While [ClawSimple](/content/site-root.html) offers a fully managed service for convenience, you are free to run OpenClaw on your own infrastructure for free.

This guide will walk you through setting up a self-hosted OpenClaw instance on a fresh Ubuntu server.

## Prerequisites

Before you begin, you will need:

1. **A Fresh Ubuntu Server**: We recommend Ubuntu 22.04 LTS or newer. A server with 2 vCPU and 4GB RAM is a good starting point. You can get one from providers like AWS, DigitalOcean, or Hetzner.
2. **Root Access**: You need SSH access to your server with `root` privileges (or `sudo` access).
3. **Telegram Bot Token**: Create a new bot with [@BotFather](https://t.me/BotFather) on Telegram and get your API Token.
4. **Telegram User ID**: Find your numeric User ID (e.g., via [@userinfobot](https://t.me/userinfobot)) to add yourself to the allowlist.
5. **AI API Key** (Optional): An API key for OpenAI or Z.ai if you want to use specific models.

## Step 1: Connect to Your Server

Open your terminal and SSH into your server:

```
ssh root@your-server-ip
```

## Step 2: Run the Installer

We provide an automated installation script that handles dependencies (Node.js, pnpm), systemd service creation, and initial configuration.

Copy and paste the following command into your terminal:

```
curl -fsSL https://clawsimple.com/api/install | bash
```

The script will ask you for a few details:

- **Telegram Bot Token**: Paste the token you got from BotFather.
- **Telegram User ID**: Enter your numeric ID.
- **AI API Keys**: (Optional) Enter your keys if you have them.

## Step 3: Deployment Complete

Once the script finishes, you will see a success message:

```
==========================================
  ClawSimple Installation Complete!
==========================================
```

Your OpenClaw bot is now running as a systemd service called `clawsimple`.

### Useful Commands

- **Check Status**: `sudo systemctl status clawsimple`
- **View Logs**: `sudo journalctl -u clawsimple -f`
- **Restart Service**: `sudo systemctl restart clawsimple`

## What's Next?

Your bot should now be online on Telegram! Send `Hi` to your bot to start chatting.

Since you are self-hosting, you have full control over the configuration. You can find the environment variables in `/opt/clawsimple/.env` and the main config in `/opt/clawsimple/.openclaw/openclaw.json`.

Happy hacking!