GitHub Actions Integration: CI/CD for OpenClaw Apps

GitHub Actions makes it easy to automate your OpenClaw deployment pipeline. Every push runs tests, builds, and deploys — automatically.

The Goal

push to main → run tests → deploy to staging
push a tag   → run tests → deploy to production

Step 1: Get Your OpenClaw API Key

openclaw api-key create --name github-actions

Copy the key — you'll add it to GitHub Secrets.

Step 2: Add Secrets to GitHub

1. Go to your repo → Settings → Secrets and variables → Actions
2. Add:
   • OPENCLAW_API_KEY — your API key
   • OPENCLAW_APP_NAME — your app name (optional, uses openclaw.json)

Step 3: Create the Workflow

# .github/workflows/deploy.yml
name: Deploy

on:
  push:
    branches: [main]
  pull_request:
    branches: [main]

jobs:
  test:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
        with:
          node-version: '20'
      - run: npm ci
      - run: npm test

  deploy:
    needs: test
    if: github.ref == 'refs/heads/main'
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
        with:
          node-version: '20'
      - run: npm ci
      - name: Deploy to OpenClaw
        env:
          OPENCLAW_API_KEY: ${{ secrets.OPENCLAW_API_KEY }}
        run: |
          npm install -g @openclaw/cli
          openclaw deploy --app ${{ vars.OPENCLAW_APP_NAME || 'my-app' }}

Step 4: Production Deploys on Tags

jobs:
  deploy-prod:
    if: startsWith(github.ref, 'refs/tags/')
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
        with:
          node-version: '20'
      - run: npm ci
      - name: Deploy to Production
        env:
          OPENCLAW_API_KEY: ${{ secrets.OPENCLAW_API_KEY }}
        run: |
          npm install -g @openclaw/cli
          openclaw deploy --app production-app --env production

What You Get

• Every PR — tests run, optional staging deploy
• Every merge to main — auto-deploy to staging
• Every tag — auto-deploy to production
• Rollback — git revert + push triggers a fresh deploy

Secrets Management

Never hardcode secrets. Use GitHub Secrets for:

• OPENCLAW_API_KEY
• DATABASE_URL (if different per environment)
• TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN (if using Telegram alerts)

Custom Domains

If your OpenClaw app uses custom domains, configure the domain in openclaw.json:

{
  "name": "my-app",
  "domains": ["myapp.com", "www.myapp.com"]
}

OpenClaw handles SSL automatically on deploy.