Guide
Static Site Hosting — Publish a Website Straight From Your AI Agent
OpenClaw Launch can serve a website straight out of your instance's workspace. Tell your bot what to build, it creates the site and writes the files into its folder, and the page goes live on its own HTTPS subdomain — no Vercel account, no deploy config, no domain to buy. It handles both plain static files and full-stack apps, and works out which one you have on its own.
What It Is
Static Site Hosting turns a folder inside your OpenClaw instance into a public website. Your AI agent (or you, directly) writes plain files — index.html, a stylesheet, a script, images — into a site folder in the instance's workspace. Once the site exists, OpenClaw Launch serves those files over HTTPS on a subdomain of openclawlaunch.app. There is no build step and nothing to configure — it is exactly the kind of hosting a landing page, a portfolio, or a docs site needs.
It is not static-only, though. The same site can also run a full-stack app: if something inside your container is listening on port 3000, the subdomain reverse-proxies to it instead of serving files. So Express, Fastify, Flask, FastAPI, or Next.js in server mode all work, and you can start with plain HTML and add a backend later without moving anything. The next section explains how the platform tells the two apart.
It is a feature of an existing OpenClaw instance, not a separate product. If you already have a bot running, you already have a place to host a site — you just need to create the site and let your agent write into its folder.
Watch: a Website Built and Published by Chat
How It Works
Files Live in a Site Folder in the Workspace
Each site maps to its own folder under the instance workspace — ~/.openclaw/workspace/sites/{name}/. Anything your agent (or you) writes there — HTML, CSS, client-side JS, images, a favicon, or a whole server-side project — becomes the site. There is no separate upload step and no deploy command; the files your agent already wrote are the site.
The Site Gets Created Once, Then Never Again
A site has to be created before its folder means anything — that step is what provisions the subdomain, its DNS, and its routing. There is no separate publish button afterwards.
You can do it from the Website page on your dashboard: pick a name, which becomes the subdomain, and choose which instance it belongs to. Or you can just ask your bot. Your agent can create the site itself through the API, and it is told to confirm the name with you first, so “build me a portfolio and publish it” is a complete instruction — it will propose a subdomain, wait for your yes, create the site, and write the files.
Static or Dynamic Is Detected for You
You don't pick a mode and get stuck with it. A background reconciler checks each site about once a minute and decides:
- Nothing listening on port 3000 — the site is static, and the files in its folder are served directly.
- A process listening on port 3000 — the site becomes dynamic, and the subdomain reverse-proxies to your server.
The one rule that matters is the port: a backend must bind 0.0.0.0:3000, not localhost and not some other port. Add a backend later and the site promotes itself within about a minute; stop the backend and it falls back to serving files. A practical benefit of the dynamic mode is that API keys can stay on the server side instead of shipping to the browser.
Served on HTTPS at Your Own Subdomain
Either way, the site is reachable at {name}.openclawlaunch.app over HTTPS, typically within moments of the files landing in the folder. You don't manage certificates, a CDN, or a web server config — that part is handled for you.
How Many Sites You Get
Subdomain sites are available on every plan, including the free trial: 1 site on the trial, 3 on Lite, and 10 on Pro. Custom domains are gated separately and need a paid plan — 3 on Lite, 10 on Pro, and none on the trial. So a trial user can build and publish a real website today; only attaching their own domain requires upgrading.
Let Your Bot Build and Publish the Site
The point of this feature is that you don't write the HTML yourself. Chat with your bot the same way you would about anything else — "build me a portfolio site with my resume and three projects, and deploy it to my-portfolio" — and it writes the files straight into the site folder. As soon as the files are there and the site is enabled, it's live. If your bot seems unsure what you mean, tell it directly to use the website skill — that nudges it toward the right folder and workflow.
Because your agent already has a real terminal and file access inside its own container, it can iterate on the site the same way a developer would: edit a file, you refresh the page, ask for another change. There's no separate deploy pipeline to wait on.
Custom Domain
The openclawlaunch.app subdomain works out of the box with no setup, but you can also point your own domain at a site once it exists. This is a paid-plan feature and a dashboard-only flow — your agent can't add or verify a domain on your behalf. Once verified, the site is served at both the openclawlaunch.app subdomain and your domain, with the same static/dynamic detection on each. See the custom domain guide for how to attach one.
What It's Good For
- Landing pages — a product or project page you want live in minutes, not a deploy pipeline.
- Docs sites — plain HTML documentation your agent can keep updating as your project changes.
- Portfolios — a personal site with your resume and project links, built and maintained by your bot.
- Small apps and tools — a dashboard, a calculator, a game, or anything with a backend, since a process on port 3000 gets proxied straight through.
- Project sites — anything your AI agent builds for you and you want to hand someone a link to, without setting up hosting separately.
How to Enable It
The short version: tell your bot to build the site and publish it. It will propose a subdomain, wait for you to confirm, create the site, and write the files. If you would rather set it up yourself first:
- Open the Website page — From your OpenClaw Launch dashboard, go to the Website section.
- Create a site — Pick a name (this becomes your subdomain) and choose which running instance it belongs to.
- Tell your bot what to build — Ask it to build the page and write it into the site's folder in the workspace. If it seems unsure what you mean, tell it to use the website skill.
- Visit your site — Once the files are in place, the site is live at your subdomain over HTTPS. Use the dashboard to copy the link, visit it, or delete the site later.
A free trial is available if you want to try this before subscribing, and it includes one site — see pricing for plan details.
Static Site Hosting vs Netlify, Vercel, and GitHub Pages
| OpenClaw Launch | Netlify / Vercel | GitHub Pages | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who builds the site | Your AI agent writes the files for you | You write and push the code | You write and push the code |
| Setup | Create a site in the dashboard, no repo needed | Connect a git repo, configure a build | Push to a repo, configure Pages |
| Where content lives | Your instance's workspace folder | A git repository | A git repository |
| Account needed | Just your OpenClaw Launch account | Separate Netlify/Vercel account | GitHub account |
| HTTPS subdomain | Included automatically | Included automatically | Included automatically |
| Custom domain | Supported (paid plans) | Supported | Supported |
| Server-side code | Yes — bind port 3000 and it's proxied | Serverless functions | No — static only |
Netlify, Vercel, and GitHub Pages are great when you are already comfortable with git and want a dedicated hosting workflow. Static Site Hosting on OpenClaw Launch wins when you would rather describe the site to your AI agent and have it write and publish the files for you, without opening a separate hosting account.
Related Guides
- Custom Domain — point your own domain at a hosted site
- Coding harness hosting — run any AI coding CLI in a hosted cloud box
- What is OpenClaw? — the AI agent framework behind your instance
- OpenClaw Launch hosting plans — pricing and feature details
- Pricing — plans and free trial
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to know how to code to publish a site this way?
No. The point of Static Site Hosting is that your AI agent can write the HTML, CSS, and JS for you — you describe what you want in chat, and it writes the files into the site's folder. You can still edit files yourself if you want to, but it isn't required.
What kind of site can I host this way?
Both static sites and full-stack apps. Static files — HTML, CSS, client-side JavaScript, and assets like images — are served straight from the site folder. If instead you run a server inside the container that binds 0.0.0.0:3000, the subdomain reverse-proxies to it, so Express, Fastify, Flask, FastAPI, and Next.js in server mode all work. The platform detects which mode a site is in, about once a minute, so you can add or remove a backend at any time.
Can I try it on the free trial?
Yes. Subdomain sites are included on every plan: 1 on the free trial, 3 on Lite, and 10 on Pro. You do not need to upgrade just to publish a website. Custom domains are the part that needs a paid plan.
Where do the site files actually live?
Inside your OpenClaw instance's workspace, at ~/.openclaw/workspace/sites/{name}/. Your agent writes there directly, and creating the site — from the dashboard or by asking your agent — is what makes that folder's contents public.
Do I get an HTTPS URL automatically?
Yes. Once a site is created, it is served on its own subdomain of openclawlaunch.app over HTTPS — you don't configure certificates or a web server yourself. You can also attach your own custom domain to a site.
Can I try this before subscribing?
A free trial is available on OpenClaw Launch, so you can deploy an instance, ask your bot to build a site, and see it published before committing to a plan. See pricing for plan details.