---
title: "KiloClaw Dashboard Reference"
description: "Managing your KiloClaw instance from the dashboard"
---

# KiloClaw Dashboard

This page covers everything you can do from the KiloClaw dashboard. For getting started, see [KiloClaw Overview](/docs/kiloclaw/overview).

{% image src="/docs/img/kiloclaw/dashboard.png" alt="Connect account screen" width="800" caption="The KiloClaw Dashboard" /%}

## Personal and Organization Instances

The dashboard controls are the same for personal and organization-scoped KiloClaw instances. Organization instances are selected from the organization context and are listed separately from your **Personal** instance. Availability depends on your organization membership and KiloClaw entitlement.

## Instance Status

Your instance is always in one of these states as indicated by the status label at the top of your dashboard:

| Status | Label | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| **Running** | Machine Online | Your agent is online and reachable |
| **Stopped** | Machine Stopped | The machine is off, but all your files and data are preserved |
| **Provisioned** | Provisioned | Your instance has been created but never started |
| **Destroying** | Destroying | The instance is being permanently deleted |

## Instance Controls

There are four actions you can take on your instance. Which ones are available depends on the current status.

### ▶️ Start Machine

Boots your instance. If this is the first time starting after provisioning, the machine is created; otherwise, the existing machine resumes. Can take up to 60 seconds.

Available when the instance is **stopped** or **provisioned**.

### 🔄 Restart OpenClaw

Restarts just the OpenClaw process without rebooting the machine. This is a quick way to recover from a process-level issue — active sessions will briefly disconnect and reconnect automatically.

Available when the instance is **running**.

### ↩️ Redeploy

Stops the machine, applies your current configuration (environment variables, secrets, channel tokens), and starts it again. When redeploying, you have two options:

- **Redeploy** — Redeploys using the same platform version your instance was originally set up with. Use this when you only need to apply configuration changes without changing the underlying platform.
- **Upgrade & Redeploy** — Upgrades your instance to the latest supported platform version, then redeploys. Use this to pick up new features and fixes from the changelog.

**Your files, git repos, cron jobs, and everything on your persistent volume are preserved.** Redeploy is not a factory reset — think of it as "apply config and restart" (or "upgrade and restart" if you choose **Upgrade & Redeploy**).

You should redeploy when:

- The changelog shows "Redeploy Required" or "Redeploy Suggested" (use **Upgrade & Redeploy**)
- You've changed channel tokens or secrets in Settings (use **Redeploy**)
- You want to pick up the latest platform updates (use **Upgrade & Redeploy**)

Available when the instance is **running**.

### 🩺 OpenClaw Doctor

Runs diagnostics and automatically fixes common configuration issues. This is the recommended first step when something isn't working. Output is shown in real time.

Available when the instance is **running**.

## Gateway Process

The Gateway Process tab shows the health of the OpenClaw process running inside your machine:

- **State** — Whether the process is Running, Stopped, Starting, Stopping, Crashed, or Shutting Down
- **Uptime** — How long it's been running since the last start
- **Restarts** — How many times the process has been automatically restarted
- **Last Exit** — The exit code and timestamp from the last time the process stopped or crashed

If the gateway crashes, it's automatically restarted. The machine itself can be running even when the gateway process is down — they're independent.

{% callout type="note" %}
Gateway process info is only available when the machine is running.
{% /callout %}

## Instance Specs

The specs of your instance, including number of CPUs, memory, and storage, are visible at the top right of the instance controls section.

## Settings

### Changing the Model

Select a model from the dropdown and click **Save & Provision**. The API key is platform-managed and refreshes automatically when you save — you never need to enter one. The key has a 30-day expiry.

For access to the full catalog of 335+ models, use the `/model` and `/models` commands in the [Control UI Chat](/docs/kiloclaw/control-ui#changing-models).

### Channels

Kilo Chat is always available as KiloClaw's first-party channel and does not need a token. You can also connect Telegram, Discord, and Slack by entering bot tokens in the Settings tab. See [Connecting Chat Platforms](/docs/kiloclaw/chat-platforms) for setup instructions.

{% callout type="info" %}
After saving channel tokens, you need to **Redeploy** or **Restart OpenClaw** for the changes to take effect.
{% /callout %}

### Version Pinning

You can pin your instance to a specific OpenClaw version and variant from the Settings tab. This gives you control over when you upgrade — your instance stays on the pinned version until you choose to change it.

Select a version and variant from the dropdowns and click **Save**. To return to automatic updates, clear the version pin and save.

See [Version Pinning](/docs/kiloclaw/control-ui/version-pinning) for details.

### Version Status Indicators

The Settings tab shows badges indicating your OpenClaw version status:

- **Update available** — A newer OpenClaw version is available in the catalog. Use **Upgrade & Redeploy** to move to that version.
- **Modified** — OpenClaw was updated on this machine independently of the image. Redeploying will revert to the image version.

These indicators help you track whether your running version is up to date or if a newer version exists in the catalog.

### Restore Default Config

If your OpenClaw configuration gets corrupted — for example, if the agent edits `openclaw.json` and introduces an error — you can restore it without a full redeploy.

In **Settings > Danger Zone**, click **Restore Config**. This will:

1. Back up your current `openclaw.json` to `/root/.openclaw/`
2. Rewrite `openclaw.json` from your environment variables (channel tokens, model settings, etc.)
3. Restart the gateway

Your files, workspace, and persistent data are not affected. Only the OpenClaw configuration file is reset.

> 💡 **Tip**
> If your instance is in a crash loop and you can't access the Control UI, try **Restore Config** from the KiloClaw dashboard first before redeploying.

{% callout type="warning" %}
This action cannot be undone. Make sure you've saved any important changes to your configuration before restoring.
{% /callout %}

### Stop, Destroy & Restore

At the bottom of Settings:

- **Stop Instance** — Shuts down the machine. All your data is preserved and you can start it again later.
- **Destroy Instance** — Permanently deletes your instance and all its data, including files, configuration, and workspace. This cannot be undone.
- **Restore Config** — Restores your original `openclaw.json` in your instance. The existing `openclaw.json` is backed up to `/root/.openclaw` before the restore takes place.

## Accessing the Control UI

When your instance is running you can access the [OpenClaw Control UI](/docs/kiloclaw/control-ui) — a browser-based dashboard for managing your agent, channels, sessions, exec approvals, and more:

1. Click **Open** to launch the OpenClaw web interface in a new tab

See the [Control UI reference](/docs/kiloclaw/control-ui) for a full overview of its capabilities.

{% callout type="warning" %}
Do not use the **Update** feature in the OpenClaw Control UI to update KiloClaw. Use **Redeploy** from the KiloClaw Dashboard instead. Updating via the Control UI will not apply the correct KiloClaw platform image and may break your instance.
{% /callout %}

## Pairing Requests

When your instance is running, the dashboard shows any pending pairing requests. These appear when:

- Someone messages your bot on a third-party chat channel for the first time
- A new browser or device connects to the Control UI

You need to **approve** each request before the user or device can interact with your agent. See [Pairing Requests](/docs/kiloclaw/chat-platforms#pairing-requests) for details.

## Changelog

The dashboard shows recent KiloClaw platform updates. Each entry is tagged as a **feature** or **bugfix**, and some include a deploy hint:

- **Redeploy Required** — You must redeploy for this change to take effect on your instance
- **Redeploy Suggested** — Redeploying is recommended but not strictly necessary

## Instance Lifecycle

| Action | What Happens | Data Preserved? |
|---|---|---|
| **Create & Provision** | Allocates storage in the best region available and saves your config. | N/A |
| **Start Machine** | Boots the machine and starts OpenClaw. | Yes |
| **Stop Instance** | Shuts down the machine. | Yes |
| **Restart OpenClaw** | Restarts the OpenClaw process. Machine stays up. | Yes |
| **Redeploy** | Stops, applies config, and restarts the machine (same version or upgraded). | Yes |
| **Destroy Instance** | Permanently deletes everything. | No |

## Machine Specs

Each instance runs on a dedicated machine — there is no shared infrastructure between users.

| Spec | Value |
|---|---|
| CPU | 2 shared vCPUs |
| Memory | 3 GB RAM |
| Storage | 10 GB persistent SSD |

Your storage is region-pinned — once your instance is created in a region (e.g., DFW), it always runs there. OpenClaw config lives at `/root/.openclaw` and the workspace at `/root/clawd`.

## Related

- [KiloClaw Overview](/docs/kiloclaw/overview)
- [OpenClaw Control UI](/docs/kiloclaw/control-ui)
- [Connecting Chat Platforms](/docs/kiloclaw/chat-platforms)
- [Troubleshooting](/docs/kiloclaw/troubleshooting)
- [KiloClaw Pricing](/docs/kiloclaw/faq/pricing)
