Cheatsheet · copy/paste · daily use

OpenClaw (Moltbot) commands cheatsheet

Bookmark this. These are the commands you’ll use every week: start/stop, tail logs, check status, and debug channels.

Note: Some commands may still appear as moltbot in older tutorials. Treat OpenClaw as the current name.

0) One-minute sanity check

# Is the gateway up?
openclaw gateway status

# Follow logs while sending yourself a test message
openclaw logs --follow

If you can see your message arrive in logs, your channel pipeline works.

1) Gateway: start / stop / restart

openclaw gateway status
openclaw gateway start
openclaw gateway stop
openclaw gateway restart

If you changed config or env vars, restart the gateway.

2) Logs: the only command you really need

# Follow logs live
openclaw logs --follow

# Recent logs (last N lines)
openclaw logs --tail 300

If “it didn’t respond”, 80% of the time the answer is in logs.

3) Channels quick debug

# List configured channels
openclaw channels list

# See Telegram config (if supported in your build)
openclaw channels telegram status

If your build doesn’t have a specific subcommand, fall back to logs + config check.

4) Update OpenClaw

# Update to the latest version
openclaw update

If you updated config or channels, restart the gateway after updating: openclaw gateway restart.

5) Common “fix it now” checks

# Check the running process / port (macOS)
# (Useful when something says "address already in use")
# lsof -iTCP:18789 -sTCP:LISTEN -n -P

# Test that your website/webhook endpoint is reachable (replace URL)
# curl -i https://example.com/health

6) Safety reminders (fast)

Don’t expose admin/control panels to the public internet.
Prefer allowlists for who can message the bot.
If you suspect exposure: rotate tokens.

If you want, tell me your OS + how you installed OpenClaw, and I’ll tailor this cheatsheet to match the exact commands your build supports.