OpenClaw Not Working? Here's What to Check First

You open OpenClaw and… nothing. Or it was working yesterday and today it's not. Or it starts up but then just sits there. Whatever the specific problem is, you're not alone — this is one of the most common things people ask us about.

Before you panic, work through this list. Most OpenClaw issues come down to one of five things.

1. Is the service actually running?

OpenClaw runs as a background service on your computer. Sometimes it quietly stops — after a system update, a crash, or just because your computer restarted and it didn't start back up automatically.

The fix: look for OpenClaw in your system tray (the little icons in the corner of your screen) or in your applications menu. If you don't see it running, try launching it again from scratch.

2. Did something update recently?

System updates — whether it's your operating system or OpenClaw itself — are the number one cause of sudden breakage. If everything was fine yesterday and broken today, think about what changed.

If OpenClaw updated itself automatically, there's sometimes a mismatch between the new version and your existing settings. The fix is usually re-entering your configuration details.

3. Check your API key

OpenClaw needs an API key to talk to the AI. If your API key expired, was revoked, or was entered incorrectly, OpenClaw will seem broken even though nothing is actually wrong with the software itself.

Go into your OpenClaw settings and double-check that your API key is still there and correct. Look for any red warning icons or "unauthorized" messages.

4. Is your internet connection working?

OpenClaw needs the internet to function — it sends your messages to an AI service and gets responses back. If your connection is slow, dropped, or behind a VPN that's blocking things, OpenClaw will appear to hang or not respond.

Try loading a website in your browser. If that works, the internet isn't the issue. If you're on a VPN, try turning it off temporarily.

5. Restart everything

Yes, really. Close OpenClaw completely (not just the window — actually quit it), wait 30 seconds, and reopen it. If that doesn't work, restart your computer. This solves a surprising number of issues that have no other obvious cause.

Still not working?

If you've worked through all five of these and OpenClaw still isn't working, the issue is something more specific to your setup. That's exactly what we're here for.

Take a screenshot of what you're seeing — whatever error message or blank screen is in front of you — and send it to us. We'll walk you through the fix step by step.