Deploy OpenClaw on Hetzner

Why Hetzner?

Hetzner is a German hosting company with data centers in Falkenstein, Nuremberg, Helsinki, and Ashburn (US). They offer the best price-to-performance ratio in the industry — especially for European users who want GDPR-compliant hosting.

Step 1: Create a Server

1. Sign up at Hetzner Cloud
2. Create a new project
3. Click Add Server
4. Select Ubuntu 24.04
5. Choose CX22 (2 vCPU / 4 GB / 40 GB SSD) — €3.99/mo
6. Add your SSH key
7. Click Create & Buy Now

Step 2: Initial Server Setup

ssh root@your-hetzner-ip

# Update system
apt update && apt upgrade -y

# Install Node.js 22
curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_22.x | bash -
apt install -y nodejs

# Create a non-root user (recommended)
adduser openclaw
usermod -aG sudo openclaw
su - openclaw

Step 3: Install and Configure OpenClaw

# Install globally
sudo npm install -g openclaw

# Initialize
openclaw init

# Edit config
nano ~/.openclaw/config.yaml
# Add your API keys and Telegram bot token

Step 4: Run as a Service

sudo cat > /etc/systemd/system/openclaw.service << 'EOF'
[Unit]
Description=OpenClaw AI Agent
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=openclaw
ExecStart=/usr/bin/openclaw gateway start --foreground
Restart=always
RestartSec=5

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
EOF

sudo systemctl enable openclaw
sudo systemctl start openclaw

Step 5: Verify and Secure

# Check status
sudo systemctl status openclaw

# Set up firewall
sudo ufw allow 22    # SSH
sudo ufw allow 443   # HTTPS (if using web dashboard)
sudo ufw enable

# View logs
journalctl -u openclaw -f

Send a message to your Telegram bot — your agent should respond immediately.

Cost Breakdown