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Last verified: 2026-06-11

Gateway failed to start — port in use

A OpenClaw error and how to fix it. The exact message, why it happens, and the steps that resolve it.

OpenClaw 
Error: listen EADDRINUSE: address already in use :::3000
    at Server.setupListenHandle [as _listen2]
Fix:

Another process owns port 3000. Find and kill it, or use a different port:

# macOS / Linux
lsof -i :3000 && kill -9 <PID>

# Windows PowerShell
Get-Process -Id (Get-NetTCPConnection -LocalPort 3000).OwningProcess | Stop-Process

# Or just move OpenClaw
openclaw gateway start --port 3100

Guide: OpenClaw configuration

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