Deploy OpenClaw AI on Raspberry Pi: Our Open Source Guide

# Update system
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

# Expand filesystem
sudo raspi-config
# Select "Advanced Options" -> "Expand Filesystem"

# Install basic packages
sudo apt install -y \
    build-essential \
    curl \
    wget \
    git \
    vim \
    htop \
    python3-dev \
    python3-pip \
    python3-venv \
    libffi-dev \
    libssl-dev \
    zlib1g-dev

# Install Node.js
curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.39.0/install.sh | bash
source ~/.bashrc
nvm install --lts
nvm use --lts

# Create virtual environment
python3 -m venv ~/openclaw-env
source ~/openclaw-env/bin/activate
pip install --upgrade pip setuptools wheel

# Clone and install
mkdir -p ~/projects
cd ~/projects
git clone https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw.git
cd openclaw

source ~/openclaw-env/bin/activate
pip install -e .

# Maximize swap space
sudo dphys-swapfile swapoff
sudo nano /etc/dphys-swapfile
# Set CONF_SWAPSIZE=1024
# Set CONF_MAXSWAP=2048
sudo dphys-swapfile setup
sudo dphys-swapfile swapon

# Disable more services to save resources
sudo systemctl disable bluetooth
sudo systemctl disable triggerhappy
sudo systemctl disable avahi-daemon
sudo systemctl disable alsa-state
sudo systemctl disable cups
sudo systemctl disable cups-browsed

# Adjust GPU memory allocation
echo "gpu_mem=16" | sudo tee -a /boot/config.txt

# Install lightweight Node.js version
curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.39.0/install.sh | bash
source ~/.bashrc
nvm install 16  # Install older but stable version
nvm use 16

# Lightweight Python environment
python3 -m venv ~/openclaw-env --without-pip
source ~/openclaw-env/bin/activate
curl https://bootstrap.pypa.io/get-pip.py -o get-pip.py
python get-pip.py --no-cache-dir

pip install --upgrade pip setuptools wheel
pip install --upgrade \
    pip \
    requests \
    pyyaml \
    python-dotenv \
    flask \
    gevent \
    redis \
    pillow

# ~/setup_openclaw.sh
#!/bin/bash

# Detect Raspberry Pi model and apply corresponding configuration
detect_raspberry_pi_model() {
    # Get CPU info
    CPU_INFO=$(cat /proc/cpuinfo | grep "model name" | head -1 | cut -d ":" -f 2)
    
    if [[ $CPU_INFO == *"ARMv7"* ]]; then
        # Check CPU cores and frequency
        CORES=$(nproc)
        FREQUENCY=$(cat /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu0/cpufreq/scaling_cur_freq 2>/dev/null | head -c 3)
        
        if [[ $FREQUENCY -gt 1400 ]]; then
            echo "pi4"  # Raspberry Pi 4B+
        elif [[ $FREQUENCY -gt 1000 ]]; then
            echo "pi3"  # Raspberry Pi 3B+
        else
            echo "pi2"  # Raspberry Pi 2 or Zero 2 W
        fi
    else
        echo "unknown"
    fi
}

# Create config directory
mkdir -p ~/.openclaw

# Select config based on model
MODEL_TYPE=$(detect_raspberry_pi_model)
echo "Detected Raspberry Pi type: $MODEL_TYPE"

case $MODEL_TYPE in
    "pi4")
        echo "Setting up for Raspberry Pi 4B+"
        cat > ~/.openclaw/config.yaml << 'EOF'
server:
  host: 0.0.0.0
  port: 3000
  workers: 2
  timeout: 300
  debug: false

models:
  defaults:
    text: "gpt-3.5-turbo"
    embedding: "text-embedding-3-small"

ollama:
  enabled: true
  host: "http://localhost:11434"
  model: "llama2:7b"

database:
  type: "sqlite"
  sqlite:
    path: "~/.openclaw/data.db"

cache:
  type: "redis"
  redis:
    host: "localhost"
    port: 6379
    db: 0

resources:
  memory_limit: "1G"
  cpu_limit: 0.8
  max_concurrent_requests: 4

logging:
  level: "INFO"
  file: "~/.openclaw/logs/openclaw.log"
EOF
        ;;
    "pi2")
        echo "Setting up for Raspberry Pi 2/Zero 2 W"
        cat > ~/.openclaw/config.yaml << 'EOF'
server:
  host: 0.0.0.0
  port: 3000
  workers: 1
  timeout: 600
  debug: false

models:
  defaults:
    text: "gpt-3.5-turbo"

ollama:
  enabled: false

database:
  type: "sqlite"
  sqlite:
    path: "~/.openclaw/data.db"
    timeout: 60

cache:
  type: "memory"
  memory:
    max_size: 50MB

resources:
  memory_limit: "512M"
  cpu_limit: 0.5
  max_concurrent_requests: 1
  slow_down_requests: true

network:
  timeout: 300
  retry_attempts: 3
  retry_delay: 5

logging:
  level: "INFO"
  file: "~/.openclaw/logs/openclaw.log"
EOF
        ;;
    *)
        echo "Unknown model, using minimal configuration"
        cat > ~/.openclaw/config.yaml << 'EOF'
server:
  host: 0.0.0.0
  port: 3000
  workers: 1
  timeout: 600
  debug: false

models:
  defaults:
    text: "gpt-3.5-turbo"

ollama:
  enabled: false

database:
  type: "sqlite"
  sqlite:
    path: "~/.openclaw/data.db"
    timeout: 60

cache:
  type: "memory"
  memory:
    max_size: 25MB

resources:
  memory_limit: "256M"
  cpu_limit: 0.4
  max_concurrent_requests: 1

logging:
  level: "INFO"
  file: "~/.openclaw/logs/openclaw.log"
EOF
        ;;
esac

echo "Configuration created for $MODEL_TYPE"

# Optimize kernel parameters
sudo tee -a /etc/sysctl.conf << EOF
# File descriptor limits
fs.file-max = 4096

# Network optimization
net.core.somaxconn = 128

# Memory optimization (adjust based on device)
vm.swappiness = 20
vm.vfs_cache_pressure = 200
EOF

sudo sysctl -p

# ~/openclaw-monitor.sh
#!/bin/bash

LOG_FILE="$HOME/.openclaw/logs/monitor.log"
MODEL_TYPE=$(bash -c 'cat /proc/cpuinfo | grep "model name" | head -1 | grep -o "[0-9]*" | head -1')

# Set different thresholds based on model
if [ "$MODEL_TYPE" -gt 1400 ]; then
    # Raspberry Pi 4B+
    MAX_MEM_USAGE=80
    MAX_DISK_USAGE=85
else
    # Raspberry Pi 2/Zero 2 W
    MAX_MEM_USAGE=70
    MAX_DISK_USAGE=80
fi

# Check OpenClaw service status
if ! pgrep -f "openclaw" > /dev/null; then
    echo "$(date): OpenClaw service not running, restarting..." >> $LOG_FILE
    source ~/openclaw-env/bin/activate
    nohup ~/openclaw-env/bin/openclaw gateway start > ~/.openclaw/logs/openclaw.log 2>&1 &
fi

# Check memory usage
MEM_USAGE=$(free | awk 'NR==2{printf "%.0f", $3*100/$2}')
if (( $(echo "$MEM_USAGE > $MAX_MEM_USAGE" | bc -l) )); then
    echo "$(date): High memory usage: ${MEM_USAGE}%" >> $LOG_FILE
    
    # Restart service if memory usage is too high
    if [ $MEM_USAGE -gt 90 ]; then
        echo "$(date): Memory critical (${MEM_USAGE}%), restarting OpenClaw" >> $LOG_FILE
        pkill -f openclaw
        sleep 5
        source ~/openclaw-env/bin/activate
        nohup ~/openclaw-env/bin/openclaw gateway start > ~/.openclaw/logs/openclaw.log 2>&1 &
    fi
fi

# Check disk space
DISK_USAGE=$(df / | awk 'NR==2{print $5}' | sed 's/%//')
if [ $DISK_USAGE -gt $MAX_DISK_USAGE ]; then
    echo "$(date): High disk usage: ${DISK_USAGE}%" >> $LOG_FILE
    # Clean up old logs
    find ~/.openclaw/logs -name "*.log" -mtime +7 -delete
fi