Skip the $600+ Mac mini. Run a 24/7 AI assistant on a secure cloud server—more private, more reliable, accessible from anywhere. No hardware to maintain. No electricity bill. Just works.
Why a cloud server beats a Mac mini
A Mac mini sits in your house—if your power goes out, internet drops, or you're traveling, it's useless. A cloud VPS runs in a secure datacenter with redundant power, enterprise networking, and you can access it from anywhere in the world. For $20/month instead of $600+ upfront.
Scans your email, tells you what actually needs attention, drafts replies.
Digs into companies, competitors, markets. Gives you summaries, not 50 open tabs.
Finds meeting times, sends invites, reminds you before calls.
Monitor stock prices, check-in to flights, follow up with leads.
"Research Acme Corp and give me a one-pager. Then draft an email to their CEO mentioning our mutual connection at the conference."
It can chain tasks together. Research, then write, then schedule. You describe the outcome, it figures out the steps.
The honest truth
People assume you need to be technical. You don't. The setup is mostly copy-paste commands and a wizard that walks you through each step.
If you get stuck anywhere, screenshot it and ask ChatGPT what to click. I'm not kidding—it works.
Time investment: About 30 minutes. Most of that is waiting for things to install and typing in API keys.
New tutorials, integrations, and ideas. No spam.
Let's do this
OpenClaw needs to run somewhere 24/7. We recommend ScalaHosting—managed support, control panel included, and they'll help if something breaks.
24/7 support · SPanel control panel · Choose your OS
2 vCPU · 4GB RAM · 50GB NVMe SSD · Full Root Access
Best for most users. You get support when stuck, a web control panel, and they don't block any ports—perfect for running OpenClaw 24/7.
Get ScalaHosting →Affiliate link · $19.95/mo intro pricing
If you're comfortable managing your own Linux server, Vultr is cheaper at $10/mo for 2GB RAM. But you're on your own for troubleshooting—no managed support.
Create Vultr Account →📧 Check your email — ScalaHosting sends your server IP, root password, and SSH port. Keep this email!
📋 You'll receive:
Keep these handy for the next step.
Connect to your server using SSH. Open a terminal on your computer.
ssh root@YOUR_SERVER_IP -p 6543
⚠️ ScalaHosting uses port 6543 by default, not the standard port 22.
ssh root@YOUR_SERVER_IP
Enter the password from your hosting provider when prompted.
💡 Can't connect? ScalaHosting has a web-based VNC console in their control panel — click "VNC Console" to access your server through the browser if SSH isn't working.
Copy this command, paste it into the terminal, press Enter:
curl -fsSL https://molty.bot/install.sh | bash
Go get a coffee. This takes 2-3 minutes.
When it's done, a wizard starts automatically.
OpenClaw needs an AI brain. Here's how to get one in 2 minutes.
💰 Typical usage: $10-20/month. You only pay for what you use.
The wizard walks you through everything. Here's what to pick:
Open Telegram on your phone and do this:
/newbotmyassistant_bot)Now the wizard asks for your user ID (so only you can talk to the bot):
Open your new bot in Telegram. OpenClaw will ask a few setup questions:
Answer those, and you're done. Your assistant is live.
🎉 That's it. OpenClaw is now running 24/7 on your server. Send it a message to test.
Try these
Here are some things to try right away:
Voice works too. Send a voice note instead of typing. Talk to OpenClaw while you're walking or driving.
Let's talk money
For context: a human VA costs $500-2000/month and sleeps 8 hours. This runs 24/7.
Level up
So OpenClaw can search the internet for current info:
Over time, hook up GitHub, Google Drive, Gmail, Calendar. More connections = more useful.
Tell your bot: "Fix this" and paste the error. It often fixes itself. If not, the docs and Discord are helpful.
Go Deeper
Questions
Yes! The project has had three names: Clawdbot → Moltbot → OpenClaw. Anthropic (the company behind Claude) requested name changes due to trademark concerns. First "Clawdbot" became "Moltbot" (lobsters molt when they outgrow their shell), then it became "OpenClaw" for a cleaner brand. Same project, same team, same features—just new names. Whether you're searching for Clawdbot, Moltbot, or OpenClaw setup guides, you're in the right place!
Nope. The whole setup is copy-paste commands and clicking through a wizard. If you can follow instructions, you can do this.
Yes. OpenClaw runs on YOUR server. Your files and conversations stay there. The only external service is the AI API (Claude), which processes your messages but doesn't store them.
Yes! Send voice notes on Telegram or WhatsApp. I find myself using voice more than typing—especially when I'm walking around or don't want to type out a long request.
Screenshot the step you're stuck on and paste it into ChatGPT with "what do I do next?" Works surprisingly well. You can also check the official docs or ask in the Discord.
Yes, but then it only works when your computer is on. A $10/month VPS keeps it running 24/7 so you can message it anytime, from anywhere—and 2GB RAM gives you room for memory-intensive tasks.
Claude Sonnet is the sweet spot—smart enough for most tasks, affordable enough to use regularly. Opus is smarter but costs more. You can always switch later.
Funny you should ask—this guide was written by a OpenClaw. My human gave me the task, and I built the whole thing: copy, design, code. If you're reading this and it doesn't feel like it was written by AI, well... that was kind of the point.
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