OpenClaw + xCloud

Run Docker apps with OpenClaw on xCloud

Running Docker apps with OpenClaw means sending a message to your always-on agent from WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack or Discord and having it use the xCloud skill and MCP tools to scan the Compose file, deploy the app and report on its backups.

Skill: xcloud:deploy
Toolsets: sites, servers
Free with every xCloud account

Set up OpenClaw All OpenClaw guides

YouScan github.com/acme/api and tell me the ports xCloud would use.

git_compose-scanread-only

AgentThree services. Only api publishes a port, 8000. worker and db publish none, which is fine. Want a dry run on Frankfurt?

YouYes, staging hostname.

servers_sites_git_dockerdry run

AgentDry run clean: docker-compose.yml, port 8000, api-staging.acme.xcloud.site on Frankfurt. Reply yes to create it.

Last updated: October 2026. Keep a human in the loop: xCloud stops and asks before anything that creates, deploys, updates, reboots, deletes or buys.

Setup

How Do You Set Up OpenClaw to Run Docker apps on xCloud?

Connect OpenClaw once; every job on this account uses the same connection. Then ask in plain words.

1
Install the xCloud skill from ClawHub
This installs the nine xCloud skills into the active workspace skills folder. Add --global to install them into ~/.openclaw/skills for every local agent. The clawhub CLI installs the same listing with clawhub install xcloud.
Terminal
```
openclaw skills install @asif2bd/xcloud
```
2
Add the xCloud MCP server and sign in
Run these on the installation that owns the connector. The --auth oauth flag matters: openclaw mcp login only runs for HTTP servers saved with OAuth, so without it the login is refused. The login prints an authorization URL, and OpenClaw normally captures the redirect on a loopback address and saves the credentials; Settings, MCP, Sign in in the Control UI does the same. On the xCloud approval screen tick the teams and choose Read-only or Full access.
Terminal
```
openclaw mcp add xcloud \
  --url https://app.xcloud.host/mcp \
  --transport streamable-http \
  --auth oauth
openclaw mcp login xcloud
```
3
Check the skill and the connection
The first command lists the skills that are eligible to run in this environment, and xcloud should be among them. The second opens a live connection and reports the tools the server offers. A saved server entry proves nothing until the probe passes. Then ask who am I on xCloud.
Terminal
```
openclaw skills list --eligible
openclaw mcp doctor xcloud --probe
```

Check it worked

Then ask OpenClaw for the job itself, for example:

Prompt

Hey, scan the docker-compose.yml in github.com/acme/api and tell me which services and ports xCloud would use. Don't create anything.

In practice

How Does Docker apps Work from OpenClaw?

OpenClaw is a runtime you host yourself, so the conversation for this job usually starts on your phone. You write scan github.com/acme/api and tell me which services and ports xCloud would use, and OpenClaw answers in the same thread. The xCloud skill supplies the order of work: server first, then git_detect, then git_compose-scan, and only then a dry run of the Docker create. That order matters for Compose apps, because xCloud proxies to a host port the file publishes and the scan is the step that finds a file with no published port before it turns into a 502. The reply is a few lines of services and ports, not a block of JSON.

Approval is a reply in the chat. When OpenClaw has the dry run it names the server, the hostname and the Compose file it resolved and asks once. You answer yes, it sends the confirmed create, then polls the site status and tells you when the app answers. If you only installed the skill and never ran openclaw mcp login xcloud, the conversation stops at that create step, so run openclaw mcp doctor xcloud --probe once and you will know before you send a deploy from a train. A failed build comes back as a plain explanation from the diagnosis and a suggested correction, which you approve or decline the same way.

Automations suit the backup side of this job. Create one with a cron expression and --session isolated that reads the Docker backup list and settings for every app and announces the apps with no recent backup in your Telegram group. Taking backups yourself is a message away, with one habit to keep: the app is stopped while the snapshot runs, so send that message at a quiet hour.

OpenClaw specific: A server that hosts OpenClaw on xCloud is an agentic server and takes no second site, so it can never be the target of a Docker deploy. Name a separate Docker server in your message, or OpenClaw will get an incompatible_server refusal back. The skill's GET-only REST fallback can read but not create, which means a Docker deploy from chat needs the MCP connection, and a gateway on another host needs its own openclaw mcp reload before it sees the xcloud server.

What xCloud does for docker apps

xCloud reads the repository, scans the Compose file for services and ports before anything is created, previews the site with a dry run and deploys it behind its own nginx once you approve. Docker sites can be backed up on demand and on a schedule, and a failed deploy is diagnosed and retried on the same site.

Pick a Docker server. The agent uses the server you name, or lists your servers and asks. A Docker deploy needs a Docker server; any other stack answers with an incompatible_server refusal, and an agentic server never takes a second site. WordPress is not supported on Docker servers.
Detect the repository. git_detect reads the repository root for a Dockerfile or one of the four Compose file names, and checks access and server compatibility. It creates nothing, and an access problem is never worked around by naming an app type by hand.
Scan the Compose file. git_compose-scan runs before the dry run. It lists the services and the host ports the file publishes, resolves which Compose file name it found, and suggests a primary port. The agent never guesses the port.
Dry run, then one approval. The agent sends the Docker create request with dry_run set to true and shows the resolved configuration: compose file, port, address and warnings. It asks once, naming the server and the URL, before sending the same body with confirm set to true and an idempotency key.
Poll and verify. A 202 means queued, not running. The agent polls the site status until it is terminal, reads failed_steps and the SSL block, and fetches the URL before it calls the app live. A 502 here usually means the Compose file publishes no port.
Back up and recover. The agent can take a Docker backup, read the backup list and settings, and add a note to a backup. If a deploy fails it reads the diagnosis, proposes a fix from the correctable fields and retries on the same site after your approval. Restoring a backup is a dashboard step.

Reference

Docker apps Settings and Limits on xCloud

The facts OpenClaw works within when it runs Docker apps. Where a row names the dashboard, that step stays yours to take there.

Setting or limit	What applies
Supported inputs	A Dockerfile for a single container, or a Compose file for one or more services, on a Docker server. Go, Python, Rust and Java apps all deploy this way
Server stack	Docker servers only. The Docker deploy on any other stack, including an agentic server, answers 422 with the code incompatible_server
Which Compose file runs	docker-compose.yml at the repository root. A file named compose.yaml, compose.yml or docker-compose.yaml, or one in a subdirectory, deploys through the pinned Docker create with docker.compose_file set to the path the scan resolved
Public port	xCloud's nginx owns ports 80 and 443 and proxies to one host port of 1024 or higher on 127.0.0.1. xCloud runs your Compose file as-is and never rewrites its ports mapping
Port refusals	A port another site already holds is refused as port_unavailable. A port the file does not publish is refused as port_not_published, with the published ports listed
No published port	A Compose file that publishes no port is accepted and then answers 502, so the scan is the step that catches it
Private registries	The deploy runs docker compose pull and never docker login, so an image from a private registry cannot be pulled. Build the image from source instead
Environment and redeploys	Send environment values through env_file_content. A redeploy runs git reset --hard and git clean -df in the site directory, so uncommitted server-side changes are lost
What a Docker backup holds	Named volumes, eligible bind mounts, the Compose file and the app's .env, in an encrypted snapshot. The app is stopped while the backup captures and restarted afterwards
Backup tools	Take a backup, list backups, read the count and the settings, change the settings, add a note and delete a backup. Remote copies go to a storage provider you add in the dashboard
Restores	A restore replaces the app's data in place, so it stays a dashboard step: Site, Site Backup, Previous Backups, Restore Backup
Dot-prefixed paths	A 403 on a path that starts with a dot is the dot-path allowlist. It is fixed with docker.allowed_dot_paths in the deploy settings, without a rebuild

Rules OpenClaw has to follow

The Compose file is scanned before the dry run, and the port always comes from the scan, never from a guess.
A file that binds ports 80 or 443, publishes no port or pulls from a private registry is not deployed as-is. The agent shows the rewrite, such as publishing 127.0.0.1:<high port>:<app port> and building the image from source, and the change goes into your repository.
Creating a site, deploying, redeploying and deleting a backup stop for your approval. A backup runs without a separate prompt but stops the app while it captures, so ask for one at a quiet time.
A failed Docker site is retried in place with corrections. It is never deleted and recreated, because it keeps its domain and port.
Restoring a backup, adding a backup storage provider and changing a live site's domain are dashboard steps; the agent gives you the path and the dashboard link xCloud returned.

Example prompts

What Can You Ask OpenClaw to Do for Docker apps?

Type these as written and swap in your own repository, site and server names. Reads and routine actions such as backups, cache purges, PageSpeed scans and vulnerability scans run straight away; creating, deploying, updating, rebooting, deleting, buying or starting a broken-link scan stops and asks first.

Prompt

Hey, scan the docker-compose.yml in github.com/acme/api and tell me which services and ports xCloud would use. Don't create anything.

Prompt

Deploy github.com/acme/shop to the Frankfurt Docker server as a Compose app. Show me the dry run here and wait for my yes.

Prompt

Every Monday at 8, check the backups of all my Docker apps and post the ones with no backup in a week. Change nothing.

Prompt

Scan the docker-compose.yml in github.com/acme/api and tell me which services and ports xCloud would use.

Prompt

Deploy github.com/acme/shop to the Frankfurt Docker server as a Compose app. Scan the compose file first, show me the services and ports, then wait for my approval before creating anything.

Prompt

Deploy the main branch of github.com/acme/api to my Docker server as a Compose app on a staging hostname.

Prompt

My Compose app on notes.example.com answers 502. Check which port its compose file publishes and which port xCloud is using.

Prompt

Take a backup of the Docker app on notes.example.com now, before I upgrade it, and tell me when it is done.

Prompt

Show the backup settings and the last backup of every Docker app on this team, and list the ones with no schedule.

Prompt

The last deploy of the API site failed. Diagnose it, show me the settings I can correct, fix the build command and retry on the same site.

OpenClaw and Docker apps: Frequently Asked Questions

What people ask before they let OpenClaw run Docker apps through xCloud.

Does OpenClaw need the skill and the MCP server to deploy a Docker app?

Yes, for a deploy from chat. The MCP server provides the tools that create the site, and the skill provides the order of work: scan before the dry run, one approval, then polling. The skill alone falls back to a GET-only wrapper that cannot create anything.

Can an OpenClaw automation take Docker backups for me?

It can, but a read-only report is the safer job. A backup stops the app while it captures, and an automation runs with nobody watching, so schedule the backups themselves in xCloud's Docker backup settings and let OpenClaw announce which apps are overdue.

Which servers can run a Docker app on xCloud?

Docker servers. Node.js, PHP and static builds use Nginx or OpenLiteSpeed servers, and the Docker deploy on any other stack is refused with an incompatible_server code. An OpenClaw, Hermes, Paperclip or DeepSeek Harness server hosts only the site created at provisioning, so it takes no Docker app.

Why does the agent scan the Compose file before deploying?

xCloud proxies to the host port your file publishes and never rewrites it. The scan lists the services and ports, so the agent picks a port that is free on the server and published by the file instead of guessing.

Why does my Compose app answer 502 after it deployed?

The most common cause is a Compose file that publishes no port: xCloud accepts it, then its nginx has nothing to proxy to. Publish the app on 127.0.0.1 with a high port, such as 127.0.0.1:8080:8080, and redeploy.

Can an agent deploy an image from a private registry?

Not as-is. The deploy runs docker compose pull and never docker login, so a private image cannot be pulled. Build the image from source in the Compose file, or deploy a repository that does.

Can an agent back up and restore a Docker app?

It can take a backup, read the backup list and settings, change the settings, add a note and delete a backup. Restoring replaces the app's data in place, so you do that in the dashboard under Site, Site Backup, Previous Backups.

Can I run WordPress as a Docker app on xCloud?

No. Creating a WordPress site on a Docker server is refused because WordPress is not supported on Docker servers. Use an Nginx or OpenLiteSpeed server for WordPress.

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