Ollama v0.18.1-rc0 fixes daemon launch in systemd-less containers
Fix for Container Environments
Ollama v0.18.1-rc0 resolves a compatibility issue affecting containerized deployments. Previously, running ollama launch openclaw --install-daemon would fail with a non-zero exit code in environments lacking systemd, preventing the gateway from starting altogether.
What Changed
The cmd/launch command now intelligently detects systemd availability before attempting to create a user service:
- Checks for systemd availability: The flag is only passed when both
/run/systemd/systemis present ANDXDG_RUNTIME_DIRis set - Graceful fallback: On systems without systemd (or non-Linux platforms), the gateway starts as a foreground child process instead
- Default behavior preserved: On standard Linux systems with systemd, the
--install-daemonflag is still included
Affected Platforms
This fix primarily benefits:
- Docker and Kubernetes deployments
- Minimal container images without systemd
- Non-Linux environments where systemd is not applicable
The change maintains backward compatibility with standard systemd-enabled Linux installations.
Ollama