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@dabit3
Last active February 4, 2026 06:58
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How to set up OpenClaw on Digital Ocean

OpenClaw on DigitalOcean

1. Create a Droplet

Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, nearest region

2. Select Premium AMD

2 GB RAM / 1 AMD CPU / 50 GB NVMe

3. SSH into server

ssh root@YOUR_IP

4. Create sudo user

adduser clawuser && usermod -aG sudo clawuser && su - clawuser

5. Install OpenClaw

npm install -g openclaw@latest

Then run exec bash

6. Configure API keys

openclaw onboard --install-daemon

7. Start gateway

openclaw gateway --port 18789 --verbose

8. SSH tunnel to access UI

ssh -L 18789:127.0.0.1:18789 clawuser@YOUR_IP

Open http://127.0.0.1:18789

9. DashbToard

Run openclaw dashboard if you are trying to connect and can't find the token.

10. Troubleshooting

Run openclaw doctor to diagnose issues and surface risky/misconfigured settings.

@dsebastien
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Given the uncovered vulnerabilities so far, it's probably best to avoid binding clawd to the public IP of the VM / exposing it directly to the Internet

@sostenesapollo
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and regarding the ssh authentication ?

@Mis4nthr0pic
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What I don’t really understand is the pricing. How are people dealing with that? Using it with Claude feels almost impossible, it’s basically a minimum of $20 per day in credits. Which models are actually more cost-effective?

@zenflow
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zenflow commented Feb 4, 2026

@Mis4nthr0pic My OpenAI/ChatGPT Plus subscription costs $20 USD / month and gets me unlimited usage since I signed in via OAuth (not API key)

To get the OAuth authentication flow to work you need to set up SSH port forwarding so the OAuth callback can reach your remote droplet:
ssh -L 1455:localhost:1455 user@your-droplet-ip

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