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Experiment safely with OpenClaw in a Blaxel sandbox

Run OpenClaw (formerly Clawdbot, Moltbot) safely inside a Blaxel Sandbox instead of your own computer.

10 min read

Ah OpenClaw - the lobster-bot everyone's talking about!

Over the last two weeks, my LinkedIn feed has been full of commentary about OpenClaw (formerly Moltbot / Clawdbot). People are genuinely excited about its capabilities, but that excitement is tempered with worries about security. No one loves the idea of giving an AI agent full access to their personal data.

So I thought, why not run it in a sandbox instead?

Sandboxes are minimal compute environments that guarantee security and isolation. Placing an agent in a sandboxed environment effectively "fences" it in, allowing you to explore its capabilities without worrying about unauthorized data access or risky commands.

After some trial and error (and some critical help from our engineering team), I was able to get OpenClaw running in a Blaxel sandbox. I also connected it to my Discord server so I could chat with it and give it instructions. Here's an example of it in action:

Screenshot 2026-02-07 at 7.53.35 PM.png

If all the buzz about OpenClaw has you itching to try it out, running it in a secure, isolated Blaxel sandbox is a great way to experiment with it.

Here's what you need to get started:

Then, follow the steps below.

Create a sandbox

  1. Download and install the Blaxel CLI and log in to your Blaxel account:

    shell
    bl login

  2. In a new directory, install the Blaxel Python SDK (there's also a TypeScript SDK):

    shell
    python3 -m venv .venv source .venv/bin/activate pip install blaxel

  3. Create a script named main.py in the same directory:

    python
    import asyncio import os import sys from datetime import datetime, timedelta, UTC from blaxel.core import SandboxInstance async def main(): # Create sandbox sandbox = await SandboxInstance.create_if_not_exists({ "name": "openclaw-sandbox", "image": "blaxel/node:latest", "memory": 4096, "ports": [{ "target": 18789, "protocol": "HTTP" }], "region": "us-pdx-1", }) # Create preview preview = await sandbox.previews.create_if_not_exists({ "metadata": {"name": "openclaw-gateway"}, "spec": { "port": 18789, "public": False, } }) # Create preview token # Valid for 24 hours expires_at = datetime.now(UTC) + timedelta(minutes=1440) token = await preview.tokens.create(expires_at) # Get preview URL and token print(f"Preview URL: {preview.spec.url}") print(f"Token: {token}") if __name__ == "__main__": asyncio.run(main())

    This script:

    • creates a new Blaxel sandbox named openclaw-sandbox using Blaxel's Node.js base image;
    • opens the sandbox port 18789, which OpenClaw uses for WebSocket and HTTP connections; and
    • creates a preview URL for the service running on that port;
    • creates an access token for the preview URL, valid for 24 hours.

  4. Run the script to create the sandbox and preview URL:

    shell
    python main.py

    Once complete, the script displays the generated preview URL (for example, https://b186....preview.bl.run) and preview URL access token (for example, cbba622560db78e...). Note these values, as you will require them in subsequent steps.

Install and configure OpenClaw

  1. Connect to the Blaxel sandbox terminal:

    shell
    bl connect sandbox openclaw-sandbox

  2. Execute the following commands to install OpenClaw in the sandbox:

    shell
    apk add curl bash make cmake g++ build-base linux-headers jq npm install -g openclaw@latest

    For detailed installation instructions, refer to the OpenClaw documentation.

  3. Configure OpenClaw:

    shell
    openclaw onboard

    Read and accept the security warning to proceed. Select the Quickstart mode to proceed. You will be prompted for more information, including choosing a model provider, channels, skills and hooks. At minimum, you must select a model provider and model and enter the required API key. All other steps are optional and can be skipped if you don't have the details yet.

  4. Once the configuration process is complete, OpenClaw will display status output. This will usually include a message that systemd services are unavailable. This is expected as, for performance reasons, Blaxel sandboxes do not include the systemd process manager.

  5. The status output also displays a tokenized dashboard link. Note the dashboard token (for example, e782efff66...), as it will be required in the next step.

    Screenshot 2026-02-07 at 7.53.44 PM.png

Configure OpenClaw Gateway access

  1. Edit the OpenClaw configuration file at /blaxel/.openclaw/openclaw.json and add the preview URL to the list of allowed origins:

    json
    "gateway": { "controlUi": { "allowedOrigins": ["https://b186....preview.bl.run"] }, // ... }

    An alternative way to do this is with jq:

    shell
    jq '.gateway.controlUi = {"allowedOrigins":["https://b186....preview.bl.run"]}' openclaw.json > openclaw.json.new && mv openclaw.json.new openclaw.json

  2. Start the OpenClaw Gateway service manually, and keep it running.

    shell
    openclaw gateway --bind lan --verbose

    Confirm that you see log messages like the ones below about the Gateway service starting and listening for requests:

    shell
    14:25:22 [gateway] agent model: google/gemini-2.5-flash-preview-09-2025 14:25:22 [gateway] listening on ws://0.0.0.0:18789 (PID 1660) 14:25:22 [gateway] log file: /tmp/openclaw/openclaw-2026-02-06.log 14:25:22 [ws] → event health seq=1 clients=0 presenceVersion=1 healthVersion=2

    IMPORTANT: This is the OpenClaw Gateway process. Make sure that it is running for the rest of these instructions.

  3. Browse to the sandbox preview URL, remembering to also include the preview URL access token in the URL string - for example, https://b186....preview.bl.run?bl_preview_token=cbba.... This displays the OpenClaw Control UI.

  4. Navigate to the Overview page and enter the dashboard token in the Gateway Token field.

    Screenshot 2026-02-07 at 7.53.55 PM.png

  5. The Control UI also displays the error pairing required. This is because the OpenClaw Gateway requires a one-time pairing approval for connections from a new browser/device.

    Screenshot 2026-02-07 at 7.54.04 PM.png

  6. Connect to the sandbox terminal in a separate terminal window (to not kill the gateway process running):

    shell
    bl connect sandbox openclaw-sandbox

  7. List the available pairing requests:

    shell
    openclaw devices list

  8. Typically, there will only be one pending pairing request. Approve it using its request identifier:

    shell
    openclaw devices approve f06d4e9b...

  9. Browse to the sandbox preview URL again. The Control UI should now be fully functional and ready to accept requests, verified by the health check in the top right corner.

    Screenshot 2026-02-07 at 7.54.16 PM.png

Test OpenClaw

Navigate to the Chat page, enter a prompt, and wait for a reply to confirm that the OpenClaw agent is working:

Screenshot 2026-02-07 at 7.54.30 PM.png

NOTE: As mentioned earlier, the OpenClaw Gateway process must remain running while you interact with the agent. However, if you end your interactive shell session with the Blaxel sandbox, the Gateway process will terminate automatically as well. To keep the Gateway process running even if you're not in an active shell session with the sandbox, create and execute the following script:

python
import asyncio import os import sys from blaxel.core import SandboxInstance async def main(): # Get sandbox sandbox = await SandboxInstance.get("openclaw-sandbox") # Start process process = await sandbox.process.exec({ "name": "start-openclaw-gateway", "command": "openclaw gateway --bind lan --verbose", "restart_on_failure": True, "max_restarts": 5 }) if __name__ == "__main__": asyncio.run(main())

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