openclaw/docs/platforms/digitalocean.md

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OpenClaw on DigitalOcean (simple paid VPS option)	Setting up OpenClaw on DigitalOcean Looking for cheap VPS hosting for OpenClaw	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.

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)
• Oracle Cloud: can be $0/month, but is more finicky and ARM-only (see Oracle guide)

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Prerequisites

• DigitalOcean account (signup with $200 free credit)
• SSH key pair (or willingness to use password auth)
• ~20 minutes

1) Create a Droplet

1. Log into DigitalOcean
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

ssh root@YOUR_DROPLET_IP

3) Install OpenClaw

# 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

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

# 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)

# 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)

# 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)

openclaw config set gateway.bind tailnet
openclaw gateway restart

Open: http://<tailscale-ip>:18789 (token required).

7) Connect Your Channels

Telegram

openclaw pairing list telegram
openclaw pairing approve telegram <CODE>

WhatsApp

openclaw channels login whatsapp
# Scan QR code

See Channels for other providers.

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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.primary to a smaller model

Monitor memory

free -h
htop

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Persistence

All state lives in:

• ~/.openclaw/ — config, credentials, session data
• ~/.openclaw/workspace/ — workspace (SOUL.md, memory, etc.)

These survive reboots. Back them up periodically:

tar -czvf openclaw-backup.tar.gz ~/.openclaw ~/.openclaw/workspace

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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. For signup tips and troubleshooting the enrollment process, see this community guide.

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Troubleshooting

Gateway won't start

openclaw gateway status
openclaw doctor --non-interactive
journalctl -u openclaw --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)

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See Also

• Hetzner guide — cheaper, more powerful
• Docker install — containerized setup
• Tailscale — secure remote access
• Configuration — full config reference