Self-Hosting OpenClaw on VPS (3 Minute Quick Deploy Guide 🤖)

This article provides a quick, yet thorough step-by-step guide to for self-hosting OpenClaw on VPS servers. A lot of users have been deploying directly to Mac Minis, but we’d like to present another, radically different clawd deployment strategy. In this guide, we will deploy OpenClaw on Linux VPS-specifically, Debian VPS.

What is OpenClaw?

Clawdbot Moltbot OpenClaw is a popular, open-source personal AI agent that runs locally on your own device, acting as a 24/7 digital assistant that connects to your messaging apps (like WhatsApp, Slack, Telegram) and computer to perform tasks, automate workflows, and proactively manage your digital life, unlike cloud-based AIs that just chat. It works by connecting large language models (LLMs) to your system’s tools and files, allowing it to send emails, manage calendars, summarize information, and even write code, essentially taking action rather than just responding.

Self-Hosting OpenClaw on VPS

Self-hosting OpenClaw on VPS can offer unique advantages and on is how easy it is to get started. Here’s everything to get up and running on affordable VPS service:

1. Order a VPS (Hint: if your provider is scalable, start small, you can adjust later if needed!)
2. Access the Welcome Email which is sent after completed order. This email contains server login credentials and IP address information. (Since, I’m testing on Rad Web Hosting, they also provide a history of mails in the client area)

   

   Pay particular attention to the values of the “IP Address” and “Root/Administrator Password‘” -> We will be using these very shortly

3. For Mac users, launch the “Terminal” app (Windows users can open Putty on their PC), and type in “ssh root@<ip_address>“, where <ip_address> is the value provided within the Welcome Email, then hit “return”. You may receive a warning screen pop-up. if so, calmly  acknowledge the risk and continue to connect.
4. Once connected, issue the following commands to update and upgrade the server with the latest packages,  install required dependencies, setup required configurations, and prepare your VPS for OpenClaw:

   sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y && curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_22.x | sudo -E bash - && apt install nodejs -y && apt install git nano jq -y && sudo apt update && sudo apt install build-essential procps curl file git -y && /bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)" && nano ~/.profile && export PATH="$PATH:/home/linuxbrew/.linuxbrew/bin" && source ~/.profile && brew install gcc

5. Run the OpenClaw install script:

   curl -fsSL https://openclaw.ai/install.sh | bash

   

   

   

6. That’s it! OpenClaw is now installed!

READ ALSO: How to Harden Security of VPS Server

Conclusion

You are now familiar with self-hosting OpenClaw on VPS.