openclaw-install

A Claude Code skill that walks you through deploying OpenClaw (personal AI assistant) on a remote VPS.

What it does

The skill guides Claude through a complete VPS installation:

1. Local setup — SSH key, credential vault, API keys
2. Server hardening — Non-root user, SSH lockdown, firewall
3. Tailscale VPN — Encrypted mesh network, no exposed ports
4. OpenClaw install — Node.js, OpenClaw, systemd service, Tailscale Serve
5. Channel setup — WhatsApp (QR + pairing), Telegram (optional)

Every step is idempotent — safe to re-run if interrupted.

Install

npx skills add the-shift-dev/openclaw-installer

Usage

/openclaw-install

Claude will walk you through each step interactively.

Prerequisites

• A VPS running Ubuntu 24.04 (Contabo VPS 1 SSD recommended — ~5.99 EUR/month, select OpenClaw under Application Installation)
• An Anthropic API key
• A Tailscale account (free tier works)
• WhatsApp on your phone (for channel setup)

What you'll end up with

• A hardened VPS accessible only via Tailscale VPN
• OpenClaw running as a systemd service (auto-restarts, survives reboots)
• HTTPS dashboard via Tailscale Serve
• WhatsApp connected with pairing-based access control
• All credentials stored in an encrypted local vault