How to Manage Your VPS – OpenClaw Settings

In this guide we will walk you through how to manage your VPS OpenClaw, connect your AI model, and approve your device for pairing. You need to ensure you have credits with your respective AI provider (OpenAI, Anthropic etc).

This article is only applicable to those who have an account with Packetra and it assumes that you are already logged into the portal. Don’t have a VPS yet? Check out our CloudVPS Plans. If you already have one feel free to login to follow the guide below

Connecting Your AI Model to VPS OpenClaw

Log into your VPS via SSH

First, you need to log into your VPS via SSH or via Console. Once you have logged in, start by typing sudo su to elevate yourself to the root. Once you have done that type openclaw configure --section models as shown on the image below

Select your Options for OpenClaw

Next, We will select the model we would like to use, in this example I will be connecting the OpenClaw to my API at Anthropic, you may have OpenAI or a different one, during the Model/Auth Provideryou can select a variety of providers to work with. You follow the image below.

Note: You access your OpenClaw at https://<yourhostname> as provided in your welcome email, not via IP:port.

If you want to change the hostname for your OpenClaw see below for guide on how to do that.

Pairing and Approval of Device Via OpenClaw

Pairing Required

Next, you want to access your openclaw via browser by going to https://<yourhostname> which will return a screen like below, stating that pairing is required. This is a protection set by OpenClaw to prevent unauthorized system use.

Approve your device

Next, you want to approve your device, to do that you go to your SSH and type in openclaw devices list to list all pending requests, you should see a new request because you went to the dashboard via browser which created the request. You then type openclaw devices approve <id> to approve your device. You can see by typing openclaw devices list to see that your request went form Pending to Paired.

Dashboard Finale

Finally, now that you have paired your device and you have setup your model that you have credits with, you can start working with your OpenClaw.

Change Your VPS OpenClaw Hostname

Edit Caddy and OpenClaw and Reboot

To change the hostname from the default which is cloudvps<id>.packetra.com, you need to open yoursudo nano /etc/caddy/Caddyfile and edit the hostname there to the desired hostname that you have already setup and is responding to ping.

Once you have done so, you need to add the given hostname to the allowedOrigins in OpenClaw by entering the command below:

openclaw config set gateway.controlUi.allowedOrigins "[\"https://yourdomain.com\"]"

Followed by a service restart

sudo systemctl restart openclaw
sudo systemctl restart caddy

Now, you can goto your new hostname at https://<yourhostname> instead of the default https://cloudvps<id>.packetra.com

VPS OpenClaw Onboard Mode – Skills, Hooks & Recovery

Going through Onboard Completely

You can run openclaw onboard under sudo su (root) to go through the entire setup process, this allows you to add hooks, enable plugins etc. However, one of its default behaviors is resetting the gateway/port/auth which will break the OpenClaw dashboard.

Recovery

When you have finished your onboarding, you need to enter the following commands in order to fix the gateway issue and auth issue that presents itself on your dashboard after an onboarding.

Enter the following commands to set the gateway and unset the token authorization

openclaw config set gateway.mode local
openclaw config set gateway.port 4050
openclaw config set gateway.bind loopback
openclaw config set gateway.auth.mode none
openclaw config unset gateway.auth.token

We then want to ensure we set the allowed origins back to your domain, please note yourdomain.com should be either the default server hostname on delivery or a hostname you may have setup yourself.

openclaw config set gateway.controlUi.allowedOrigins "[\"https://yourdomain.com\"]"

Then we want to restart the two

sudo systemctl restart openclaw
sudo systemctl restart caddy

This should resolve the Dashboard once you have onboarded API, installed skills / enabled skills or anything else.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I switch my AI provider after onboarding?
Yes, run openclaw configure --section models again and select a new provider. (This will not cause gateway reversal)

What happens if I lose my API key?
You’ll need to re-run the model configuration with your new key.

How do I remove a paired device?
Run openclaw devices list to find the device ID, then openclaw devices remove <id>. You can also revoke a device by going to your dashboard, click Nodes, locate Devices and revoke the pairing.

I ran openclaw onboard by accident, what do I do?
Run the recovery commands listed above in the Recovery section.

Good to Know
Your AI provider must have active credits or billing enabled on their end, OpenClaw connects to their API using your key so if your credits run out, your AI will stop responding. Device pairing is per-browser. If you switch browsers, use a new device or clear your cookies you will need to approve the device again.

If you have any issues with your service, open a support ticket through the client portal and our team will assist you.