openclaw-session-cleanup
v1.0.0Diagnose and stabilize long-running OpenClaw deployments that accumulate stale sessions, unreaped agents, browser-control timeouts, gateway websocket 1006 closures, or memory pressure on small VPS hosts. Use when OpenClaw shows too many active sessions, browser control service timeout, gateway abnor...
Installation
OpenClaw Session Cleanup
Use this skill when the runtime becomes unstable after long uptime, especially on small hosts such as 1 vCPU / 2 GB RAM.
Trigger Pattern
Treat these as the main signals:
Sessions: 10+ activeAgents: 5+browser control service timeoutgateway 1006 abnormal closure- repeated gateway disconnects or slow recovery after idle periods
What To Do
- Inspect the current runtime state.
- Prune stale sessions first.
- If the runtime stays unhealthy, clear sessions.
- Reduce runtime ceilings for sessions, agents, and browsers.
- Add recurring cleanup and a watchdog when the host is expected to run for days.
Immediate Commands
Run:
openclaw sessions
openclaw sessions prune
openclaw status
If the runtime is still unhealthy, escalate to:
openclaw sessions clear
openclaw status
Healthy target after cleanup:
Sessions: 1-3Agents: 3Gateway reachablebrowser running
Safe Runtime Defaults
For 1 vCPU / 2 GB RAM, prefer:
maxSessions = 5sessionTTL = 30mmaxAgents = 3maxBrowsers = 1swap = 2G
Use the starter config at {baseDir}/templates/openclaw.json.
Automation
Install periodic pruning:
bash "{baseDir}/scripts/install-cron-prune.sh"
Install watchdog unit files:
bash "{baseDir}/scripts/install-watchdog.sh"
Render a tuned runtime config:
bash "{baseDir}/scripts/render-openclaw-config.sh"
Browser Constraint
Treat browser control as the heaviest resource consumer on a small VPS.
Recommended mode:
openclaw browser start --single
Swap
If the host has no swap, add 2G:
fallocate -l 2G /swapfile
chmod 600 /swapfile
mkswap /swapfile
swapon /swapfile
free -h
References
- Detailed runbook:
{baseDir}/docs/openclaw.session_cleanup_v1.md - Runtime template:
{baseDir}/templates/openclaw.json - Watchdog service:
{baseDir}/templates/openclaw-watchdog.service - Watchdog timer:
{baseDir}/templates/openclaw-watchdog.timer