The Ultimate Clawdbot Deployment Guide

Deploying the amazing AI super-agent now known as Moltbot.

TL;DR

What is it? An outstandingly versatile AI bot that works via things you (probably) already use (Slack, Discord, Telegram, Signal, etc)
Want it easy? Buy a Mac mini ($599) or use Railway (one-click).
Want it cheap? Hetzner VPS (~$5/month) or repurpose an old laptop with WSL2.
Want iMessage? You need macOS—Mac mini, MacStadium, or Scaleway. Already have hardware? Run it as a second user, on your NAS, or that Raspberry Pi in your drawer.

The best deployment is the one you’ll actually maintain. Start simple.

What is Clawdbot/Moltbot?

Clawdbot is an open-source, self-hosted AI assistant that lives on "your" computer/server and talks to you through the apps you already use—WhatsApp, Telegram, iMessage, Discord, Slack, Signal, and more. It’s not a chatbot you visit. It’s an assistant that’s always running, always available, and messages you when something needs attention.

Think of it as your own personal AI that can read your emails, manage your calendar, control your smart home, run code, browse the web, and remember everything across conversations—all running on hardware you control.

The short history: Created by Peter Steinberger (founder of PSPDFKit) as a hobby project in late 2025. It started as a way to have Claude actually do things instead of just chat.

The growth: It recently crossed 80,000+ stars—making it one of the fastest-growing open-source projects in GitHub history. The community exploded. Deployment guides, skills, integrations, and forks started appearing faster than anyone could track.

Why the hype? Because it actually works. It’s not a demo. It’s not vaporware. You can install it today and have a working AI assistant by tonight.

NOTE: Clawdbot/Moltbot is still for early adopters. It has some rough tech-edges, it has risks – but it also has significant rewards. Deployer beware.

What’s This Guide?

This guide covers every way I know to deploy Clawdbot—from a $35 Raspberry Pi to enterprise AWS setups. Pick the one that matches your budget, technical comfort, and what features you need.

This list will continue to grow. Detailed deployment guides for each platform are coming. If you’ve got a setup that works, share it—I’ll add it.

Choose Your Category

When to Pick Each

🍎 Mac (Hardware or Hosted) — You want the full Clawdbot experience: iMessage channel, Voice Wake, Peekaboo screenshots, local model inference on Apple Silicon. If you need iMessage integration, macOS is your only option.

🪟 Windows/Mini PC — You have old hardware sitting around, or want dedicated hardware cheaper than a Mac. Runs Linux via WSL2 or natively. Perfect for budget builds.

🐧 Linux VPS — You only need Telegram, Discord, WhatsApp, or Slack. Cheapest path to ²⁴⁄₇ uptime. $5/month gets you a reliable always-on assistant.

🚀 One-Click PaaS — You want it running in 5 minutes with zero sysadmin. Railway and Fly.io have templates ready to go.

🏠 Home Server — You already run Unraid, Home Assistant, or have a Raspberry Pi. Put that always-on hardware to work.

⚙️ Advanced — You’re deploying for a team, need reproducible infrastructure, or want everything declared in code. Pulumi, NixOS, Docker Model Runner.

Quick Comparison

*One-time hardware cost, no recurring fees

The Full List

What follows is every deployment option I’ve found, organized by category. Each section includes setup complexity, costs, pros/cons, and my verdict.

Jump to:

• Mac Options (6 options)
• Windows & Mini PC (3 options)
• Linux VPS (6 options)
• One-Click PaaS (3 options)
• Home Server (4 options)
• Advanced (3 options)

The Mac Options

1. Buy a Mac mini

The gold standard.

M4 Mac mini starts at $599. It sits on your desk, runs forever, uses ~10W idle, and you own the hardware. No monthly fees after the upfront cost. Full macOS—iMessage, native apps, Apple Silicon performance.

Why it wins:

• No recurring cost (after purchase)
• Full system access
• Native macOS features (iMessage channel, Voice Wake, Peekaboo)
• Run local models on the Neural Engine
• Zero latency to your home network

The catch: You need decent internet, and if your power goes out, so does your assistant.

Verdict: If you have $600 and a shelf, do this.

2. Run It as a Second User on Your Main Mac

Zero cost if you already have a Mac.

Create a second macOS user. Run Clawdbot there. Switch users when you need to peek at logs. Your personal session stays clean; Clawdbot gets its own sandbox.

# Create a clawdbot user in System Settings → Users & Groups
# Then SSH in or switch users to run:
clawdbot onboard --install-daemon

Why it works:

• No new hardware
• Full macOS features
• Isolated from your main account
• LaunchAgent keeps it running

The catch: Your Mac needs to stay on. Sleep kills it unless you disable sleep entirely or use Power Nap + caffeinate.

Verdict: Free tier for Mac owners. Great for testing before committing to dedicated hardware.

3. MacStadium (Hosted Mac mini)

Enterprise-grade Mac hosting.

MacStadium runs data centers full of Mac minis. You rent one. It’s yours—dedicated hardware, not shared. Starts around $79/month for Apple Silicon.

Why you’d use it:

• ²⁴⁄₇ uptime, professional ops
• Dedicated hardware (not VMs)
• Good network connectivity
• They handle hardware failures

The catch: $79+/month adds up. A Mac mini pays for itself in ~8 months.

Verdict: Makes sense for businesses or when you can’t run hardware at home. Overkill for hobbyists.

4. macOS VM on a Mac (Tart, Parallels, UTM)

Run macOS inside macOS.

Apple Silicon lets you virtualize macOS legally. Tart is the lightweight option—uses Apple’s native Virtualization.framework, near-native performance, OCI-compatible images.

brew install cirruslabs/cli/tart
tart clone ghcr.io/cirruslabs/macos-sequoia-base:latest clawdbot-vm
tart run clawdbot-vm

Parallels is the polished option ($$). UTM is free but slower.

Why it works:

• Isolated environment
• Snapshot/clone for testing
• Run multiple Clawdbots with different configs
• Keep your host clean

The catch: Performance overhead. Can’t access some hardware features (TouchID, some sensors). Virtualization license restrictions for commercial use.

Verdict: Great for dev/testing. Tart is the move for Apple Silicon.

5. Scaleway Cloud Mac

European Mac hosting that doesn’t suck.

Scaleway offers Mac mini M4 Pro instances with hourly billing (after first 24 hours). Based in Paris, good connectivity to Europe.

Pricing: Starts ~€0.10/hour after the first day.

Why it’s interesting:

• Hourly billing (unlike AWS’s Mac instances with 24-hour minimum)
• Modern hardware (M4 Pro available)
• Good documentation including Tart virtualization tutorials
• Less enterprise overhead than AWS

The catch: European data centers only. Might add latency if you’re US-based.

Verdict: Best cloud Mac option for flexible billing. Try before committing to hardware.

6. RentAMac.io / OakHost

The dedicated Mac rental middle ground.

Smaller providers that rent dedicated Mac minis. No shared resources, no VMs—your own hardware.

RentAMac.io — Flexible plans, dedicated machines, full admin
OakHost — Macs hosted at Hetzner (good network), solid reviews

Why they work:

• Dedicated hardware (not shared/VMs)
• Full admin access
• More personal support than enterprise providers
• Often cheaper than MacStadium

The catch: Smaller operations = variable service quality. Do your research.

Verdict: Good middle ground between “buy hardware” and “enterprise hosting.” Worth comparing prices.

❌ DO NOT Rent a Mac at MacInCloud

Hard pass.

I tried MacInCloud. Here’s what I got:

• Poor network performance — laggy connections, packet loss
• Poor customer service — robotic "not our problem" denial emails
• Awful management software — the remote monitoring software they install breaks things, blocks applications, and interferes with automation

Verdict: Avoid. There are better options at every price point.

The Windows & Mini PC Options

7. Windows PC with WSL2 (Reuse That Old Laptop)

Turn e-waste into infrastructure.

Got an old Windows laptop collecting dust? Install WSL2 (Windows Subsystem for Linux), run Ubuntu, deploy Clawdbot. It’s Linux under the hood, so you get full compatibility.

# PowerShell (Admin)
wsl --install -d Ubuntu-24.04

Then inside WSL:

npm i -g clawdbot@latest
clawdbot onboard --install-daemon

Why it works:

• Free (you already own it)
• Decent performance on any modern laptop
• Linux compatibility without dual-boot
• Keep the laptop plugged in and lidded

The catch: WSL networking can be annoying (port forwarding required for LAN access). No native macOS features.

Verdict: Best way to repurpose old hardware. Set it up, close the lid, forget about it.

8. Intel NUC

The enterprise mini PC.

Intel NUCs are small, powerful, and designed for always-on use. NUC ¹²⁄₁₃ Pro models are overkill for Clawdbot but will run anything you throw at them.

Pricing: $300-800 depending on specs.

Why it works:

• Designed for ²⁴⁄₇ operation
• Low power consumption (~15-25W)
• Excellent Linux support
• Compact form factor

The catch: Intel discontinued NUCs (ASUS took over). Prices are higher than alternatives.

Verdict: Great if you find one on sale. Otherwise, look at Beelink/Minisforum.

9. Beelink / Minisforum / Nipogi Mini PCs

The budget king.

Chinese mini PC brands offer ridiculous value. A Beelink S12 Pro (~$160) or SER5 (~$280) runs Clawdbot perfectly.

Popular choices:

• Beelink S12 Pro (~$160) — Intel N100, 16GB RAM, good enough for Clawdbot
• Beelink SER5 (~$280) — Ryzen 7, 32GB RAM, room to grow
• Minisforum MS-01 (~$600+) — Overkill, but great for homelabs

# Install Ubuntu or Debian, then:
npm i -g clawdbot@latest
clawdbot onboard --install-daemon

Why it works:

• Insane price/performance ratio
• Low power (~10-35W)
• Runs Linux perfectly
• Small and silent

The catch: Build quality varies. Buy from Amazon for easy returns.

Verdict: Best bang for buck if you want dedicated hardware. The S12 Pro at $160 is hard to beat.

The Linux VPS Options

10. exe.dev

The hacker’s VPS.

exe.dev gives you cheap Linux VMs with a nice SSH-native workflow. Not macOS, but Clawdbot runs fine on Linux—you just lose iMessage and native macOS features.

ssh exe.dev new --name=clawdbot
ssh clawdbot.exe.xyz
npm i -g clawdbot@latest
clawdbot onboard --install-daemon

Built-in HTTPS proxy means no tunnel config for web access.

Why it works:

• ~$5/month
• Fast setup (minutes)
• Good for Telegram/Discord/WhatsApp channels
• Stateful VMs (your data persists)

The catch: Linux only. No iMessage, no Voice Wake, no Peekaboo screenshots.

Verdict: Cheapest always-on option. Perfect if you only need messaging channels.

11. Hetzner

The self-hoster’s favorite.

Hetzner offers the cheapest reliable VPS in Europe. CAX11 ARM box starts at ~€4/month. Good docs exist: Hetzner guide.

Docker recommended for clean deploys:

services:
  clawdbot-gateway:
    image: clawdbot:latest
    restart: unless-stopped
    volumes:
      - /root/.clawdbot:/home/node/.clawdbot
      - /root/clawd:/home/node/clawd
    ports:
      - "127.0.0.1:18789:18789"

Why it works:

• Cheapest reliable option (~€4-8/month)
• European data centers
• ARM boxes are efficient
• Great for Docker

The catch: Linux only. UI is dated but functional.

Verdict: Gold standard for cheap, reliable VPS hosting.

12. DigitalOcean / Linode / Vultr

The friendly VPS options.

More polished UI than Hetzner, slightly higher prices. Droplets/Linodes start at $5-6/month.

Why you’d use them:

• Better documentation
• More data center locations
• Easier for beginners
• Good monitoring/alerts built-in

The catch: 20-30% more expensive than Hetzner for similar specs.

Verdict: Pay slightly more for a nicer experience.

13. AWS EC2

The enterprise default.

Spin up an EC2 instance (t3.small or t4g.small is plenty), install Node, run Clawdbot. You’re in AWS’s ecosystem with all its pros and cons.

# On your EC2 instance (Amazon Linux 2023 or Ubuntu)
sudo yum install -y nodejs npm  # or apt-get on Ubuntu
npm i -g clawdbot@latest
clawdbot onboard --install-daemon

Why you’d use it:

• You’re already in AWS
• Integrates with other AWS services (S3, Lambda, CloudWatch)
• Enterprise compliance/security boxes checked
• Spot instances can be dirt cheap (~$3/month for t4g.small spot)

The catch:

• AWS billing complexity (watch for surprise charges)
• Overkill if you just need a simple always-on box

Verdict: Makes sense if you’re already in AWS. Otherwise, Hetzner is simpler and cheaper.

14. Google Cloud (GCP)

The “other” big cloud.

GCP’s e2-micro is in the free tier (1 vCPU, 1GB RAM). For Clawdbot, you’ll want at least an e2-small (~$13/month) or use preemptible/spot for savings.

gcloud compute instances create clawdbot \
  --machine-type=e2-small \
  --image-family=ubuntu-2404-lts \
  --image-project=ubuntu-os-cloud

Why you’d use it:

• Free tier for tiny workloads
• Preemptible instances are cheap (~$3-4/month)
• Good if you’re already in GCP

The catch: Free tier is too small for comfortable Clawdbot use. GCP’s UI is… a lot.

Verdict: Good option if GCP is your cloud. Otherwise, simpler options exist.

15. Microsoft Azure

The corporate cloud.

Azure VMs work fine for Clawdbot. B1s (~$7/month) or B2s (~$30/month) depending on your workload.

az vm create \
  --resource-group clawdbot-rg \
  --name clawdbot \
  --image Ubuntu2404 \
  --size Standard_B1s \
  --admin-username azureuser \
  --generate-ssh-keys

Why you’d use it:

• You’re in a Microsoft shop
• Azure AD integration if you need it
• Good free credits for new accounts

The catch: Azure’s portal is confusing. Pricing is opaque.

Verdict: Fine if Azure is your thing. Most individuals should look elsewhere.

The One-Click PaaS Options

16. Railway

One-click deploy, zero config.

Railway has a Clawdbot template. Click deploy, set your API key, done.

Why it works:

• Literally one click
• Automatic HTTPS
• Good free tier
• Git-based deploys

The catch: Gets expensive at scale. Less control than a VPS.

Verdict: Best “I want this running in 5 minutes” option.

17. Fly.io

Edge deployment for the cool kids.

Fly runs your containers on edge servers worldwide. Official docs exist. Deploy in ~2-3 minutes.

fly launch
fly deploy

Why it works:

• Global edge network (low latency everywhere)
• Good free tier
• Docker-native
• Easy scaling

The catch: Fly’s pricing model is confusing. Watch your usage.

Verdict: Great for global availability. Overkill for personal use.

18. Coolify (Self-Hosted PaaS)

Your own Heroku/Vercel.

Coolify is an open-source PaaS you host yourself. Community templates for Clawdbot exist (clawdbot-coolify).

Why it works:

• One-click deploys on your own hardware
• No vendor lock-in
• Free (you just pay for the server)
• Great UI

The catch: You need a server to run Coolify on first.

Verdict: Perfect if you already have a VPS and want easy app management.

The Home Server Options

19. Raspberry Pi

The $35 always-on server.

Yes, people run Clawdbot on Raspberry Pis. Pi ⁴⁄₅ with 4GB+ RAM works. Pair with Cloudflare Tunnel for remote access.

# On Raspberry Pi OS (64-bit)
curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_22.x | sudo bash -
sudo apt-get install -y nodejs
npm i -g clawdbot@latest
clawdbot onboard --install-daemon

Why it works:

• Dirt cheap (~$35-80)
• Runs ²⁴⁄₇ on ~5W
• Huge community
• Already have one in a drawer?

The catch: ARM can have edge cases. SD cards fail—use an SSD.

Verdict: Great for tinkerers. Boot off SSD and it’s surprisingly reliable.

20. Synology / QNAP NAS

Your NAS can do more than store files.

If you have a Synology or QNAP NAS, you can run Clawdbot in Docker via Container Manager.

Why it works:

• Already running ²⁴⁄₇
• Docker support built-in
• No extra hardware

The catch: NAS CPUs are weak. Security surface area increases. Community reports mixed results.

Verdict: Possible but not ideal. Use a VM on the NAS if it supports it.

21. Unraid

The homelab favorite.

Unraid makes it easy to run Docker containers alongside your media server. Community interest is high.

Why it works:

• Docker-native
• Already running ²⁴⁄₇
• Great community templates

The catch: License cost ($59-129). Overkill if you just want Clawdbot.

Verdict: Perfect if you’re already running Unraid.

22. Home Assistant Add-on

For the smart home crowd.

Home Assistant add-on lets you run Clawdbot alongside your home automation.

Why it works:

• Integrates with Home Assistant
• One-click install from add-on store
• Already running ²⁴⁄₇

The catch: Limited to what the add-on exposes.

Verdict: Great if HA is your hub. Let your AI control your home.

The Advanced Options

23. Pulumi + Tailscale (Infrastructure as Code)

For the DevOps-minded.

Pulumi blog post shows how to deploy Clawdbot on AWS or Hetzner with Tailscale for secure access. Full IaC, reproducible deploys.

Why it works:

• Reproducible infrastructure
• Secure by default (Tailscale mesh)
• Works with AWS, Hetzner, or any cloud

The catch: Requires IaC knowledge.

Verdict: Best practice for production deployments.

24. clawdinators (NixOS + OpenTofu)

The “hive mind” setup.

clawdinators is an opinionated AWS deployment using NixOS + OpenTofu. Features shared EFS “hive-mind” memory layer and auto-sync with upstream.

Why it works:

• Zero manual steps
• Declarative configuration
• Auto-updates from upstream
• Proper secrets management

The catch: NixOS learning curve. AWS-specific.

Verdict: Most sophisticated open-source deployment option.

25. Docker + Local LLMs (Docker Model Runner)

Keep it all local.

Run Clawdbot with Docker Model Runner for fully local AI. No API keys, no cloud, complete privacy.

Why it works:

• 100% local (no data leaves your machine)
• No API costs
• Works offline

The catch: Needs beefy hardware for good performance. Local models aren’t as good as Claude/GPT-4.

Verdict: For the privacy-conscious or API-cost-averse.

The Decision Tree

“I want it to just work” → Buy a Mac mini

“I have a Mac already” → Run as second user

“I have $160 and want dedicated hardware” → Beelink S12 Pro

“I have an old laptop” → Windows + WSL2

“I only need Telegram/Discord/WhatsApp” → exe.dev or Hetzner VPS (~$5/month)

“I want one-click deploy” → Railway

“I need iMessage + ²⁴⁄₇ uptime but can’t run hardware at home” → Scaleway or RentAMac.io

“Enterprise/compliance requirements” → MacStadium or your existing cloud

“I already run a homelab” → Unraid, Coolify, or Proxmox

“I want reproducible infra” → Pulumi + Tailscale or clawdinators

“Should I use MacInCloud?” → No.

What’s Next

Detailed deployment guides are coming for each platform. Step-by-step instructions, troubleshooting, and best practices.

This list will keep growing. Found a setup that works? Running Clawdbot somewhere not listed? Let me know—I’ll add it.

Final Thought

The “best” deployment is the one that's easy for you to maintain. A $5 VPS that runs reliably beats a $1,000 setup you forget to update.

Start simple. Scale up when you hit limits. The Mac mini sitting on your desk at home is still probably the best option for most people—no subscriptions, no dependencies, no one can pull the plug but you.

But if you’ve got an old laptop, a Raspberry Pi in a drawer, or a NAS that’s barely working… put it to work.