NanoClaw Container Debugging
A step-by-step playbook for tracing NanoClaw agent container failures through host logs, the two session DBs, mounts, and heartbeats.
Dev & CodingAdvanced★ 30,471⑂ 12,865AI score 8/10Last updated: Aug 9, 2026
What it does
Given NanoClaw's host–container architecture (all message flow passes through inbound.db and outbound.db), this skill tells Claude exactly where to look when something breaks.
- A log-location table:
logs/nanoclaw.error.log,logs/nanoclaw.log, per-step setup logs - How to enable
LOG_LEVEL=debugto stream container stderr into the host log - Ready-made queries against
messages_in,messages_out, andprocessing_ackvia the in-treescripts/q.tswrapper - Four documented failure modes: duplicate service instances silently swallowing messages, containers exiting immediately / 401 auth, mount misconfiguration, stale
.heartbeatsessions nclcommands to restart groups, rebuild the image, and reset a session- A 7-check quick diagnostic shell script
Who it's for
- Operators self-hosting NanoClaw whose Telegram/Signal bot stopped replying
- Contributors trying to understand the containerized agent runtime
- Users comfortable with Docker, SQLite, and systemd/launchd
Examples
- "The bot went quiet" → spot
No adapter for channel typein the error log →ps auxreveals two instances → stop and disable the stale service. - "The agent returns 401" → verify the OneCLI gateway on 127.0.0.1:10254, then
onecli agents set-secret-mode --mode all. - "Session stuck in processing" →
statthe.heartbeatmtime to confirm the container died mid-run, thenncl groups restart --id <group-id>.
· · · Install guide · · ·
Try it now, no install
Paste this into Claude to use the skill without installing anything.
Read the instructions in this file and follow them to help me: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nanocoai/nanoclaw/HEAD/.claude/skills/debug/SKILL.md What I want: (describe your task here)
If Claude can't open the link, open it yourself and paste the contents instead.
↓ If it works for you, download the ZIP below and install it. Then it runs on its own — no pasting each time.
Install in the Claude app (no terminal)
- Download the ZIP with the button below.
- In Claude, open Settings → Capabilities and turn on 'Code execution and file creation'. (one time)
- Go to Customize → Skills → + → 'Upload a skill' and upload the ZIP.
Install in Claude Code
Let Claude do it — paste this into Claude Code
Install the skill I found on Claude Skill Mart. Copy the .claude/skills/debug folder from the GitHub repo nanocoai/nanoclaw into my ~/.claude/skills/debug/. When it's done, tell me in one line what this skill can do.
Install with a command instead
git clone https://github.com/nanocoai/nanoclaw.git && mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/debug && cp -r nanoclaw/.claude/skills/debug/* ~/.claude/skills/debug/⚠ This is a third-party skill. Check the source repository before installing.
- Open a terminal and clone the repo:
git clone https://github.com/nanocoai/nanoclaw.git - Create the skill directory:
mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/debug - Copy the skill in:
cp -r nanoclaw/.claude/skills/debug/* ~/.claude/skills/debug/ - The intended use is inside the NanoClaw project itself — if you already run NanoClaw, just start Claude Code from the repo root and the skill loads automatically.
- Restart Claude Code and test with a prompt like "the agent container isn't responding" to confirm it triggers.
- Prerequisites: a running Docker (or compatible) runtime,
pnpminstalled, and thencl/onecliCLIs available — most commands assume the NanoClaw file layout.
View source on GitHub ↗License: MIT