OpenClaw 2.0 Upgrade Guide for VPS
How to upgrade an OpenClaw install on a VPS to v2026.8.2: backup, update --dry-run, doctor --fix migrations for OpenProse and codex routes, restart, health check and rollback.
OpenClaw 2.0 launched as v2026.8.1, and v2026.8.2 is the current follow-up release as checked on 2026-09-03. The 2.0 release carried migrations that need a manual doctor run.
Upgrade sequence
- openclaw backup create --output ~/Backups/openclaw --verify
- openclaw update --dry-run
- openclaw update
- openclaw doctor, then openclaw doctor --fix for the documented OpenProse and OpenAI route migrations
- openclaw gateway restart
- openclaw health
Breaking changes in v2026.8.1
The OpenProse plugin was removed, and the v2026.8.1 OpenAI route migration covers codex/* and openai-codex/* model references, provider config, stored sessions and automation routes, migrating them to openai/*. Sessions and transcripts moved into SQLite. Some legacy stores can only be migrated with the Gateway stopped.
Rollback
Rollback has two layers: reinstall older code with openclaw update --tag <known-good-version> while keeping current state, and restore state with openclaw backup restore only when the older code cannot use the migrated config or database.
Docker and RAM
At least 6 GB RAM applies to a local source image build. Pre-built images avoid that build requirement, so it is not a universal runtime minimum. ClawDock helpers were retired in v2026.8.2 in favour of Docker Compose and the OpenClaw CLI.
Public VPS security
Do not publish the Gateway port directly to the public Internet. Review the Docker DOCKER-USER firewall chain and keep metrics behind Gateway authentication.