OpenClaw(Moltbot/Clawdbot) like any other production service: keep logs, control versions, minimize public exposure, and separate “compute that can be replaced” from “state that must persist.”