🖥️ Mac Mini Server

Complete guide to running OpenClaw on a Mac Mini as an always-on AI server. From hardware selection to monitoring.

1. Hardware Recommendations

Mac Mini M4 (2024) — $499 base

Best for: Personal assistant, small team, cloud API-only usage. Recommendation: Upgrade to 32GB RAM ($699 total) — worth it for Docker overhead + future local models.

Mac Mini M4 Pro — $1,399 base

Best for: Local model inference (Ollama), multiple clients, heavy workloads. Recommendation: 48GB RAM ($1,599) for running 7B-13B models locally alongside OpenClaw.

Which One?

2. macOS Initial Setup

Disable Sleep & Energy Settings

# Prevent sleep entirely
sudo pmset -a sleep 0
sudo pmset -a disksleep 0
sudo pmset -a displaysleep 0

# Restart after power failure
sudo pmset -a autorestart 1

# Disable hibernation
sudo pmset -a hibernatemode 0

# Verify settings
pmset -g

System Settings UI path: System Settings → Energy → set all to Never.

Enable Auto-Login

1. System Settings → Users & Groups → Automatic Login → select your user
2. System Settings → Lock Screen → disable "Require password"

⚠️ Only do this on a physically secure machine. The Mac Mini should be in a locked location.

Disable Automatic Updates Reboots

# Prevent auto-restart for updates
sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.apple.SoftwareUpdate AutomaticallyInstallMacOSUpdates -bool false

Update manually on your schedule instead.

Enable Remote Access

# Enable SSH
sudo systemsetup -setremotelogin on

# Enable Screen Sharing (optional)
sudo defaults write /var/db/launchd.db/com.apple.launchd/overrides.plist com.apple.screensharing -dict Disabled -bool false
sudo launchctl load -w /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.screensharing.plist

3. Homebrew + Docker Desktop

Install Homebrew

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"
echo 'eval "$(/opt/homebrew/bin/brew shellenv)"' >> ~/.zprofile
eval "$(/opt/homebrew/bin/brew shellenv)"

Install Docker Desktop

brew install --cask docker

# Launch Docker Desktop
open -a Docker

# Wait for Docker to start, then verify
docker --version
docker compose version