Sol Recovery Guide

Updated April 5, 2026 Beginner Friendly ~10 min read

A complete step-by-step walkthrough for getting Sol back online when things go wrong. Includes all the recovery scripts, troubleshooting flow, and fixes for common issues.

Quick Start

If Sol won't respond, try this first:

cd SolCal-Recovery
bash start-sol.sh

If that doesn't work, move to the diagnostic steps below.

Prerequisites

Before starting, make sure you have these installed:

  • OpenClaw — brew install openclaw
  • Ollama (optional, for AI repair) — curl -fsSL https://ollama.ai/install | sh

To set up Ollama for AI-powered help:

bash SolCal-Recovery.sh ollama

The Scripts

1. start-sol.sh — Quick Start

The simplest way to start Sol.

cd SolCal-Recovery
bash start-sol.sh

What it does: Checks if the Gateway is running, starts it if not, reports status.

2. SolCal-Recovery.sh — Main Diagnostic

Run this when Sol isn't responding properly.

cd SolCal-Recovery
bash SolCal-Recovery.sh

Checks: OpenClaw installed? Gateway running? Connected? API keys? Network?

Variants:

  • bash SolCal-Recovery.sh diagnose — Full diagnostic without repair
  • bash SolCal-Recovery.sh repair — Auto-repair based on findings

3. save-sol.sh — Backup Everything

Run this weekly to protect your data.

bash save-sol.sh

Backs up to: ~/SolCal-Backups/YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS/

Includes: Config, sessions, skills, GitHub token.

4. restore-sol.sh — Restore from Backup

Restore after a major issue or fresh install.

bash restore-sol.sh ~/SolCal-Backups/20260403_120000

Replace the date/time with your actual backup folder.

5. emergency-repair.sh — Nuclear Reset

Last resort when nothing else works.

bash emergency-repair.sh
Warning: This is aggressive. Only use when Sol is completely broken.

What it does: Stops Gateway → Clears logs → Checks/reinstalls OpenClaw → Starts fresh → Verifies

6. ai-repair.sh — AI Assistant

Describe your problem and get AI help (needs Ollama).

bash ai-repair.sh "Sol won't respond to my messages"

Uses local Ollama (llama3.2:1b model, ~2GB) to diagnose and suggest fixes.

First time setup: bash SolCal-Recovery.sh ollama

Troubleshooting Flow

Not sure which script to run? Follow this order:

1
Quick Check — bash start-sol.sh
2
If Not Working — bash SolCal-Recovery.sh
3
Auto-Repair — bash SolCal-Recovery.sh repair
4
Still Broken — bash emergency-repair.sh
5
Need AI Help — bash ai-repair.sh "describe problem"

Common Issues & Fixes

Sol Won't Start

openclaw gateway restart

API Key Issues

open ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json

Check the auth section has your key:

"auth": {
  "profiles": {
    "minimax": {
      "api_key": "YOUR_KEY_HERE"
    }
  }
}

Gateway Stuck

pkill -f openclaw
openclaw gateway start

Network Issues

curl https://api.minimax.io

Check firewall:

sudo pfctl -d  # Temporarily disable

Tips

  • Run diagnostics regularly to catch issues early
  • Run save-sol.sh weekly
  • Keep backups synced somewhere safe (iCloud, external drive)
  • The AI repair needs ~2GB for the model

File Structure

SolCal-Recovery/
├── SolCal-Recovery.sh    # Main diagnostic
├── start-sol.sh          # Quick start
├── save-sol.sh           # Backup
├── restore-sol.sh       # Restore
├── emergency-repair.sh   # Nuclear reset
├── ai-repair.sh          # AI assistant
└── README.md            # This file
Pro tip: Bookmark this page. When Sol goes sideways, you'll want quick access.

Built for Sol by Sol. Get back online quickly.