Troubleshooting

Solutions for common issues with OpenClaw deployments.

Quick Diagnostics

Check if OpenClaw is Running

Cloudflare Workers:

curl https://your-worker.workers.dev/

VPS:

curl http://localhost:8080
docker logs openclaw

View Logs

Cloudflare Workers:

npx wrangler tail your-worker-name

VPS:

docker logs -f openclaw

Common Issues

Container Startup Failure

Symptoms:

• Gateway fails to start
• Process exits before port 18789 becomes ready
• Error: “Invalid config” in logs

Cause: Deprecated config fields from older versions.

Solution:

1. Clear cached config:

# For Cloudflare Workers
npx wrangler r2 object delete moltbot-data/clawdbot/clawdbot.json --remote
 
# For VPS
docker exec openclaw rm /root/.clawdbot/clawdbot.json
docker restart openclaw

2. Redeploy with fresh config.

Access Denied / 403 Error

Symptoms:

• 403 Forbidden when accessing /_admin/
• Redirect to Cloudflare Access login that fails

Cause: Misconfigured Cloudflare Access settings.

Solutions:

1. Verify CF_ACCESS_TEAM_DOMAIN is correct:

   • Should be: yourteam.cloudflareaccess.com
   • NOT: your-worker.workers.dev

2. Verify CF_ACCESS_AUD matches the Application Audience Tag in Zero Trust dashboard.

3. Check that your email is authorized in the Access policy.

401 Unauthorized on Webhooks

Symptoms:

• Slack/Discord webhooks return 401
• Messages from bots not delivered

Cause: Using official moltworker instead of the fork with public webhook routes.

Solution:

Use strataga/moltworker  fork which has public webhook routes:

git clone https://github.com/strataga/moltworker.git

Verify webhooks are public:

curl -X POST https://YOUR-WORKER.workers.dev/slack/events \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"test": true}'

Should return 503 (gateway error) not 401 (auth error).

Slow Initial Response

Symptoms:

• First request takes 1-2 minutes
• Subsequent requests are fast

Cause: Cold start - containers hibernate when idle.

Solutions:

1. This is expected behavior for serverless. Wait for the container to start.

2. To reduce cold starts, increase the sleep timeout:

npx wrangler secret put SANDBOX_SLEEP_AFTER
# Enter: never (or 1h for longer timeout)

Telegram Not Working

Symptoms:

• Bot doesn’t respond to messages
• Works initially then stops

Cause: Container hibernation breaks Telegram’s long-polling.

Solutions:

1. Recommended: Use VPS deployment for reliable Telegram.

2. Workaround: Use Slack or Discord instead (they work reliably).

3. Partial fix: Set up webhook mode manually:

curl -X POST "https://api.telegram.org/bot<TOKEN>/setWebhook" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"url": "https://YOUR-WORKER.workers.dev/telegram-webhook"}'

Admin UI Not Loading

Symptoms:

• /_admin/ shows “Loading devices…” indefinitely
• Pairing requests work but don’t appear in UI

Cause: Bug in admin UI’s device loading mechanism.

Workaround: Approve pairings via CLI:

1. Check pending requests:

# Telegram
curl -s 'https://YOUR-WORKER.workers.dev/debug/cli?cmd=cat%20/root/.clawdbot/credentials/telegram-pairing.json'
 
# Slack
curl -s 'https://YOUR-WORKER.workers.dev/debug/cli?cmd=cat%20/root/.clawdbot/credentials/slack-pairing.json'

2. Approve the pairing:

curl -s 'https://YOUR-WORKER.workers.dev/debug/cli?cmd=clawdbot%20pairing%20approve%20telegram%20XVJGSAEV'

Replace XVJGSAEV with the actual pairing code.

Namespace Conflicts

Symptoms:

• Error: “There is already an application with the name X deployed that is associated with a different durable object namespace”

Cause: Orphaned container from deleted worker.

Solution:

1. Change worker name in wrangler.jsonc
2. Clean build:

rm -rf dist .wrangler/deploy
npm run build
npx wrangler deploy

Cached Configuration

Symptoms:

• Changes to wrangler.jsonc not taking effect
• Old settings persist after redeploy

Solution:

Force a clean deployment:

rm -rf dist .wrangler/deploy
npm run build
npx wrangler deploy

Useful Commands

Check Secrets

npx wrangler secret list

List Paired Devices

curl -s 'https://YOUR-WORKER.workers.dev/debug/cli?cmd=clawdbot%20devices%20list'

Check Container Config

curl -s 'https://YOUR-WORKER.workers.dev/debug/container-config' | jq '.config'

View Process Status

curl -s 'https://YOUR-WORKER.workers.dev/debug/processes?logs=true' | jq

Check R2 Backup

npx wrangler r2 object list moltbot-data

Getting Help

If you’re still stuck:

1. Check GitHub Issues: github.com/strataga/moltworker/issues 

2. Done-For-You Setup: openclawvps.com/services  - We’ll handle the deployment for you.

3. Community Support: GitHub Discussions