How to Self-Host OpenClaw on Hostinger Docker

OpenClaw is the open-source AI agent that everyone is suddenly using. The catch is that running it well needs a small Linux box that stays online twenty-four hours a day. This guide walks through the cheapest reliable way we have found to do that: a Hostinger Docker Hosting plan.

Plan ahead for roughly fifteen minutes from checkout to a working agent.

A note on the link: we recommend Hostinger Docker Hosting and the link below is our partner link. It gives you a twenty percent discount on the twelve-month plan, and we get a small commission. You pay the discounted price either way.

Get 20% off Hostinger Docker Hosting →

Step 1 — Buy the hosting

Open the partner link above. You will land on a pre-filled cart for the Docker Hosting Starter plan with the twenty percent discount already applied. Pick a data center close to your users, create your Hostinger account, and pay.

Two things to do straight after checkout:

1. From the Hostinger dashboard, open the new server and copy the public IP address.
2. Set a root password if the dashboard has not generated one for you, and download the SSH key it offers.

Step 2 — SSH in and check Docker

From your laptop:

ssh root@YOUR_SERVER_IP
docker --version

You should see a Docker version string. Hostinger ships the Starter plan with Docker and Docker Compose already installed, so there is nothing to set up here.

If you would rather use a non-root user, create one now:

adduser claw
usermod -aG docker,sudo claw

Log out and back in as claw for the rest of the guide.

Step 3 — Create an OpenClaw working directory

mkdir -p ~/openclaw && cd ~/openclaw

Inside, create two files. First, the environment file:

cat > .env <<'EOF'
OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-...
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-...
OPENCLAW_ADMIN_TOKEN=$(openssl rand -hex 24)
EOF

Replace the placeholders with your real provider keys. You can keep only the providers you actually use.

Then a small docker-compose.yml:

services:
  openclaw:
    image: openclaw/openclaw:latest
    restart: unless-stopped
    env_file: .env
    ports:
      - "80:8080"
    volumes:
      - ./data:/var/lib/openclaw

Step 4 — Start the agent

docker compose up -d
docker compose logs -f openclaw

On the first run, OpenClaw pulls its image and writes a default configuration into ./data. Once the logs settle on a listening on :8080 line, open http://YOUR_SERVER_IP in a browser. You will see the OpenClaw web UI and a prompt for the admin token you generated in step three.

Step 5 — Pair a channel

The fastest way to feel that the agent is alive is to wire it into a messaging app. In the OpenClaw UI:

1. Open Channels → Telegram, paste a bot token from @BotFather, and click Pair.
2. Send a message to your bot. The agent replies from your server, using whichever provider key you supplied.

Repeat the same flow for WhatsApp, Slack, or Discord later.

Step 6 — Lock the front door

For a personal agent, expose it behind HTTPS with Caddy. Drop a Caddyfile next to your compose file:

your-domain.example {
    reverse_proxy openclaw:8080
}

Add a Caddy service to docker-compose.yml, point your domain’s A record at the server IP, and restart. Caddy will fetch a Let’s Encrypt certificate automatically.

What you end up with

A privately hosted OpenClaw agent on a box that costs less than a cup of coffee per week. Conversations, API keys, and tool credentials never leave your hardware, and you can move the whole thing to a different host any time by copying the openclaw/ directory.

If you have not bought the hosting yet, the partner link is here again: Hostinger Docker Hosting — 20% off.