Selig
4c966a3ad2
6 custom skills (assign-task, dispatch-webhook, daily-briefing, task-capture, qmd-brain, tts-voice) with technical documentation. Compatible with Claude Code, OpenClaw, Codex CLI, and OpenCode.
1.4 KiB
OpenClaw on Hetzner: Production Docker VPS Setup
Overview
This guide enables deploying OpenClaw Gateway on a Hetzner VPS using Docker, with persistent state and reliable restart behavior. The setup costs approximately $5/month and maintains 24/7 availability.
Key Architecture Points
The deployment model separates ephemeral and durable components:
Ephemeral (rebuilt on restart):
- Docker container and Node runtime
- OS packages and external binaries
Persistent (survives restarts):
- Gateway configuration at
/home/node/.openclaw/ - Model authentication profiles
- Skill configurations
- Agent workspace artifacts
- WhatsApp session data
- Gmail keyring (password-protected)
Critical Setup Requirement
External binaries must be baked into the image during Docker build, not installed at runtime. Installing binaries in a running container causes data loss on restart. The Dockerfile should include all required CLI tools (gog, goplaces, wacli, etc.) via curl and tar extraction to /usr/local/bin/.
Access Pattern
The Gateway runs on port 18789 bound to 127.0.0.1 for security. Access from your laptop requires an SSH tunnel:
ssh -N -L 18789:127.0.0.1:18789 root@YOUR_VPS_IP
Then connect to http://127.0.0.1:18789/ with your gateway token.
Prerequisites
You'll need root SSH access, Docker/Docker Compose, model credentials, and about 20 minutes to complete the deployment.