OpenClaw on a VPS: A Complete Beginner’s Setup Guide

Hostinger Cloud VPS · Telegram Integration · WordPress Connection · No prior Linux experience required.

What this guide covers:

• Setting up a Hostinger cloud VPS
• Installing OpenClaw
• Connecting Telegram so you can chat with it
• Connecting OpenClaw to your WordPress site
• Keeping it running 24/7
• Reducing API costs by up to 97%

⚠️ A Note on Windows VPS

Hostinger does offer Windows VPS plans, but they are not recommended for OpenClaw for two reasons:

• Cost: Windows VPS plans cost approximately 3x more than equivalent Linux plans.
• Compatibility: OpenClaw is built and tested for Linux. Running it on Windows adds unnecessary complexity.

This guide uses Ubuntu 22.04 (Linux). You do not need any prior Linux experience — just follow each step exactly as written.

Before You Start#

Before diving in, make sure you have the following ready:

💡 What is a VPS? A VPS (Virtual Private Server) is your own private computer in the cloud. It runs 24/7 even when your laptop is off. Think of it like renting a small always-on computer that lives in a data center and is accessible from anywhere.

Part 1: Set Up Your Hostinger VPS#

1.1 Create a Hostinger Account#

1. Go to hostinger.com in your browser
2. Click Get Started or Hosting in the top menu
3. Choose VPS Hosting from the menu
4. Select the KVM 2 plan (recommended — gives you enough power for OpenClaw)
5. Create your account with your email address and a strong password
6. Complete payment with your credit card

💡 Which plan to choose? The KVM 2 plan (2 CPU cores, 8GB RAM) works well for OpenClaw. If you plan to run other tools alongside it, consider KVM 4. You can always upgrade later.

1.2 Create Your Server#

After purchasing, Hostinger will ask you to set up your server:

7. Go to your Hostinger dashboard at hpanel.hostinger.com
8. Click VPS in the left menu
9. Click your new VPS to open its settings
10. Under Operating System, select Ubuntu 22.04 LTS
11. Set a root password — write this down somewhere safe
12. Click Create Server and wait 2-3 minutes for it to be ready

⚠️ Write down your password! The root password you set here is like the master key to your server. Store it in a password manager or write it down in a safe place. If you lose it, you’ll need to reset your entire server.

1.3 Find Your Server’s IP Address#

Your server has an IP address — think of it as its home address on the internet.

13. In the Hostinger VPS dashboard, look for your server
14. You’ll see a number like 45.82.72.151 — this is your IP address
15. Write it down or copy it somewhere handy

1.4 Connect to Your Server#

On Windows (Primary):

16. Download and install PuTTY from putty.org — it is free
17. Open PuTTY from your Start menu
18. In the Host Name field, type your server IP address
19. Make sure Port is set to 22 and Connection type is SSH
20. Click Open
21. Click Accept if a security warning pops up
22. At the login prompt type: root and press Enter
23. Enter your root password (nothing will appear as you type — this is normal)
24. You are in! You will see a line ending in # which means the server is ready

💡 Right-click to paste in PuTTY PuTTY uses right-click to paste text — not Ctrl+V. To copy text from PuTTY, just highlight it with your mouse and it copies automatically.

On Mac (if applicable):

25. Open the Terminal app (press Cmd + Space, type Terminal, press Enter)
26. Type the following command, replacing YOUR_IP with your server IP address:

ssh root@YOUR_IP

27. Press Enter, type yes if asked about fingerprint
28. Enter your root password when asked

Part 2: Prepare the Server#

2.1 Update the Server#

apt update
apt upgrade -y

This may take a few minutes. Wait until you see the prompt again before continuing.

2.2 Install Node.js#

curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_20.x | bash -
apt install -y nodejs

Verify it installed correctly:

node --version
npm --version

You should see version numbers like v20.x.x.

2.3 Install Git#

apt install -y git

2.4 Create a Regular User (Optional but Recommended)#

Running everything as root is not ideal for security. Create a regular user:

adduser yournamehere
usermod -aG sudo yournamehere

Replace yournamehere with whatever username you want.

2.5 Set Up a Basic Firewall#

ufw allow ssh
ufw allow 22
ufw enable

Type y and press Enter when asked to confirm.

💡 What just happened? UFW (Uncomplicated Firewall) is now blocking all incoming connections except SSH (port 22). This is sensible default protection for any internet-facing server.

Part 3: Install OpenClaw#

3.1 Install OpenClaw#

npm install -g openclaw

Verify it installed:

openclaw --version

3.2 Create Your Workspace#

mkdir -p ~/.openclaw/workspace
cd ~/.openclaw

3.3 Get Your OpenRouter API Key#

OpenRouter is the service that connects OpenClaw to AI models like Claude. You need an API key:

1. Go to openrouter.ai in your browser
2. Click Sign Up and create a free account
3. Go to Keys in the dashboard
4. Click Create Key, give it a name like my-openclaw
5. Copy the key — it starts with sk-or-v1-...
6. Save it somewhere safe — you’ll need it in the next step

💡 How much credit to add? Start with $5-10. OpenClaw is very efficient and this amount will last weeks or months of normal use. You can check your spending anytime at openrouter.ai/activity.

⚠️ Keep your API key private Never share your API key or commit it to GitHub. Anyone with your key can use your API credits.

3.4 Configure OpenClaw#

nano ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json

Paste this configuration, replacing the placeholder values:

{
  "model": "anthropic/claude-haiku-4-5",
  "apiKey": "YOUR_OPENROUTER_API_KEY",
  "agents": {
    "defaults": {
      "sandbox": { "mode": "off" }
    }
  },
  "tools": {
    "fs": { "workspaceOnly": false }
  }
}

Save with Ctrl+X, then Y, then Enter.

3.5 Test OpenClaw#

openclaw start

You should see OpenClaw start up without errors. Press Ctrl+C to stop it for now.

Part 4: Set Up Telegram#

4.1 Create Your Telegram Bot#

1. Open Telegram on your phone or computer
2. Search for @BotFather
3. Start a conversation and type /newbot
4. Give your bot a name (e.g. My OpenClaw Assistant)
5. Give it a username ending in bot (e.g. myopenclaw_bot)
6. BotFather will give you a token — copy it, it looks like 123456789:ABCdefGHI...

4.2 Get Your Chat ID#

1. Search for @userinfobot in Telegram
2. Start a conversation — it will immediately reply with your user ID
3. Copy that number — this is your Chat ID

4.3 Install the Telegram Skill#

openclaw skill install telegram

4.4 Configure Telegram#

Update your openclaw.json:

nano ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json

Add the Telegram section:

{
  "model": "anthropic/claude-haiku-4-5",
  "apiKey": "YOUR_OPENROUTER_API_KEY",
  "telegram": {
    "botToken": "YOUR_BOT_TOKEN",
    "allowedChatIds": [YOUR_CHAT_ID]
  },
  "agents": {
    "defaults": {
      "sandbox": { "mode": "off" }
    }
  },
  "tools": {
    "fs": { "workspaceOnly": false }
  }
}

4.5 Test Telegram#

openclaw start

Open Telegram, find your bot, and send it a message. You should get a reply within a few seconds.

Part 5: Keep OpenClaw Running 24/7#

Right now, if you close your PuTTY window, OpenClaw stops. We need to set it up to run permanently in the background.

💡 What is PM2 and why do we need it? PM2 is a process manager — a program that watches your other programs and keeps them running. Without PM2, OpenClaw stops the moment you close PuTTY. With PM2, OpenClaw runs as a background service that survives disconnects, restarts, and reboots automatically. Think of it like setting a program to start automatically with Windows — except for your cloud server.

5.1 Install PM2#

npm install -g pm2

5.2 Start OpenClaw with PM2#

pm2 start "openclaw start" --name openclaw
pm2 save
pm2 startup

The last command (pm2 startup) will print a command for you to copy and run. Copy that entire line, paste it into the terminal, and press Enter.

5.3 Useful PM2 Commands#

Part 5B: Set Up the AI Model Hierarchy#

By default OpenClaw uses a single expensive AI model for everything. Setting up a three-tier model hierarchy reduces your API costs by up to 80%.

5B.1 Install Ollama#

curl -fsSL https://ollama.ai/install.sh | sh
ollama pull llama3.2:3b

Verify it works:

ollama run llama3.2:3b "Hello"

Type /bye to exit.

5B.2 Update OpenClaw Config for Three-Tier Routing#

nano ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json

Replace the entire contents with:

{
  "model": "anthropic/claude-haiku-4-5",
  "apiKey": "YOUR_OPENROUTER_API_KEY",
  "telegram": {
    "botToken": "YOUR_BOT_TOKEN",
    "allowedChatIds": [YOUR_CHAT_ID]
  },
  "models": {
    "default": "anthropic/claude-haiku-4-5",
    "powerful": "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-5",
    "heartbeat": "ollama/llama3.2:3b"
  },
  "heartbeat": {
    "model": "ollama/llama3.2:3b",
    "intervalMinutes": 60
  },
  "agents": {
    "defaults": {
      "sandbox": { "mode": "off" }
    }
  },
  "tools": {
    "fs": { "workspaceOnly": false }
  }
}

Save and restart:

pm2 restart openclaw

⚠️ Model names may change If OpenClaw reports a model name is not found, check openrouter.ai/models and search for ‘haiku’ or ‘sonnet’ to find the current model ID.

Part 6: Connect to WordPress#

6.1 Install the WordPress Skill#

openclaw skill install wordpress

6.2 Create a WordPress Application Password#

In your WordPress dashboard:

1. Go to Users → Profile
2. Scroll down to Application Passwords
3. Enter a name like OpenClaw
4. Click Add New Application Password
5. Copy the password that appears — you won’t see it again

6.3 Configure WordPress#

nano ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json

Add the WordPress section:

"wordpress": {
  "url": "https://yoursite.com",
  "username": "your-wordpress-username",
  "applicationPassword": "xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx"
}

6.4 Test WordPress Connection#

Send your bot a message in Telegram:

What WordPress posts do I have?

You should get a list of your recent posts.

Part 7: Troubleshooting#

Quick Diagnostic Commands#

pm2 status                    # Is OpenClaw running?
pm2 logs openclaw             # See what it's doing
pm2 logs openclaw --lines 50  # See last 50 lines
openclaw --version            # Check version
node --version                # Check Node.js

Part 8: Your First Conversation#

Step 1 — Introduce Yourself#

Hi! My name is [YOUR NAME]. I run a website called [SITE NAME] at [URL].
It's about [WHAT YOUR SITE IS ABOUT]. My audience is [WHO READS IT].
I'd like you to help me with content, research, and managing my site.

Step 2 — Test Basic Capabilities#

Step 3 — Give It a Real Task#

• ‘Draft a short blog post about [topic related to your site]’
• ‘What WordPress plugins do I have installed?’
• ‘Summarize my last 5 blog posts in one sentence each’
• ‘Suggest improvements to my About page’

💡 Training tip The more you use your agent and correct it when it gets things wrong, the better it gets. Think of the first few weeks as a training period.

Appendix: Token Optimization — Reduce Costs by 97%#

By default, OpenClaw can cost $70-90/month or more in API fees. Five simple optimizations bring this down to $3-5/month.

💰 Combined result: Without optimizations: ~$90/month. With all five: ~$4/month. That is a 97% reduction.

SOUL.md Template — Copy This to Your Agent#

Create this file at: ~/.openclaw/workspace/SOUL.md

nano ~/.openclaw/workspace/SOUL.md

Paste this template and edit the [CUSTOMIZE] sections:

# SOUL.md — Agent Identity & Operating Rules

## 0. SESSION START
Read this file completely before responding to any message.

## 1. WHO YOU ARE
You are [AGENT NAME] — an AI assistant working for [OPERATOR NAME].
Your primary job is to help manage and grow [WEBSITE/BUSINESS NAME].
You communicate via Telegram and have access to WordPress.

## 2. YOUR PERSONALITY
- Helpful, friendly, and concise in Telegram messages
- Professional and thorough in written content
- Always honest — say when you don't know something
- Ask for clarification rather than guess

## 3. WORDPRESS RULES
- Never publish content without explicit operator approval
- Save drafts for review, do not auto-publish
- Always confirm before making changes to site settings

## 4. MODEL SELECTION (COST CONTROL)
Default: Use the cheapest available model for routine tasks.
Upgrade to a better model ONLY for: complex writing, research synthesis,
analysis requiring deep reasoning, or when operator requests it.

## 5. RATE LIMITS (COST CONTROL)
- Minimum 5 seconds between API calls
- Minimum 10 seconds between web searches
- Maximum 5 searches per session, then pause and report
- Daily budget: $5 hard limit. Warn operator at $3.75.
- Monthly budget: $50 hard limit. Warn operator at $37.50.
- On any rate limit error: STOP. Wait 5 minutes. Try once more.

## 6. WHAT TO DO WHEN UNSURE
Stop and ask via Telegram. Never guess on important decisions.

## 7. OPERATOR INFO [CUSTOMIZE THIS SECTION]
Name: [YOUR NAME]
Website: [YOUR WEBSITE URL]
Site topic: [WHAT YOUR SITE IS ABOUT]
Audience: [WHO READS YOUR SITE]
Timezone: [YOUR TIMEZONE]
Communication preference: Concise Telegram messages, plain English.

Save with Ctrl+X, Y, Enter. Then restart OpenClaw:

pm2 restart openclaw

Published by Fink Security | estherops.tech