🦞 Clawdbot + Hetzner Setup Guide

🦞 Clawdbot + Hetzner Setup Guide

26-01-2026

Clawdbot is a personal AI assistant that runs on your own server and talks to you through Telegram, WhatsApp, or other messaging apps. Unlike ChatGPT or Claude's web interface, it's always on, remembers everything, and can proactively reach out to you. This guide is written specifically for Mac users starting from scratch—no Hetzner account, no SSH keys, nothing. You'll be chatting with your bot in about 20 minutes.

A complete walkthrough for setting up your personal AI assistant on a VPS

⏱ 15–20 minutes • 💰 ~€5/month • 📊 Beginner-friendly

Clawdbot is a personal AI assistant that runs on your own server and talks to you through Telegram, WhatsApp, or other messaging apps. Unlike ChatGPT or Claude's web interface, it's always on, remembers everything, and can proactively reach out to you.

This guide is written specifically for Mac users starting from scratch—no Hetzner account, no SSH keys, nothing. You'll be chatting with your bot in about 20 minutes.

📋 Before you start, have ready:

Part 1: Set Up SSH Keys on Your Mac

SSH keys let you securely connect to your server without passwords. We'll create them first.

Step 1: Open Terminal

Press ⌘ + Space, type "Terminal", and press Enter. You'll see a window with a command prompt.

Step 2: Generate your SSH key

Copy and paste this command (replace with your actual email):

ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "[email protected]"

When it asks where to save the key, just press Enter to use the default location.

When it asks for a passphrase, you can either:

Step 3: Copy your public key

Run this command to display your public key:

cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub

You'll see a long string starting with ssh-ed25519. Select it all and copy it (⌘ + C). Keep Terminal open—you'll need it later.

Part 2: Create Your Hetzner Server

Step 4: Create a Hetzner account

Visit hetzner.com/cloud and click Get started. You'll need to verify your email and add payment details.

Step 5: Create a new project

Once logged into Cloud Console, click + New Project. Name it something like clawdbot or my-ai-assistant.

Step 6: Add your SSH key to Hetzner

Before creating the server, let's add your SSH key:

Step 7: Create your server

Go back to your project and click the big + Create Server button.

Step 8: Configure server settings

Step 9: Launch the server

Name your server clawdbot, then click Create & Buy Now. Wait about 30 seconds for it to spin up.

Once ready, you'll see an IPv4 address (looks like 123.45.67.89). Copy this—you'll need it in the next step.

Part 3: Connect to Your Server

Step 10: Go back to Terminal

Switch back to your Terminal app (still open from earlier). If you closed it, press ⌘ + Space, type "Terminal", and press Enter.

Step 11: Connect via SSH

Type this command, replacing YOURSERVERIP with the IP address you copied:

ssh root@YOUR_SERVER_IP

For example: ssh [email protected]

When it asks "Are you sure you want to continue connecting?", type yes and press Enter.

✓ You're in! Your Terminal prompt should now say something like root@clawdbot:~#. You're now controlling your remote server from your Mac.

Part 4: Install Clawdbot

Now we'll install everything Clawdbot needs. Just copy and paste these commands one at a time.

Step 12: Update Ubuntu

apt update && apt upgrade -y

This updates all the system packages. It'll take 1-2 minutes. You'll see lots of text scroll by—that's normal.

Step 13: Install Node.js

Clawdbot runs on Node.js. Install version 22 with these commands:

curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_22.x | bash -
apt install -y nodejs

Verify it worked by checking the version:

node -v

Should show something like v22.x.x

Step 14: Install Clawdbot

npm install -g clawdbot@latest

This installs Clawdbot globally on your server. Takes about 30 seconds.

Part 5: Set Up Telegram Bot

Before running the Clawdbot wizard, let's get your Telegram bot credentials ready.

Step 15: Create a Telegram bot

On your phone or desktop Telegram app:

  1. Search for @BotFather and start a chat
  2. Send the command: /newbot
  3. Give it a display name (e.g., "My Assistant")
  4. Give it a username ending in "bot" (e.g., mynameassistantbot)
  5. BotFather will send you a long token starting with numbers. Copy this entire token.

Keep this token safe! Treat it like a password. Anyone with this token can control your bot.

Step 16: Get your Telegram user ID

Still in Telegram, search for @userinfobot and send it any message. It will reply with your numeric user ID. Copy this number (it's usually 9-10 digits).

Part 6: Get Your Anthropic API Key

Step 17: Create an Anthropic API key

  1. Go to console.anthropic.com
  2. Sign in or create an account
  3. Click on API Keys in the left menu
  4. Click Create Key
  5. Give it a name like "Clawdbot"
  6. Copy the key (starts with sk-ant-...)

💡 Using Claude Pro instead? If you have a Claude Pro or Max subscription, you can use that instead of paying for API usage. You'll need to install Claude Code CLI on your Mac first, then run claude setup-token to get a personal token.

Part 7: Run the Setup Wizard

Now let's configure everything. Make sure you have ready:

Step 18: Start the onboarding wizard

Back in your Terminal (still connected to your server), run:

clawdbot onboard --install-daemon

This interactive wizard will walk you through everything.

Step 19: Follow the prompts

The wizard will ask you several questions. Here's what to enter:

For other questions, the defaults are usually fine—just press Enter.

Step 20: Verify it's running

clawdbot status

Should show the gateway as "running" with a green checkmark.

Part 8: Test Your Bot!

Step 21: Send your first message

Open Telegram, find your bot (search for the username you created), and send it a message like "Hello!"

Your bot should respond within a few seconds. 🎉

Not working?

Managing Your Bot from Your Mac

Connecting to your server anytime

To SSH back into your server from your Mac's Terminal:

ssh root@YOUR_SERVER_IP

Replace YOURSERVERIP with your server's IP address (you can find it in your Hetzner Cloud Console).

Common commands to run on the server

Server Management:

Chat Commands (send in Telegram):

Troubleshooting

Can't connect via SSH?

If you see "Permission denied" or it asks for a password:

ssh -i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519 root@YOUR_SERVER_IP

This explicitly tells SSH which key to use.

Bot not responding?

SSH into your server and check the status:

clawdbot status --all
clawdbot logs --follow

Press Ctrl + C to stop viewing logs.

Want to start over?

clawdbot reset
clawdbot onboard --install-daemon

Forgot your server IP?

Log into console.hetzner.cloud, click your project, and you'll see your server's IP address listed.

What's Next

Customize your bot's personality

SSH into your server and edit these files:

nano ~/clawd/SOUL.md    # Bot's personality and instructions
nano ~/clawd/USER.md    # Your personal info for context

Press Ctrl + X, then Y, then Enter to save and exit.

Learn more

Pro tip for Mac users

Create an SSH alias to connect faster. On your Mac, edit your SSH config:

nano ~/.ssh/config

Add this (replace with your server IP):

Host clawdbot
    HostName YOUR_SERVER_IP
    User root
    IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ed25519

Now you can just type ssh clawdbot to connect!