Install OpenClaw on Raspberry Pi (ARM) – Guide 2026

Requirements

What you need

🖥️ Raspberry Pi 5 with 8 GB RAM

Pi 4 and older models don't have enough RAM. Pi 5 4GB works with swap, but poorly.

🐧 64-bit Raspberry Pi OS

Must be 64-bit (arm64). 32-bit is not supported.

💾 Fast SD card or SSD

A slow SD card will noticeably slow down your agent.

⬢ Node.js 22+

Must be installed from the NodeSource repository.

🔑 API Key

Anthropic, OpenAI, or OpenRouter account with credits.

🌐 Stable internet connection

Your Pi needs a permanent internet connection for LLM API calls.

Step by step

Installation in 6 steps

Install Raspberry Pi OS

Flash 64-bit Raspberry Pi OS Lite to your SD card or SSD using Raspberry Pi Imager. Enable SSH.

⏱ ~10 min · Easy

Update system & install Node.js

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_22.x | sudo bash -
sudo apt install -y nodejs

⏱ ~10 min · Easy

Increase swap size (recommended)

sudo dphys-swapfile swapoff
sudo sed -i 's/CONF_SWAPSIZE=.*/CONF_SWAPSIZE=4096/' /etc/dphys-swapfile
sudo dphys-swapfile setup
sudo dphys-swapfile swapon

⏱ ~2 min · Easy

Install OpenClaw

curl -fsSL https://install.openclaw.ai | bash

Note: The build process takes significantly longer on ARM than on x86. Be patient.

⏱ ~10-15 min · Medium (ARM build)

Onboarding & configuration

openclaw onboard

Choose LLM provider, enter API key, configure channels.

⏱ ~5 min · Easy

Set up as systemd service

sudo openclaw service install
sudo systemctl enable openclaw
sudo systemctl start openclaw

This ensures OpenClaw starts automatically after a reboot.

⏱ ~3 min · Medium

⏱ Total effort: ~45 minutes (ARM build requires patience)

Honest assessment

The honest limits

⚠️ RAM is tight

8 GB sounds like a lot, but OpenClaw + Node.js + OS + browser automation quickly eat up 6-7 GB. Multi-channel is borderline.

⚠️ ARM has rough edges

Not all npm packages have ARM binaries. Some features require x86. The community regularly reports ARM-specific bugs.

🐢 Performance

Response times are noticeably slower than on a VPS or Mac. Browser automation is barely usable on the Pi.

🏠 No professional hosting

Your Pi sits at home. Power outage = agent offline. No automatic backups, no monitoring, no SLA.

🔓 Security risk

A Pi on your home network with shell access and API keys is an attractive target. The OpenClaw CVE-2026-25253 also affected Pi installations.

📋 No GDPR guarantee

For business use, a Raspberry Pi at home is not acceptable hosting.

To be fair

What the Pi is good for

🧪 Experimenting & learning

Perfect for getting to know OpenClaw without spending money on a VPS.

🤖 Personal assistant

For private use (shopping lists, reminders, smart home) it's perfectly fine.

🔧 Homelab & tinkering

If you enjoy tinkering, you'll have fun with it. The journey is the reward.

Production use

For production use: ManagedClaw

	🍓 Raspberry Pi	☁️ ManagedClaw
Hardware	Pi 5 8GB (~€90) + accessories	No hardware needed
Setup	~45 min + ARM issues	2 min wizard
Always-On	⚠️ Only while Pi + internet are stable	✅ 24/7 uptime
Performance	⚠️ Noticeably slower	✅ Dedicated VM
Multi-Channel	⚠️ Borderline (RAM)	✅ All channels
Updates	❌ Manual + ARM bugs	✅ Automatic
Backups	❌ Set up yourself	✅ Automatic
GDPR	❌ Pi at home ≠ GDPR	✅ Hetzner DE
API costs	❌ Extra €20-60/mo	✅ Included
Support	❌ Reddit & GitHub	✅ Personal setup call
Price / month	€0 (after hardware purchase) + API	From €19/month

The Raspberry Pi is perfect for experimenting. For production business use, ManagedClaw is the better choice.

Frequently Asked

FAQ: OpenClaw on Raspberry Pi

Technically possible with the 8GB model, but not recommended. The Pi 5 is significantly faster and the only officially tested platform.

Yes. Memory files, configurations, and tool integrations can be transferred. We'll help during the setup call.

For personal projects, yes. For business use, you're missing: uptime guarantees, GDPR-compliant hosting, automatic backups, and professional support. That's what ManagedClaw is for.

OpenClaw on Raspberry Pi – does it work?