clawdbot/docs/docker.md

summary, read_when

summary	read_when
Optional Docker-based setup and onboarding for Clawdbot	You want a containerized gateway instead of local installs You are validating the Docker flow

Docker (optional)

Docker is optional. Use it only if you want a containerized gateway or to validate the Docker flow.

This guide covers:

• Containerized Gateway (full Clawdbot in Docker)
• Per-session Agent Sandbox (host gateway + Docker-isolated agent tools)

Requirements

• Docker Desktop (or Docker Engine) + Docker Compose v2
• Enough disk for images + logs

Containerized Gateway (Docker Compose)

Quick start (recommended)

From repo root:

./docker-setup.sh

This script:

• builds the gateway image
• runs the onboarding wizard
• runs WhatsApp login
• starts the gateway via Docker Compose

It writes config/workspace on the host:

• ~/.clawdbot/
• ~/clawd

Manual flow (compose)

docker build -t clawdbot:local -f Dockerfile .
docker compose run --rm clawdbot-cli onboard
docker compose run --rm clawdbot-cli login
docker compose up -d clawdbot-gateway

Health check

docker compose exec clawdbot-gateway node dist/index.js health --token "$CLAWDBOT_GATEWAY_TOKEN"

E2E smoke test (Docker)

scripts/e2e/onboard-docker.sh

Notes

• Gateway bind defaults to lan for container use.
• The gateway container is the source of truth for sessions (~/.clawdbot/sessions).

Per-session Agent Sandbox (host gateway + Docker tools)

What it does

When agent.sandbox is enabled, non-main sessions run tools inside a Docker container. The gateway stays on your host, but the tool execution is isolated:

• one container per session (hard wall)
• per-session workspace folder mounted at /workspace
• allow/deny tool policy (deny wins)

Default behavior

• Image: clawdbot-sandbox:bookworm-slim
• One container per session
• Workspace per session under ~/.clawdbot/sandboxes
• Auto-prune: idle > 24h OR age > 7d
• Network: none by default (explicitly opt-in if you need egress)
• Default allow: bash, process, read, write, edit
• Default deny: browser, canvas, nodes, cron, discord, gateway

Enable sandboxing

{
  agent: {
    sandbox: {
      mode: "non-main", // off | non-main | all
      perSession: true,
      workspaceRoot: "~/.clawdbot/sandboxes",
      docker: {
        image: "clawdbot-sandbox:bookworm-slim",
        workdir: "/workspace",
        readOnlyRoot: true,
        tmpfs: ["/tmp", "/var/tmp", "/run"],
        network: "none",
        user: "1000:1000",
        capDrop: ["ALL"],
        env: { LANG: "C.UTF-8" },
        setupCommand: "apt-get update && apt-get install -y git curl jq",
        pidsLimit: 256,
        memory: "1g",
        memorySwap: "2g",
        cpus: 1,
        ulimits: {
          nofile: { soft: 1024, hard: 2048 },
          nproc: 256
        },
        seccompProfile: "/path/to/seccomp.json",
        apparmorProfile: "clawdbot-sandbox",
        dns: ["1.1.1.1", "8.8.8.8"],
        extraHosts: ["internal.service:10.0.0.5"]
      },
      tools: {
        allow: ["bash", "process", "read", "write", "edit"],
        deny: ["browser", "canvas", "nodes", "cron", "discord", "gateway"]
      },
      prune: {
        idleHours: 24, // 0 disables idle pruning
        maxAgeDays: 7  // 0 disables max-age pruning
      }
    }
  }
}

Hardening knobs live under agent.sandbox.docker: network, user, pidsLimit, memory, memorySwap, cpus, ulimits, seccompProfile, apparmorProfile, dns, extraHosts.

Build the default sandbox image

scripts/sandbox-setup.sh

This builds clawdbot-sandbox:bookworm-slim using Dockerfile.sandbox.

Sandbox browser image

To run the browser tool inside the sandbox, build the browser image:

scripts/sandbox-browser-setup.sh

This builds clawdbot-sandbox-browser:bookworm-slim using Dockerfile.sandbox-browser. The container runs Chromium with CDP enabled and an optional noVNC observer (headful via Xvfb).

Notes:

• Headful (Xvfb) reduces bot blocking vs headless.
• Headless can still be used by setting agent.sandbox.browser.headless=true.
• No full desktop environment (GNOME) is needed; Xvfb provides the display.

Use config:

{
  agent: {
    sandbox: {
      browser: { enabled: true }
    }
  }
}

Custom browser image:

{
  agent: {
    sandbox: { browser: { image: "my-clawdbot-browser" } }
  }
}

When enabled, the agent receives:

• a sandbox browser control URL (for the browser tool)
• a noVNC URL (if enabled and headless=false)

Remember: if you use an allowlist for tools, add browser (and remove it from deny) or the tool remains blocked. Prune rules (agent.sandbox.prune) apply to browser containers too.

Custom sandbox image

Build your own image and point config to it:

docker build -t my-clawdbot-sbx -f Dockerfile.sandbox .

{
  agent: {
    sandbox: { docker: { image: "my-clawdbot-sbx" } }
  }
}

Tool policy (allow/deny)

• deny wins over allow.
• If allow is empty: all tools (except deny) are available.
• If allow is non-empty: only tools in allow are available (minus deny).

Pruning strategy

Two knobs:

• prune.idleHours: remove containers not used in X hours (0 = disable)
• prune.maxAgeDays: remove containers older than X days (0 = disable)

Example:

• Keep busy sessions but cap lifetime: idleHours: 24, maxAgeDays: 7
• Never prune: idleHours: 0, maxAgeDays: 0

Security notes

• Hard wall only applies to tools (bash/read/write/edit).
• Host-only tools like browser/camera/canvas are blocked by default.
• Allowing browser in sandbox breaks isolation (browser runs on host).

Troubleshooting

• Image missing: build with scripts/sandbox-setup.sh or set agent.sandbox.docker.image.
• Container not running: it will auto-create per session on demand.
• Permission errors in sandbox: set docker.user to a UID:GID that matches your mounted workspace ownership (or chown the workspace folder).