Environment

Keywords: WSL, mirrored mode, NAT, netsh portproxy, Task Scheduler, autoMemoryReclaim

1. If WSL is for server use, NEVER enable autoMemoryReclaim — it shuts down WSL itself when idle

2. NAT + port forwarding is more stable than mirrored mode — In mirrored mode, svchost holds ports and the only fix is wsl --shutdown

⚠️ Repeated port 19876 conflicts

Even after stopping the OpenClaw Gateway, the Windows-side svchost (WSL port proxy) keeps holding the port. Restarting gives you another gateway instance is already listening error. The only fix? Full shutdown with wsl --shutdown.

[wsl2]
memory=16GB

🚨 NEVER use autoMemoryReclaim!

# NEVER use this for server workloads!
autoMemoryReclaim=gradual

With this enabled, WSL reclaims memory when idle and shuts down WSL entirely. Your always-on services will die without warning. Every wsl.exe launch triggers a cold boot, and services get stuck in activating (start-pre) infinite loops.

[System.IO.File]::WriteAllText(
    'C:\Users\terry\.wslconfig',
    "[wsl2]`r`nmemory=16GB`r`n",
    [System.Text.UTF8Encoding]::new($false)
)

wsl --shutdown
:: Wait 5 seconds, then reconnect
wsl hostname -I
:: Output example: 172.19.211.210 (internal IP, changes on every boot)

# Get WSL IP
$wslIp = (wsl hostname -I).Trim().Split(' ')[0]

# Delete existing rules, then add new ones
foreach ($p in @(19876, 19877, 5051, 8080)) {
    netsh interface portproxy delete v4tov4 `
        listenport=$p listenaddress=0.0.0.0 2>$null
    netsh interface portproxy add v4tov4 `
        listenport=$p listenaddress=0.0.0.0 `
        connectport=$p connectaddress=$wslIp
}

# Verify
netsh interface portproxy show v4tov4

$logFile = "C:\Temp\openclaw-portforward.log"
$timestamp = Get-Date -Format "yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss"

# Get WSL IP (retry up to 30 times)
$maxRetry = 30; $retry = 0; $wslIp = $null
while ($retry -lt $maxRetry) {
    $wslIp = (wsl -d Ubuntu -- hostname -I).Trim().Split(' ')[0]
    if ($wslIp -match '^\d+\.\d+\.\d+\.\d+$') { break }
    Start-Sleep -Seconds 2; $retry++
}
if (-not ($wslIp -match '^\d+\.\d+\.\d+\.\d+$')) {
    "$timestamp ERROR: Could not get WSL IP" |
        Out-File $logFile -Append; exit 1
}

# Ports to forward
$ports = @(
    @{ Port = 19876; Desc = "OpenClaw Gateway" },
    @{ Port = 19877; Desc = "SSH" },
    @{ Port = 5051;  Desc = "Confluence" },
    @{ Port = 8080;  Desc = "Jira" }
)

foreach ($p in $ports) {
    netsh interface portproxy delete v4tov4 `
        listenport=$($p.Port) listenaddress=0.0.0.0 2>$null
    netsh interface portproxy add v4tov4 `
        listenport=$($p.Port) listenaddress=0.0.0.0 `
        connectport=$($p.Port) connectaddress=$wslIp
    "$timestamp Port $($p.Port) ($($p.Desc)) -> $wslIp" |
        Out-File $logFile -Append
}

wsl -d Ubuntu -- sudo systemctl start ssh.socket 2>$null
"$timestamp === Port Forward Complete (WSL IP: $wslIp) ===" |
    Out-File $logFile -Append

$action = New-ScheduledTaskAction `
    -Execute "powershell.exe" `
    -Argument "-ExecutionPolicy Bypass -WindowStyle Hidden -File C:\Temp\openclaw-portforward.ps1"
$trigger = New-ScheduledTaskTrigger -AtLogOn
$trigger.Delay = "PT30S"  # Wait 30s for WSL boot
$principal = New-ScheduledTaskPrincipal `
    -UserId "$env:USERNAME" -RunLevel Highest
$settings = New-ScheduledTaskSettingsSet `
    -AllowStartIfOnBatteries `
    -DontStopIfGoingOnBatteries -StartWhenAvailable

Register-ScheduledTask `
    -TaskName "OpenClaw WSL PortForward" `
    -Action $action -Trigger $trigger `
    -Principal $principal -Settings $settings `
    -Description "WSL NAT portforward on login"

🔑 Key points: Auto-runs 30 seconds after login (waits for WSL boot), runs with admin privileges (required for netsh), log file: C:\Temp\openclaw-portforward.log

schtasks /Run /TN "OpenClaw WSL PortForward"

wsl sleep 20 && wsl systemctl --user status openclaw-gateway.service