🔒 Security & Compliance

OpenClaw Security: Safe Local Deployment & Compliance Guide

OpenClaw is designed with security-first principles for autonomous AI deployment. It runs entirely on your local machine, supports sandboxed execution environments, enforces permission scoping, and provides comprehensive audit logging. CrowdStrike has reviewed the platform's security architecture.

How Does OpenClaw Ensure Security?

OpenClaw uses a multi-layered security model: local-first execution keeps data on your machine, sandboxed environments isolate agent actions, permission scoping restricts resource access, and audit logs track every action for compliance review.
🏠

Local-First Architecture

All processing happens on your machine. No data is transmitted to external servers unless you explicitly configure a cloud LLM API. Your data stays yours.

📦

Sandboxed Execution

Agent actions execute in isolated sandboxes. File system access, network requests, and system calls are contained within configurable boundaries.

🔑

Permission Scoping

Fine-grained permission model controls which directories, APIs, and system resources an agent can access. Principle of least privilege by default.

📋

Audit Logging

Every agent action is logged with timestamps, input parameters, and outcomes. Audit trails support compliance reviews and incident investigation.

🔐

Encrypted Communications

All API calls to cloud LLMs are encrypted via TLS 1.3. Local API keys are stored in encrypted configuration files with OS-level keyring integration.

🛡️

Community Security Reviews

Open-source codebase with 68,000+ GitHub stars ensures continuous community security review. Vulnerability reports are handled via responsible disclosure.

Security Best Practices for OpenClaw Deployment

Follow these ordered steps to deploy OpenClaw securely in any environment, from personal development machines to enterprise production systems.

  1. Step 1: Run in a Docker Container

    Containerize OpenClaw to isolate it from your host system. Use the official Docker image with resource limits configured.

    docker run -d --name openclaw \
  --memory=4g --cpus=2 \
  --read-only \
  openclaw/openclaw:latest

  2. Step 2: Configure Permission Scoping

    Restrict file system access to only the directories your agent needs.

    openclaw config set permissions.filesystem \
  --allow ~/documents ~/projects \
  --deny / /etc /var

  3. Step 3: Enable Audit Logging

    Turn on comprehensive audit logging for compliance and monitoring.

    openclaw config set logging.audit true
openclaw config set logging.level info
openclaw config set logging.output ./logs/audit.json

  4. Step 4: Use API Key Encryption

    Store sensitive API keys in the OS keyring rather than plain text config files.

    openclaw config set security.keyring true
openclaw secrets add openai-key sk-your-key

  5. Step 5: Review and Rotate Credentials

    Regularly review agent permissions and rotate API keys.

    openclaw audit review --last 30d
openclaw secrets rotate openai-key

Independent Security Analysis

CrowdStrike, a leading cybersecurity firm, published a comprehensive analysis of OpenClaw's security architecture. The report confirms that OpenClaw follows safe deployment patterns when properly configured with sandboxing and permission scoping.
📄 Read CrowdStrike's Analysis →

Security FAQ

Common questions about OpenClaw security and compliance.