DIY setup

How to run an OpenClaw trading bot on a $5 VPS

A bot that only runs while your laptop is open is a toy. This walkthrough covers a small Linux VPS so the process can stay up overnight — without turning the server into an open door.

This is an operations guide, not a promise that a bot will profit. A VPS only keeps the process alive. It does not make the strategy good.

What “$5 VPS” actually means

You want a tiny Linux box that stays on: 1 vCPU, 1 GB RAM is enough for a single Python bot plus a little headroom. Popular cheap options are Hetzner Cloud, DigitalOcean Basic, or Vultr. Pick a region close to the exchange if you care about latency. For a slow scanner every few minutes, region is not the main risk. Uptime and security are.

• OS: Ubuntu 22.04 or 24.04 LTS
• Access: SSH key only, no password login
• Budget: about $4–$7/month before backups

First 20 minutes on a new server

1. Create the instance and download the SSH key.
2. SSH in as root once.
3. Update packages: apt update && apt upgrade -y
4. Create a non-root user and give it sudo.
5. Disable password SSH. Keep the key.
6. Enable a firewall: allow 22, deny everything else inbound. A trading bot does not need port 80 unless you add a dashboard.

ufw default deny incoming
ufw default allow outgoing
ufw allow OpenSSH
ufw enable

Python environment

Do not run the bot as root. Do not install random trading pip packages globally.

sudo apt install -y python3 python3-venv python3-pip
mkdir -p ~/bots/openclaw && cd ~/bots/openclaw
python3 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
pip install -U pip
# then install only what the guide lists

Keep secrets in .env with chmod 600 .env. Never commit that file.

Keep it running when SSH closes

Closing your laptop must not kill the bot. Use systemd.

[Unit]
Description=OpenClaw trading bot
After=network.target

[Service]
User=YOURUSER
WorkingDirectory=/home/YOURUSER/bots/openclaw
ExecStart=/home/YOURUSER/bots/openclaw/.venv/bin/python main.py
Restart=on-failure
RestartSec=10
EnvironmentFile=/home/YOURUSER/bots/openclaw/.env

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Then: sudo systemctl enable --now openclaw and journalctl -u openclaw -f to watch logs.

Backups and the boring stuff that saves you

• Snapshot the VPS once after a known-good deploy.
• Copy .env to a password manager, not a chat thread.
• Patch Ubuntu monthly.
• Keep a daily loss limit in the app and withdraw-disabled keys.

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