OpenClaw on DigitalOcean — Self-Host Your AI Agent on a Droplet

Why DigitalOcean for OpenClaw?

DigitalOcean is one of the most developer-friendly cloud platforms available, with simple per-hour pricing, a clean UI, and excellent documentation. Droplets (their virtual machines) start at just $6/mo and offer full root access, dedicated resources, and native Docker support — everything OpenClaw needs to run reliably.

• Simple pricing: Droplets start at $6/mo. The recommended plan for OpenClaw (2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM) runs at $18/mo — no hidden fees or complex billing.
• Docker Marketplace image: DigitalOcean offers a one-click Docker Droplet that comes with Docker pre-installed, saving you setup time.
• Worldwide data centers: Regions across the US, EU, Asia, and Australia — pick the location closest to your users for lower latency.
• Strong developer ecosystem: Detailed documentation, an active community forum, and a straightforward API make DigitalOcean easy to manage long-term.

Requirements

Before you start, make sure you have:

• A DigitalOcean account (sign up at digitalocean.com — new accounts get a $200 free credit).
• A Droplet with at least 2 vCPU and 4 GB RAM running Ubuntu 24.04. The $18/mo Basic Droplet (2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM, 80 GB SSD) is the recommended minimum.
• SSH access to your Droplet (SSH key added during creation).
• An OpenRouter API key (or any other supported model provider key) for your AI agent.
• A Telegram bot token and/or Discord bot token to connect channels.
• A domain name (optional — only needed for HTTPS access to the OpenClaw gateway).

Step 1: Create a DigitalOcean Droplet

Log in to your DigitalOcean account and click Create → Droplets. Configure your Droplet as follows:

1. Choose an image: For the easiest setup, go to the Marketplace tab and search for Docker. Select the official Docker image — it comes with Docker CE pre-installed on Ubuntu. Alternatively, choose Ubuntu 24.04 (LTS) from the OS tab and install Docker manually in Step 2.
2. Choose a plan: Select the Basic plan. Under “Regular” CPU, pick the $18/mo option (2 vCPU, 4 GB RAM, 80 GB SSD). The $12/mo plan (1 vCPU, 2 GB RAM) is too small and will cause out-of-memory crashes under load.
3. Choose a region: Select the data center closest to your users (e.g., New York, Amsterdam, Singapore).
4. Add your SSH key: Under Authentication, select SSH Key and upload your public key. This is required for secure access — password auth is not recommended.
5. Click Create Droplet and wait 30–60 seconds for provisioning. Note the Droplet's public IP address from the dashboard.

Step 2: Install Docker (if needed)

If you selected the Docker Marketplace image in Step 1, Docker is already installed — skip ahead to Step 3. If you chose plain Ubuntu 24.04, SSH into your Droplet and install Docker:

ssh root@your-droplet-ip

Then run the official Docker install script:

# Update packages
apt update && apt upgrade -y

# Install Docker using the official script
curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com | sh

# Verify Docker installed correctly
docker --version

# Enable Docker to start on boot
systemctl enable docker
systemctl start docker

After running this, docker --version should print something like Docker version 27.x.x. Docker is now ready to run OpenClaw.

Step 3: Deploy OpenClaw

Create the config directory and start the OpenClaw container:

# Create the config directory (with credentials subdirectory for DM pairing)
mkdir -p ~/openclaw/credentials
chmod 777 ~/openclaw
chmod 777 ~/openclaw/credentials

# Pull the OpenClaw image
docker pull ghcr.io/openclaw/openclaw:main

# Run the container
docker run -d \
  --name openclaw \
  --restart unless-stopped \
  --memory=3g --memory-swap=4g \
  -v ~/openclaw:/home/node/.openclaw \
  -p 18789:18789 \
  ghcr.io/openclaw/openclaw:main \
  node openclaw.mjs gateway --allow-unconfigured

Key flags explained:

• --memory=3g --memory-swap=4g — Allocates 3 GB RAM on the 4 GB Droplet. OpenClaw needs at least 2 GB; 3 GB provides comfortable headroom while leaving 1 GB for the OS.
• -v ~/openclaw:/home/node/.openclaw — Mounts your config directory into the container. OpenClaw reads and writes config files to this path.
• -p 18789:18789 — Exposes the OpenClaw web gateway on port 18789.
• --restart unless-stopped — Auto-restarts the container after crashes or Droplet reboots.
• ghcr.io/openclaw/openclaw:main — Always use the :main tag, not :latest (which doesn't exist).

Verify the container started correctly:

docker logs openclaw --tail 20

You should see startup messages from OpenClaw. If the container immediately exits, there's likely a configuration error — check the Troubleshooting section below.

Step 4: Configure Your AI Agent

Create ~/openclaw/openclaw.json with your settings. Here's a complete example with Telegram and Discord:

{
  "gateway": {
    "port": 18789,
    "auth": { "token": "your-random-secret-token" },
    "controlUi": { "allowInsecureAuth": true }
  },
  "models": {
    "providers": {
      "openrouter": {
        "apiKey": "sk-or-your-openrouter-api-key"
      }
    }
  },
  "agents": {
    "defaults": {
      "model": {
        "primary": "openrouter/anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.6"
      },
      "systemPrompt": "You are a helpful AI assistant."
    }
  },
  "channels": {
    "telegram": {
      "enabled": true,
      "botToken": "123456:ABC-your-telegram-bot-token",
      "dmPolicy": "pairing"
    },
    "discord": {
      "enabled": true,
      "botToken": "your-discord-bot-token",
      "dmPolicy": "open",
      "allowFrom": ["*"]
    }
  },
  "plugins": {
    "entries": {
      "telegram": { "enabled": true },
      "discord": { "enabled": true }
    }
  }
}

Important configuration notes:

• gateway.auth must be an object with a token property — not a plain string.
• Both channels.X.enabled: true AND plugins.entries.X.enabled: true are required for a channel to work.
• Model IDs must be prefixed with the provider: openrouter/anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.6, not just anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.6.
• Telegram dmPolicy should always be "pairing" — never "open", as that allows anyone on the internet to use your bot.
• Discord dmPolicy: "open" requires allowFrom: ["*"] to pass config validation.

After saving the config, restart the container to apply it:

docker restart openclaw

Step 5: Set Up Domain with Caddy (Optional)

If you want HTTPS access to the OpenClaw gateway via a custom domain (e.g. bot.yourdomain.com), set up Caddy as a reverse proxy. Caddy automatically provisions and renews SSL certificates via Let's Encrypt.

First, add an A record in your DNS settings pointing your domain to the Droplet's IP address. Then install Caddy on the Droplet:

# Install Caddy
apt install -y debian-keyring debian-archive-keyring apt-transport-https
curl -1sLf 'https://dl.cloudsmith.io/public/caddy/stable/gpg.key' \
  | gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/caddy-stable-archive-keyring.gpg
curl -1sLf 'https://dl.cloudsmith.io/public/caddy/stable/debian.deb.txt' \
  | tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/caddy-stable.list
apt update && apt install caddy

Create /etc/caddy/Caddyfile:

bot.yourdomain.com {
    reverse_proxy localhost:18789
}

Restart Caddy to apply:

systemctl restart caddy

Caddy will obtain an SSL certificate automatically. Your OpenClaw gateway will be accessible at https://bot.yourdomain.com. DNS propagation can take a few minutes — if certificate issuance fails, wait 5 minutes and try again.

DigitalOcean vs Managed Hosting

Running OpenClaw on a DigitalOcean Droplet gives you full control over your environment, but it also comes with ongoing responsibilities. Here's how it compares to a fully managed solution:

Self-hosting on DigitalOcean is a great choice if you want full control, need to run multiple containers on one server, or want to integrate OpenClaw into a larger infrastructure. If you'd rather skip the ops work and just focus on your AI agent, OpenClaw Launch handles everything.

Deploy Without the Setup

If managing a Droplet, keeping Docker updated, and monitoring server uptime isn't how you want to spend your time, there's a simpler path.

OpenClaw Launch deploys a fully managed OpenClaw instance in 10 seconds — no Droplet, no Docker, no SSH. Visual configuration editor, automatic updates, built-in uptime monitoring, and plans starting at $6/mo. The same price as the cheapest DigitalOcean Droplet, with none of the maintenance.

Try OpenClaw Launch →