5.5 KiB
5.5 KiB
summary, read_when
| summary | read_when | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Clawdbot on DigitalOcean (cheapest paid VPS option) |
|
Clawdbot on DigitalOcean
Goal
Run a persistent Clawdbot Gateway on DigitalOcean for $6/month (or $4/mo with reserved pricing).
If you want something even cheaper, see Oracle Cloud (Free Tier) at the bottom — it's actually free forever.
Cost Comparison (2026)
| Provider | Plan | Specs | Price/mo | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oracle Cloud | Always Free ARM | 4 OCPU, 24GB RAM | $0 | Best value, requires ARM-compatible setup |
| Hetzner | CX22 | 2 vCPU, 4GB RAM | €3.79 (~$4) | Cheapest paid, EU datacenters |
| DigitalOcean | Basic | 1 vCPU, 1GB RAM | $6 | Easy UI, good docs |
| Vultr | Cloud Compute | 1 vCPU, 1GB RAM | $6 | Many locations |
| Linode | Nanode | 1 vCPU, 1GB RAM | $5 | Now part of Akamai |
Recommendation:
- Free: Oracle Cloud ARM (if you can handle the signup process)
- Paid: Hetzner CX22 (best specs per dollar) — see Hetzner guide
- Easy: DigitalOcean (this guide) — beginner-friendly UI
Prerequisites
- DigitalOcean account (signup with $200 free credit)
- SSH key pair (or willingness to use password auth)
- ~20 minutes
1) Create a Droplet
- Log into DigitalOcean
- Click Create → Droplets
- Choose:
- Region: Closest to you (or your users)
- Image: Ubuntu 24.04 LTS
- Size: Basic → Regular → $6/mo (1 vCPU, 1GB RAM, 25GB SSD)
- Authentication: SSH key (recommended) or password
- Click Create Droplet
- Note the IP address
2) Connect via SSH
ssh root@YOUR_DROPLET_IP
3) Install Clawdbot
# Update system
apt update && apt upgrade -y
# Install Node.js 22
curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_22.x | bash -
apt install -y nodejs
# Install Clawdbot
curl -fsSL https://clawd.bot/install.sh | bash
# Verify
clawdbot --version
4) Run Onboarding
clawdbot onboard --install-daemon
The wizard will walk you through:
- Model auth (API keys or OAuth)
- Channel setup (Telegram, WhatsApp, Discord, etc.)
- Gateway token (auto-generated)
- Daemon installation (systemd)
5) Verify the Gateway
# Check status
clawdbot status
# Check service
systemctl status clawdbot
# View logs
journalctl -u clawdbot -f
6) Access the Dashboard
The gateway binds to loopback by default. To access the Control UI:
Option A: SSH Tunnel (recommended)
# From your local machine
ssh -L 18789:localhost:18789 root@YOUR_DROPLET_IP
# Then open: http://localhost:18789
Option B: Tailscale (easier long-term)
# On the droplet
curl -fsSL https://tailscale.com/install.sh | sh
tailscale up
# Configure gateway to bind to Tailscale
clawdbot config set gateway.bind tailnet
clawdbot gateway restart
Then access via your Tailscale IP: http://100.x.x.x:18789
7) Connect Your Channels
Telegram
clawdbot pairing list telegram
clawdbot pairing approve telegram <CODE>
clawdbot channels login whatsapp
# Scan QR code
See Channels for other providers.
Optimizations for 1GB RAM
The $6 droplet only has 1GB RAM. To keep things running smoothly:
Add swap (recommended)
fallocate -l 2G /swapfile
chmod 600 /swapfile
mkswap /swapfile
swapon /swapfile
echo '/swapfile none swap sw 0 0' >> /etc/fstab
Use a lighter model
If you're hitting OOMs, consider:
- Using API-based models (Claude, GPT) instead of local models
- Setting
agents.defaults.model.primaryto a smaller model
Monitor memory
free -h
htop
Persistence
All state lives in:
~/.clawdbot/— config, credentials, session data~/clawd/— workspace (SOUL.md, memory, etc.)
These survive reboots. Back them up periodically:
tar -czvf clawdbot-backup.tar.gz ~/.clawdbot ~/clawd
Oracle Cloud Free Alternative
Oracle Cloud offers Always Free ARM instances that are significantly more powerful:
| What you get | Specs |
|---|---|
| 4 OCPUs | ARM Ampere A1 |
| 24GB RAM | More than enough |
| 200GB storage | Block volume |
| Forever free | No credit card charges |
Quick setup:
- Sign up at oracle.com/cloud/free
- Create a VM.Standard.A1.Flex instance (ARM)
- Choose Oracle Linux or Ubuntu
- Allocate up to 4 OCPU / 24GB RAM within free tier
- Follow the same Clawdbot install steps above
Caveats:
- Signup can be finicky (retry if it fails)
- ARM architecture — most things work, but some binaries need ARM builds
- Oracle may reclaim idle instances (keep them active)
For the full Oracle guide, see the community docs.
Troubleshooting
Gateway won't start
clawdbot gateway status
clawdbot doctor --non-interactive
journalctl -u clawdbot --no-pager -n 50
Port already in use
lsof -i :18789
kill <PID>
Out of memory
# Check memory
free -h
# Add more swap
# Or upgrade to $12/mo droplet (2GB RAM)
See Also
- Hetzner guide — cheaper, more powerful
- Docker install — containerized setup
- Tailscale — secure remote access
- Configuration — full config reference