OpenClaw Runbook: Real-World Production Setup

Source: Reddit r/openclaw - u/digitalknk
Date: February 2026
URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/openclaw/s/PKq2CUUYMC

Overview

A practical, battle-tested guide for running OpenClaw in production after "breaking it a bunch of times." Not a hype post—just what actually works for stable, predictable, cost-effective operation.

Key Topics Covered

1. Model Architecture: Coordinator vs Worker

Default model should be a coordinator, not a worker

Main session orchestrates
Heavy work delegated to subagents
Prevents context bloat and credit burn

2. Cost-Optimized Background Tasks

Heartbeat and background tasks on GPT-5 Nano

Fractions of a cent per operation
Efficient polling without expensive model calls
Keeps main session responsive

3. Memory Configuration

Solved the "why did it forget that" problem

Proper memory persistence setup
External memory patterns
Config validation

4. Infrastructure & Operations

VPS hardening

Security best practices
Config validation
Git-tracking configs for rollback

Resources

Main Runbook

GitHub Repo: https://github.com/digitalknk/openclaw-runbook

Real config snippets
Tradeoffs documented
Community contributions welcome

Gist: Detailed Setup

Link: https://gist.github.com/digitalknk/ec360aab27ca47cb4106a183b2c25a98

Day-to-day operations
Credit optimization
Avoiding quota/loop issues

Gist: Sanitized Config

Link: https://gist.github.com/digitalknk/4169b59d01658e20002a093d544eb391

Production-ready configuration
Stripped of sensitive data
Reference implementation

Target Audience

New to OpenClaw
Frustrated with quotas and loops
Want "planning forever" issues solved
Need stable, predictable operations

Philosophy

"This is not a hype post and it's not a 'best setup' claim. It's just what ended up working for me once the novelty wore off and I wanted something stable, predictable, and not constantly burning credits."

Action Items

Review runbook repo for coordinator patterns
Implement GPT-5 Nano for background tasks
Audit memory config against guide
Set up git-tracked config with rollback capability
Compare current setup to production patterns

OpenClaw official docs
Community Discord/Reddit r/openclaw
Author: u/digitalknk (contributor to OpenClaw ecosystem)

Compiled from Reddit post
Status: Active community resource, accepting contributions

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