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Selecting the native Podman CLI as a built-in backend, the Docker settings it reuses, and its rootless user-mapping rules. This page covers Podman as the sandbox backend for agent tool execution. Running the Gateway itself in a rootless Podman container is a separate setup: see Podman.

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Podman backend

Use sandbox.backend: "podman" to select the native podman CLI directly. This is a built-in backend, not a plugin. It does not probe or select Docker, even when the docker executable is installed. Podman reuses the existing sandbox.docker.* settings and the active native podman CLI context; it adds no separate connection configuration surface. Rootless Podman defaults to --userns=keep-id for writable workspace mounts. A long-lived sandbox can reserve subordinate IDs and block unrelated --userns=auto workloads; remove it before starting those workloads. Set sandbox.docker.user to a nonzero numeric UID or UID:GID to control the container user. Rootless Podman rejects UID or GID 0 because Podman 4.x cannot remap namespace root while preserving workspace bind ownership; bake root-required setup into the image or use rootful Podman. Rootful Podman otherwise uses the workspace owner when available.
Build or pull the sandbox image into the selected Podman store before enabling the backend. From a source checkout, build the same sandbox Dockerfile with Podman:

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Host init prerequisite

OpenClaw creates Podman sandboxes with --init so orphaned tool processes are reaped. The Podman engine host needs its init executable, normally catatonit. Installing it only inside the sandbox image does not satisfy this requirement. For Podman Machine, the executable belongs inside the machine, not on the client host. On Debian or Ubuntu, minimal installs using --no-install-recommends can omit the helper. Include it explicitly when provisioning the engine host:
If sandbox creation reports lookup init binary or container-init binary not found on the host, install the helper or repair Podman’s configured init_path/helper_binaries_dir in containers.conf, then retry. Podman can resolve helpers outside PATH; a successful podman info does not prove that --init works. Keep sandboxing and --init enabled rather than bypassing this prerequisite. Podman notes:
  • Browser sandboxing is not supported by Podman; keep sandbox.browser.enabled off, or install Docker and select backend: "docker".
  • Local Podman engines and Podman Machine are supported. Podman Machine bind sources must be under the host home directory, which is its default shared volume. Arbitrary remote Podman connections are rejected; use the SSH backend for remote execution.
  • Custom tmpfs or bind mounts must not cover /run/podman-init; OpenClaw rejects them so sandbox cleanup continues to work.
Podman-outside-of-Podman constraintsA containerized Gateway creates sibling sandboxes through the host’s local Podman engine or Podman Machine.
  • Use host paths consistently: configure workspace with its host absolute path, then mount the complete state root and workspace into the Gateway at those same paths. Otherwise the sandbox may mount the workspace while the Gateway cannot write skill-workspace files.
  • Podman Machine setup: bind sources must be under the host home directory. Set the Gateway HOME to that path and point OPENCLAW_HOME, OPENCLAW_STATE_DIR, and OPENCLAW_CONFIG_DIR at the canonical mounted state root. The image needs a compatible Podman client, its named connection and SSH identity, plus a dedicated writable SSH directory for known-host metadata.
  • Keep Podman access Gateway-only: never mount the engine socket, connection material, or SSH identity into agent sandboxes. Arbitrary remote connections are unsupported; use the SSH backend instead.