Linux: gateway doesn't stay running (systemd service not installed)

Symptoms

• The gateway works while the terminal is open, but stops when you exit (or after SSH disconnects).
• systemctl --user status openclaw-gateway.service says the unit does not exist.
• openclaw gateway status shows not running after reboot.

Cause

The gateway is running in the foreground, but the systemd (user) service was not installed/enabled (or it points at an old OpenClaw install path).

Fix

1) Install (or reinstall) the gateway service

On the gateway host:

openclaw gateway install

If you recently switched install methods (npm ↔ git) or profiles, force a rewrite:

openclaw gateway install --force

2) Check the service status

systemctl --user status openclaw-gateway.service

Restart if needed:

systemctl --user restart openclaw-gateway.service

3) Keep the gateway running after logout (recommended on servers)

Enable systemd user lingering:

loginctl enable-linger "$USER"

Verify

• openclaw gateway status shows running.
• After logging out and back in (or after reboot), the gateway is still running.