openclaw-deploy

Tools to assist in setting up an OpenClaw instance on a VPS or local machine, without Docker. Targets Debian-based distributions.

The goal is a working OpenClaw gateway on a VPS, connected to a private Tailscale network coordinated by a self-hosted Headscale server.

Scripts cover:

• Installing required OS packages
• Installing the OpenClaw gateway as a systemd user service
• Configuring a Headscale coordination server with nginx reverse proxy and Let's Encrypt TLS
• Nightly PostgreSQL backups
• Setting up a local client to connect to the remote gateway

Secrets (API keys, tokens) are kept out of the repository in a .env-secret file and substituted at deploy time.

Getting started

The first step on a fresh VPS is to get the repository onto the server. Two paths are available depending on what you have access to.

Option A — rsync from a local clone

If you have a local clone of this repository:

rsync scripts/bootstrap.sh root@<vps-ip>:~/
ssh root@<vps-ip> bash bootstrap.sh

Option B — curl directly on the server

If you have SSH access to the server and it already has curl:

BASE=https://forgejo.openeyedev.eu/OpenEyeDev/openclaw-deploy/raw/branch/main
curl -fsSL "${BASE}/scripts/bootstrap.sh" -o bootstrap.sh
bash bootstrap.sh

Bootstrap options

Both paths run the same bootstrap.sh script, which installs git and clones this repository to ~/openclaw-deploy. Optional arguments:

Argument	Default	Description
-r, --repository	this repo	Clone from a fork instead
-b, --branch	main	Check out a different branch

Example with a fork on a feature branch:

bash bootstrap.sh -r https://forgejo.openeyedev.eu/you/openclaw-deploy.git -b my-feature

Keeping the server up to date

After the initial bootstrap, pull new commits from the repository with:

bash ~/openclaw-deploy/scripts/update-repo.sh

This resets any local changes, removes untracked files, and pulls the latest commit. If there are local changes it will ask for confirmation first. Use --force to skip the prompt.

After bootstrap

Once the repository is on the server:

1. Copy the sample secrets file and fill in your values:

   cd ~/openclaw-deploy
   cp .env-secret.sample .env-secret
   vim .env-secret
   

2. Edit /etc/headscale/config.yaml for your domain.
3. Run the setup scripts in order:

   sudo bash scripts/vps_bootstrap.sh
   sudo bash scripts/setup_headscale.sh
   sudo bash scripts/setup_openclaw.sh
   sudo bash scripts/setup_postgresql_backup.sh
   

License

Copyright 2026 - Ronald Portier (Open Eye Development)

Licensed under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 or later. See LICENSE or https://www.gnu.org/licenses/agpl.html for details.

Tested versions

Tested on Debian 13 (Trixie) on a Hetzner VPS.

Component	Version
Tailscale	1.98.2
PostgreSQL	18.4
SOPS	3.13.1
age	1.2.1
Headscale	0.28.0
Node.js	24.15.0
Python	3.13.5