Fix: launchctl bootstrap failed — Could Not Find Domain for user gui
Could not find domain for user gui: 1000
OpenClaw's macOS installer attempts to register a LaunchAgent in your GUI user session vialaunchctl bootstrap gui/<UID>. When you connect over SSH or run the install in a headless environment (no active GUI session), macOS has not created that session domain yet, and launchctl fails. The gateway itself works fine — only the automatic service registration fails.
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Option A: Use brew services (Recommended for Mac Servers)
If you installed OpenClaw via Homebrew, use brew services instead of the built-in installer. Homebrew manages background services correctly without needing an active GUI session:
brew services start openclaw # Check status brew services list | grep openclaw
brew services vs LaunchAgent: brew services start useslaunchctl load into the user domain if a GUI session is active, or falls back to a system-level approach if not. Either way, the service persists across reboots.
Option B: System-Level LaunchDaemon (Headless Mac Server)
For a Mac mini or Mac Studio running as a headless server, a system-level LaunchDaemon in/Library/LaunchDaemons/ runs before any user logs in — no GUI session required:
sudo tee /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.openclaw.gateway.plist << 'EOF'
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
<key>Label</key>
<string>com.openclaw.gateway</string>
<key>ProgramArguments</key>
<array>
<string>/usr/local/bin/openclaw</string>
<string>gateway</string>
<string>start</string>
</array>
<key>RunAtLoad</key>
<true/>
<key>KeepAlive</key>
<true/>
<key>UserName</key>
<string>YOUR_USERNAME</string>
</dict>
</plist>
EOF
sudo launchctl bootstrap system /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.openclaw.gateway.plistOption C: Load LaunchAgent in an Active GUI Session
If you have occasional GUI access (e.g., using screen sharing once), log in once and run:
# Find the plist the installer created ls ~/Library/LaunchAgents/ | grep openclaw # Load it (in a GUI terminal session, not SSH) launchctl bootstrap gui/$(id -u) ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.openclaw.gateway.plist # Verify launchctl list | grep openclaw
Verify the Gateway is Running
curl -s http://localhost:18789/health # Should return JSON with status OK
Once the gateway is responding, the service is correctly installed. Any of the three options above will auto-start it on reboot.
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