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| summary: "OpenClaw on DigitalOcean (simple paid VPS option)" | |
| read_when: | |
| - Setting up OpenClaw on DigitalOcean | |
| - Looking for cheap VPS hosting for OpenClaw | |
| title: "DigitalOcean" | |
| # OpenClaw on DigitalOcean | |
| ## Goal | |
| Run a persistent OpenClaw Gateway on DigitalOcean for **$6/month** (or $4/mo with reserved pricing). | |
| If you want a $0/month option and don’t mind ARM + provider-specific setup, see the [Oracle Cloud guide](/platforms/oracle). | |
| ## Cost Comparison (2026) | |
| | Provider | Plan | Specs | Price/mo | Notes | | |
| | ------------ | --------------- | ---------------------- | ----------- | ------------------------------------- | | |
| | Oracle Cloud | Always Free ARM | up to 4 OCPU, 24GB RAM | $0 | ARM, limited capacity / signup quirks | | |
| | Hetzner | CX22 | 2 vCPU, 4GB RAM | €3.79 (~$4) | Cheapest paid option | | |
| | 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 | | |
| **Picking a provider:** | |
| - DigitalOcean: simplest UX + predictable setup (this guide) | |
| - Hetzner: good price/perf (see [Hetzner guide](/platforms/hetzner)) | |
| - Oracle Cloud: can be $0/month, but is more finicky and ARM-only (see [Oracle guide](/platforms/oracle)) | |
| --- | |
| ## Prerequisites | |
| - DigitalOcean account ([signup with $200 free credit](https://m.do.co/c/signup)) | |
| - SSH key pair (or willingness to use password auth) | |
| - ~20 minutes | |
| ## 1) Create a Droplet | |
| 1. Log into [DigitalOcean](https://cloud.digitalocean.com/) | |
| 2. Click **Create → Droplets** | |
| 3. 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 | |
| 4. Click **Create Droplet** | |
| 5. Note the IP address | |
| ## 2) Connect via SSH | |
| ```bash | |
| ssh root@YOUR_DROPLET_IP | |
| ``` | |
| ## 3) Install OpenClaw | |
| ```bash | |
| # 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 OpenClaw | |
| curl -fsSL https://openclaw.ai/install.sh | bash | |
| # Verify | |
| openclaw --version | |
| ``` | |
| ## 4) Run Onboarding | |
| ```bash | |
| openclaw 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 | |
| ```bash | |
| # Check status | |
| openclaw status | |
| # Check service | |
| systemctl --user status openclaw-gateway.service | |
| # View logs | |
| journalctl --user -u openclaw-gateway.service -f | |
| ``` | |
| ## 6) Access the Dashboard | |
| The gateway binds to loopback by default. To access the Control UI: | |
| **Option A: SSH Tunnel (recommended)** | |
| ```bash | |
| # From your local machine | |
| ssh -L 18789:localhost:18789 root@YOUR_DROPLET_IP | |
| # Then open: http://localhost:18789 | |
| ``` | |
| **Option B: Tailscale Serve (HTTPS, loopback-only)** | |
| ```bash | |
| # On the droplet | |
| curl -fsSL https://tailscale.com/install.sh | sh | |
| tailscale up | |
| # Configure Gateway to use Tailscale Serve | |
| openclaw config set gateway.tailscale.mode serve | |
| openclaw gateway restart | |
| ``` | |
| Open: `https://<magicdns>/` | |
| Notes: | |
| - Serve keeps the Gateway loopback-only and authenticates via Tailscale identity headers. | |
| - To require token/password instead, set `gateway.auth.allowTailscale: false` or use `gateway.auth.mode: "password"`. | |
| **Option C: Tailnet bind (no Serve)** | |
| ```bash | |
| openclaw config set gateway.bind tailnet | |
| openclaw gateway restart | |
| ``` | |
| Open: `http://<tailscale-ip>:18789` (token required). | |
| ## 7) Connect Your Channels | |
| ### Telegram | |
| ```bash | |
| openclaw pairing list telegram | |
| openclaw pairing approve telegram <CODE> | |
| ``` | |
| ```bash | |
| openclaw channels login whatsapp | |
| # Scan QR code | |
| ``` | |
| See [Channels](/channels) for other providers. | |
| --- | |
| ## Optimizations for 1GB RAM | |
| The $6 droplet only has 1GB RAM. To keep things running smoothly: | |
| ### Add swap (recommended) | |
| ```bash | |
| 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.primary` to a smaller model | |
| ### Monitor memory | |
| ```bash | |
| free -h | |
| htop | |
| ``` | |
| --- | |
| ## Persistence | |
| All state lives in: | |
| - `~/.openclaw/` — config, credentials, session data | |
| - `~/.openclaw/workspace/` — workspace (SOUL.md, memory, etc.) | |
| These survive reboots. Back them up periodically: | |
| ```bash | |
| tar -czvf openclaw-backup.tar.gz ~/.openclaw ~/.openclaw/workspace | |
| ``` | |
| --- | |
| ## Oracle Cloud Free Alternative | |
| Oracle Cloud offers **Always Free** ARM instances that are significantly more powerful than any paid option here — for $0/month. | |
| | What you get | Specs | | |
| | ----------------- | ---------------------- | | |
| | **4 OCPUs** | ARM Ampere A1 | | |
| | **24GB RAM** | More than enough | | |
| | **200GB storage** | Block volume | | |
| | **Forever free** | No credit card charges | | |
| **Caveats:** | |
| - Signup can be finicky (retry if it fails) | |
| - ARM architecture — most things work, but some binaries need ARM builds | |
| For the full setup guide, see [Oracle Cloud](/platforms/oracle). For signup tips and troubleshooting the enrollment process, see this [community guide](https://gist.github.com/rssnyder/51e3cfedd730e7dd5f4a816143b25dbd). | |
| --- | |
| ## Troubleshooting | |
| ### Gateway won't start | |
| ```bash | |
| openclaw gateway status | |
| openclaw doctor --non-interactive | |
| journalctl -u openclaw --no-pager -n 50 | |
| ``` | |
| ### Port already in use | |
| ```bash | |
| lsof -i :18789 | |
| kill <PID> | |
| ``` | |
| ### Out of memory | |
| ```bash | |
| # Check memory | |
| free -h | |
| # Add more swap | |
| # Or upgrade to $12/mo droplet (2GB RAM) | |
| ``` | |
| --- | |
| ## See Also | |
| - [Hetzner guide](/platforms/hetzner) — cheaper, more powerful | |
| - [Docker install](/install/docker) — containerized setup | |
| - [Tailscale](/gateway/tailscale) — secure remote access | |
| - [Configuration](/gateway/configuration) — full config reference | |