OpenClaw Discord Bot Offline — How to Fix It

A Discord bot showing offline is usually a gateway problem, not a Discord problem. Here's how to diagnose it systematically and get back online.

Step 1: Check the Gateway is Running

openclaw gateway status

# Expected output:
# Gateway running | Uptime: 3d 14h | Connected channels: discord | LLM: ok

# If not running:
openclaw gateway start

# Check for errors on startup:
openclaw gateway start 2>&1 | tail -20

Step 2: Check Gateway Logs for Errors

openclaw gateway logs --tail 50

# Look for:
# - "Discord: connection failed" or "invalid token"
# - "LLM API error" or "401 Unauthorized"
# - "ECONNREFUSED" or network errors
# - Any stack traces or unhandled exceptions

Step 3: Verify Your Discord Bot Token

# Check when your bot was last online in Discord:
# Developer Portal → Your App → Bot → Token

# Regenerate the token if you suspect it was compromised:
# Developer Portal → Reset Token

# Update the token in OpenClaw config:
openclaw channel update discord --token YOUR_NEW_BOT_TOKEN
openclaw gateway restart

Step 4: Check Discord Bot Permissions and Intents

In the Discord Developer Portal, go to your bot → Bot settings:

• Enable Message Content Intent — required for reading message text
• Enable Server Members Intent if you use member-related features
• Enable Presence Intent if needed

In your Discord server → Bot role → check permissions include: Read Messages, Send Messages, Read Message History, Use Application Commands.

Step 5: Test the LLM Connection

openclaw gateway status | grep llm

# If LLM shows error:
openclaw config get llm.apiKey
# Verify the key is set and not expired

# Test the LLM provider directly:
curl https://api.anthropic.com/v1/messages \
  -H "x-api-key: YOUR_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"model": "claude-3-haiku-20240307", "max_tokens": 10, "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "hi"}]}'

Step 6: Set Up a Process Manager (Prevent Future Outages)

# Linux — systemd service:
sudo systemctl status openclaw  # check if service exists
openclaw gateway install-service  # install it if not
sudo systemctl enable openclaw
sudo systemctl start openclaw

# Or use pm2:
npm install -g pm2
pm2 start "openclaw gateway start" --name openclaw
pm2 save
pm2 startup  # configure to start on reboot

Step 7: Check Discord API Rate Limits

openclaw gateway logs --tail 100 | grep -i "rate limit"

# Discord rate limits:
# Global: 50 requests/second
# Per-channel: much lower
# If hit: the bot will reconnect automatically, usually within a few seconds

Step 8: Network and Firewall Check

# Test Discord API connectivity from your server:
curl -I https://discord.com/api/v10
# Should return HTTP 200 or 405

# Test WebSocket connectivity (Discord uses gateway.discord.gg):
curl -I https://gateway.discord.gg

# If blocked, check your VPS provider's network rules
# Some providers block certain outbound ports

For the complete Discord integration setup guide including slash commands and multi-server configurations, The OpenClaw Playbook covers it for $9.99.