OpenClaw Doctor Guide: How to Fix Config, Auth, and Startup Problems

If you want the short answer, openclaw doctor is the fastest way to diagnose and often repair OpenClaw when the Gateway will not start, config validation fails, a channel auth path looks wrong, or the system feels half-broken after changes. Run openclaw doctor first, read the findings, then use openclaw doctor --repair only after you understand what it wants to change.

That is the safe path.

A lot of OpenClaw problems feel mysterious at first. The dashboard will not load. A daemon install seems stale. You edited config and now the Gateway refuses to boot. In those moments, people often make things worse by manually changing five files before they have a clean diagnosis.

Doctor exists to stop that spiral.

According to the official openclaw doctor docs, the command is built for health checks plus quick fixes across the Gateway and channels. In practice, it is the first command to reach for when setup drift turns into startup pain.

When openclaw doctor is the right tool

Doctor is the right choice when you are dealing with problems like:

• the Gateway will not start after config edits
• onboarding tells you to fix legacy or invalid config first
• auth or secret-reference state seems inconsistent
• channel setup is behaving strangely after prior changes
• service installs or old environment overrides are getting in the way
• sandbox settings, tokens, or local service assumptions do not line up with reality

If the system worked yesterday and feels broken today, doctor is usually the cleanest first stop.

If the system is already healthy and you just want to inspect live status, OpenClaw Health Checks Guide is the better fit. That distinction matters. Doctor is for diagnosis and repair. Health commands are for live visibility.

What openclaw doctor actually checks

The docs describe doctor as more than a simple ping command. It looks across the setup for common failure points and can apply safe repairs.

The examples in the docs include:

openclaw doctor
openclaw doctor --repair
openclaw doctor --deep
openclaw doctor --repair --non-interactive
openclaw doctor --generate-gateway-token

A few details are especially useful:

• --repair applies recommended repairs without prompting
• --fix is an alias for --repair
• --deep scans system services for extra Gateway installs
• --generate-gateway-token can generate and configure a gateway token
• repair runs can write a backup of ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json.bak

That last one is worth remembering. Doctor is designed to be practical, but it is not magic. You still want to know what it is modifying and why.

The safest way to use doctor

Step 1: start with a read-only run

Start here:

openclaw doctor

This gives you the cleanest picture of what is wrong before you touch anything.

A surprising number of issues are easy to understand once doctor spells them out. Maybe the config contains invalid keys. Maybe an auth reference cannot resolve in the current command path. Maybe Docker is missing while sandbox mode is enabled. That is much better than guessing.

Step 2: read the exact category of failure

Do not treat doctor output as background noise.

Look for what kind of problem it is actually describing:

• config shape and schema problems
• auth and credential resolution problems
• service or daemon conflicts
• channel-specific issues
• environment overrides
• migration or legacy-format issues

Your next move depends on that category.

If the problem is config shape, you may also want OpenClaw Configuration Guide. If the install itself never felt clean, review OpenClaw Onboarding Guide.

Step 3: use repair only after you understand the recommendation

If the diagnosis is clear and the repair makes sense, then move to:

openclaw doctor --repair

You can also use the alias:

openclaw doctor --fix

This is where people need a little discipline. Do not reach for --force just because you are impatient. The docs reserve force for more aggressive repair behavior, including overwriting custom service config when needed. That can be useful, but it is not a first move.

Step 4: use deep scan when the machine may have old or duplicate installs

If the problem feels like service confusion, old installs, or duplicate Gateway state, use:

openclaw doctor --deep

The docs say deep scan checks system services for extra Gateway installs. That is exactly the kind of problem that can make a setup feel haunted. You fix one thing, but some older service keeps reintroducing bad state or stale credentials.

Step 5: verify that the system is actually healthy afterward

Once doctor finishes, do not assume success. Verify it.

A practical verification sequence is:

openclaw gateway status
openclaw health --verbose
openclaw dashboard

If the Gateway is up, health looks normal, and the dashboard opens, you are back on solid ground.

Common problems doctor helps with

Invalid or outdated config

The configuration docs are strict. Unknown keys, malformed types, or invalid values can keep the Gateway from starting. Doctor helps surface those exact errors and, when appropriate, repair them.

This is especially important because startup failures after config edits often feel bigger than they really are. A single bad key can make the whole system look dead.

Auth paths that do not resolve cleanly

The doctor docs mention SecretRef-managed token and password cases explicitly. If secrets are unavailable in the current command path, doctor reports a warning instead of blindly writing plaintext fallbacks.

That is good behavior. You want honest diagnosis, not fake success.

Legacy or migrated state

The docs also mention migrations for older shapes such as cron job storage and talk config. If you have been running OpenClaw across multiple versions, this matters. Sometimes the problem is not a broken feature. It is older state that needs to be normalized.

Service or environment conflicts

The macOS section in the doctor docs calls out a good example: launchctl environment overrides for gateway token or password can keep causing unauthorized errors even when your config file looks correct.

That is the broader lesson with doctor. It sees across layers that people often inspect one at a time.

Doctor versus logs versus health

A lot of troubleshooting gets cleaner once you separate these roles.

Use doctor when you need diagnosis plus repair guidance

Doctor is best for setup, config, auth, service, and migration problems.

Use health and status when you want live operational visibility

If the question is what is working right now, use commands like openclaw status, openclaw health, and openclaw health --verbose.

Use logs when you need the event stream

If the failure is happening live and you need to see reconnect loops, auth failures, or channel events, use:

openclaw logs
openclaw logs --follow

The right tool depends on the job. Doctor is the diagnostic mechanic. Health tells you how the car is running right now. Logs show the noise it is making.

A practical repair workflow that saves time

When OpenClaw feels broken, this sequence is usually better than improvising:

1. run openclaw doctor
2. identify the exact class of problem
3. run openclaw doctor --repair only if the recommendation is sensible
4. use openclaw doctor --deep if old installs or service confusion are likely
5. verify with openclaw gateway status, openclaw health --verbose, and the dashboard
6. only then return to channels, skills, or custom config changes

That order prevents the classic mistake of repairing symptoms instead of causes.

Useful follow-up reads:

• Setup Guide
• Workspace Files
• OpenClaw Onboarding Guide
• OpenClaw Configuration Guide
• OpenClaw Dashboard Guide
• OpenClaw Health Checks Guide

Official references:

• openclaw doctor docs
• Configuration docs
• Health checks docs
• OpenClaw on GitHub

Final take

The smartest way to use openclaw doctor is simple: let it tell you what class of problem you have before you start poking at config, auth, or service files by hand.

That reduces panic. It also reduces collateral damage.

And in a system with channels, services, workspaces, and model auth all touching the same setup, that discipline is worth a lot.

FAQ

What is openclaw doctor for?

It is a troubleshooting and repair command for OpenClaw. It helps diagnose issues with config, auth, channels, services, and related setup problems, and it can apply safe fixes when appropriate.

Should I run openclaw doctor before --repair?

Yes. A read-only run first helps you understand the problem and decide whether the suggested repair is actually the right move.

What does openclaw doctor --deep do?

The official docs say it scans system services for extra Gateway installs. Use it when you suspect duplicate services, stale installs, or confusing service state across the machine.

Is --fix different from --repair?

No. The docs say --fix is an alias for --repair.

What if onboarding tells me to run doctor first?

Do it. The onboarding docs explicitly note that invalid or legacy config can trigger a prompt to run doctor before continuing. That usually means there is real setup drift that should be cleaned up first.

Should I use --force right away?

Usually no. Force is for more aggressive repairs. Start with openclaw doctor, then --repair, and only reach for --force when you understand why the normal repair path is not enough.