How to Deploy OpenClaw on DigitalOcean in 10 Minutes
Getting your own AI assistant backend running in the cloud can feel like a daunting task, but it doesn’t have to be. OpenClaw is designed to be a flexible, self-hostable gateway for various AI models, and DigitalOcean offers one of the quickest and most cost-effective ways to get it deployed. Not only is their platform developer-friendly, but new users often get a generous credit – currently $200 – which is more than enough to run an entry-level OpenClaw instance for over two years!
This guide will walk you through setting up OpenClaw on a DigitalOcean Droplet, from provisioning your server to ensuring it runs reliably 24/7, and even adding a layer of professional polish with a custom domain and SSL. While the core setup can be incredibly fast, we’ll also cover some best practices that will take a little longer but are well worth the effort for a production-ready system.
Setting Up Your DigitalOcean Account and Claiming Credits
First things first, you’ll need a DigitalOcean account. If you don’t have one, head over to DigitalOcean’s Droplet page or simply sign up at their main site. Look for promotions offering free credits. As of writing, new users can often claim $200 in free credits, valid for 60 days. This is a fantastic deal, providing ample runway to experiment with OpenClaw without incurring immediate costs.
Once your account is active and credits are applied, you’re ready to provision your first server, or “Droplet” in DigitalOcean’s terminology.
Provisioning Your OpenClaw Droplet
From your DigitalOcean dashboard, click the green “Create” button in the top right corner, then select “Droplets.”
- Choose an image: We recommend Ubuntu 22.04 LTS (Long Term Support). It’s a stable, widely supported Linux distribution, making troubleshooting easier if you ever run into issues.
- Choose a plan: For OpenClaw, a basic plan is usually sufficient for personal use or light traffic. Select the Basic plan and opt for the cheapest tier: $6/month (or $0.009/hour) which typically includes 1 vCPU, 2GB RAM, and 50GB SSD disk. This provides plenty of resources for OpenClaw itself. If you anticipate heavy usage or integrating with local models (though we’re not covering that here), you might consider a more powerful option later.
- Choose a datacenter region: Select a region closest to you or your primary users. This minimizes network latency, leading to a snappier experience when interacting with your OpenClaw instance. For example, if you’re in Europe, choosing “Frankfurt” or “London” would be ideal.
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Authentication: This is a critical security step. Choose SSH keys. If you don’t have one, DigitalOcean will guide you through creating one. For Linux/macOS users, you can generate a key pair with
ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096and then copy the public key (e.g., `~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub`) into the DigitalOcean interface. This method is far more secure and convenient than password authentication. -
Finalize and Create: Give your Droplet a hostname (e.g.,
openclaw-gateway-01). You can skip backups for now to save costs, but consider them for production. Click “Create Droplet.” Your Droplet will be provisioned in about a minute. Note down its public IPv4 address.
Connecting to Your Droplet via SSH
Once your Droplet is ready, you’ll see its public IP address in your DigitalOcean dashboard. Open your terminal or command prompt and connect to it using SSH. Since we used SSH keys, you won’t need a password.
ssh root@YOUR_DROPLET_IP_ADDRESSReplace YOUR_DROPLET_IP_ADDRESS with the actual IP. The first time you connect, you might be asked to confirm the authenticity of the host. Type `yes` and press Enter.
You are now logged in as the `root` user. While convenient for quick setup, in a true production environment, you’d typically create a new, less privileged user and disable root login, but for a 10-minute deployment, `root` is fine.
Preparing the Environment: Node.js Installation
OpenClaw is a Node.js application, so we need to install Node.js and npm (Node
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