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sw.ops.socket-activation¶

Status: draft (recovered)
Sources: 07 - Runtime/AGENTS.md

Guardrails¶

Default to lowest resident RAM that still handles requests reliably.

Service type	Default	Exception
Static website/app	nginx only	—
HTTP API / web backend	systemd socket activation	`always-on` only if cannot inherit socket, has real background work, or needs live channel
MCP HTTP server	socket activation when supported	Keep warm if clients need long-lived sessions / streaming and socket inheritance is impossible
Worker, queue, scheduler, tunnel, VPN, reverse proxy, DB	always-on	—
OpenClaw gateway	always-on	Interactive agent gateway

.socket owns ListenStream=127.0.0.1:<port>.
Service is started by the socket—not WantedBy=multi-user.target.
Enable socket, disable service unit for idle-cold posture.
Restart=on-failure (not always) so manual stop of idle backend sticks.
nginx: proxy real routes; junk paths local 404 so bots don’t wake cold services.
Deploy: restart service only if active; keep socket active.
Health checks may wake cold services; stop again after smoke if steady state is cold.
Socket activation alone does not stop after idle—need app idle shutdown or documented reaper if required.