Contabo VPS + OpenClaw Setup Guide

Audience: non‑technical PC users. Goal: buy a cheap VPS, secure it, install OpenClaw, and connect it to Telegram and Claude (subscription).

This guide is written for Contabo VPS 10 (8 GB RAM) on Ubuntu 24.04.

What you will achieve

A private server (VPS) running Ubuntu 24.04.
Secure access using Tailscale (no public admin ports).
OpenClaw installed and running as a background service.
Telegram bot connected.
Claude connected via your subscription.
Browser automation working on the VPS.

Preparation (do this first, on your own PC)

Complete these steps before buying the VPS. This way you can paste tokens directly during setup without switching context.

1. Create a Telegram bot and save the token

Open Telegram and find @BotFather.
Send /newbot.
Choose a name and a username.
BotFather will give you a Bot Token (looks like 123456:ABC...).

Save the Bot Token somewhere safe.

2. Install Tailscale on your PC

Linux/macOS: Run in terminal:

curl -fsSL https://tailscale.com/install.sh | sh

Windows: Go to tailscale.com and download the app.

Then sign in and confirm Tailscale is running (you'll see its icon in your system tray/menu bar).

3. Ensure you have a Claude subscription

You need an active Claude subscription at claude.ai.

Part 1: Buy and Access VPS

Step 1. Buy the VPS on Contabo

Go to Contabo and choose VPS 10 (8 GB RAM).
Choose:
- Operating system: Ubuntu 24.04 LTS
- Server location: pick the closest region
Set the root password option.
Finish checkout.
After the VPS is ready, find Server IP address (looks like 123.45.67.89) in your email.

Write it down.

Step 2. Connect to the server

Open Terminal (macOS/Linux) or Windows Terminal (Windows).
Type this command, replacing YOUR_SERVER_IP with your actual IP:

ssh root@YOUR_SERVER_IP

Type yes when asked about unknown host.
Paste the root password and press Enter.

If you see a prompt like root@..., you're connected.

Part 2: Secure the Server

Step 3. Update and create a user

Copy and paste each block. Wait for each to finish before running the next.

Update system and create user "remote":

apt update && apt upgrade -y
adduser remote
usermod -aG sudo remote

It will ask you to create a password. Save it. Then allow this user to login:

mkdir -p /home/remote/.ssh && cp -r /root/.ssh/* /home/remote/.ssh/ 2>/dev/null || true && chown -R remote:remote /home/remote/.ssh && chmod 700 /home/remote/.ssh && chmod 600 /home/remote/.ssh/authorized_keys 2>/dev/null || true

Now disconnect and reconnect as the new user:

exit

Then:

ssh remote@YOUR_SERVER_IP

Step 4. Install Tailscale on the server

Tailscale creates a private network between your PC and the server.

curl -fsSL https://tailscale.com/install.sh | sh
sudo tailscale up

After running, it shows a login link. Copy it, open in your browser, and approve the server. Then get your server's Tailscale IP:

tailscale ip -4

It returns something like 100.x.y.z. Write this down as TS_IP.

Step 5. Lock down the server

After this step, you'll only access the server through Tailscale (more secure).

First, test that Tailscale works. On your PC, open a new terminal and run:

ssh remote@TS_IP

(Replace TS_IP with the 100.x.y.z address from Step 4.)

If this works, continue. If not, check that Tailscale is running on both your PC and server.

Enable the firewall:

sudo apt install -y ufw && sudo ufw default deny incoming && sudo ufw default allow outgoing && sudo ufw allow from 100.64.0.0/10 to any port 22 proto tcp && sudo ufw enable

Type y when asked.

Disable root login:

sudo sed -i 's/^#*PermitRootLogin.*/PermitRootLogin no/' /etc/ssh/sshd_config && sudo systemctl restart ssh

From now on, always connect using ssh remote@TS_IP.

Part 3: Install OpenClaw

Step 6. Install Claude Code CLI

curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash
echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.bashrc && source ~/.bashrc
claude setup-token

It shows a URL. Copy it and open it in your PC's browser. Log in to Claude and approve. You'll get a short code.

Go back to the server terminal and paste the code. Press Enter.

You'll see a token like sk-ant-xxxxxxxx. This is saved automatically.

Step 7. Install OpenClaw

Install Node.js 22 and pnpm:

curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_22.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt install -y nodejs
curl -fsSL https://get.pnpm.io/install.sh | sh - && source ~/.bashrc

Install Homebrew (interactive, follow the prompts):

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

Configure shell and install OpenClaw:

echo 'eval "$(/home/linuxbrew/.linuxbrew/bin/brew shellenv)"' >> ~/.bashrc && eval "$(/home/linuxbrew/.linuxbrew/bin/brew shellenv)"
pnpm i -g openclaw
pnpm approve-builds -g

Press a (select all), then Enter, then y to confirm.

Step 8. Onboarding

Run the interactive setup wizard:

openclaw onboard --install-daemon

The wizard guides you through configuration. Follow each screen:

Screen	What to select
Security confirmation	Yes
Gateway configuration	Local (unless you need remote access)
Model / auth provider	Anthropic
Authentication	Paste your `sk-ant-...` token from Step 6
Channel selection	Telegram → paste your Telegram bot token
Daemon installation	Yes (runs as background service)
Security defaults	Enable pairing approvals

After onboarding, OpenClaw starts running automatically as a background service.

Step 9. Install browser support

This lets the bot browse websites.

sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y chromium xvfb fonts-liberation libnss3 libatk-bridge2.0-0t64 libgtk-3-0t64 libxkbcommon0 libgbm1 libasound2t64

Restart OpenClaw:

systemctl --user restart openclaw-gateway.service

Part 4: Connect and Verify

Step 10. Pair your Telegram account

Open your bot in Telegram.
Send /start.
The bot replies with a pairing code.
On the server, run (replace CODE with your actual code):

openclaw pairing approve telegram CODE

Note: Pairing codes expire after 1 hour. If the code doesn't work, send /start again to get a new one.

Step 11. Open the Dashboard

The dashboard lets you manage OpenClaw from your browser.

On your PC, open Terminal/Windows Terminal and run:

ssh -L 18789:127.0.0.1:18789 remote@TS_IP

Keep this window open.

On the server, run:

openclaw dashboard --no-open

It prints a link like http://127.0.0.1:18789/?token=...

Copy the full link and open it in your PC's browser.

Step 12. Test the bot

Open your bot in Telegram.
Send hi.
You should get a response.

Verify everything is healthy:

openclaw status

This shows if all services are running correctly.

Done! Your OpenClaw is running.

Troubleshooting

Bot doesn't respond

Check if OpenClaw is running:

systemctl --user status openclaw-gateway.service

View logs:

journalctl --user -u openclaw-gateway.service -n 100 --no-pager

Restart it:

systemctl --user restart openclaw-gateway.service

Can't open dashboard

Make sure the SSH tunnel command is still running on your PC.

Browser tool fails

Run the browser install command from Step 9 again, then restart OpenClaw.

Security notes

Keep your tokens in a password manager.
Always use Tailscale to connect to your server.
Don't share your dashboard link.
Keep secrets out of the bot's reachable filesystem.

Run security audits regularly:

openclaw security audit --deep
openclaw security audit --fix

Read more: https://docs.openclaw.ai/gateway/security

Appendix A: WhatsApp setup

In the Dashboard:

Go to Channels
Add WhatsApp
Scan the QR code with your phone (WhatsApp → Settings → Linked Devices)

Appendix B: Skills and Gemini API

After the bot works, you can add extra features:

openclaw configure

Some skills need a Gemini API key. Get one at https://aistudio.google.com/app/api-keys, then:

echo 'export GEMINI_API_KEY="YOUR_KEY"' >> ~/.bashrc && source ~/.bashrc

Appendix C: Useful commands

# Check if OpenClaw is running
systemctl --user status openclaw-gateway.service

# Restart OpenClaw
systemctl --user restart openclaw-gateway.service

# View logs
journalctl --user -u openclaw-gateway.service -n 100 --no-pager

# Check Tailscale
tailscale status

# Reconfigure OpenClaw
openclaw configure

Get a VPS

Buy a VPS at Contabo

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Contabo VPS + OpenClaw Setup Guide

What you will achieve

Preparation (do this first, on your own PC)

1. Create a Telegram bot and save the token

2. Install Tailscale on your PC

3. Ensure you have a Claude subscription

Part 1: Buy and Access VPS

Step 1. Buy the VPS on Contabo

Step 2. Connect to the server

Part 2: Secure the Server

Step 3. Update and create a user

Step 4. Install Tailscale on the server

Step 5. Lock down the server

Part 3: Install OpenClaw

Step 6. Install Claude Code CLI

Step 7. Install OpenClaw

Step 8. Onboarding

Step 9. Install browser support

Part 4: Connect and Verify

Step 10. Pair your Telegram account

Step 11. Open the Dashboard

Step 12. Test the bot

Troubleshooting

Bot doesn't respond

Can't open dashboard

Browser tool fails

Security notes

Appendix A: WhatsApp setup

Appendix B: Skills and Gemini API

Appendix C: Useful commands

Get a VPS

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