Hostinger OpenClaw Setup: Complete 2026 Guide

By the end of this guide, you'll have a production-ready OpenClaw instance running on Hostinger VPS with:

• Docker-based deployment with automatic restarts
• Multi-model AI support (Claude, GPT-4, Grok)
• HTTPS with automatic SSL certificate renewal
• Persistent memory and configuration
• Optional integrations: Discord bot, Telegram bot, browser automation
• Automated backups to prevent data loss

Total cost: $4.99/mo (Hostinger KVM 1) + AI API usage ($5-20/mo typical).

Before starting:

• Hostinger VPS KVM 1 or higher (purchase at hostinger.com)
• A domain name pointed to your VPS IP (for SSL)
• At least one AI API key: Anthropic (Claude), OpenAI (GPT), or xAI (Grok)
• Basic terminal comfort (copy-paste commands is fine)

If you haven't set up your VPS yet, follow our Hostinger VPS setup guide first — it covers SSH, firewall, and Docker installation in detail.

SSH into your VPS and create the OpenClaw project:

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

# Create the environment file
cat > .env << 'EOF'
# AI Model API Keys (add the ones you have)
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-your-key
OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-your-key
XAI_API_KEY=xai-your-key

# OpenClaw Configuration
OPENCLAW_PORT=3000
OPENCLAW_DATA_DIR=/app/data
EOF

# Create docker-compose.yml
cat > docker-compose.yml << 'EOF'
services:
  gateway:
    image: openclaw/gateway:latest
    env_file: .env
    ports:
      - "127.0.0.1:3000:3000"
    volumes:
      - ./data:/app/data
      - ./config:/app/config
    restart: unless-stopped
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD", "curl", "-f", "http://localhost:3000/health"]
      interval: 30s
      timeout: 10s
      retries: 3
EOF

docker compose up -d
docker compose logs -f --tail=50

Wait for the "Gateway ready" message in the logs. Press Ctrl+C to exit log view (the container continues running).

Add Traefik for automatic SSL:

cat > docker-compose.yml << 'EOF'
services:
  traefik:
    image: traefik:v3.0
    command:
      - --api.dashboard=false
      - --providers.docker
      - --entrypoints.web.address=:80
      - --entrypoints.web.http.redirections.entrypoint.to=websecure
      - --entrypoints.websecure.address=:443
      - --certificatesresolvers.le.acme.email=you@yourdomain.com
      - --certificatesresolvers.le.acme.storage=/acme.json
      - --certificatesresolvers.le.acme.httpchallenge.entrypoint=web
    ports:
      - "80:80"
      - "443:443"
    volumes:
      - /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock:ro
      - ./acme.json:/acme.json
    restart: unless-stopped

  gateway:
    image: openclaw/gateway:latest
    env_file: .env
    volumes:
      - ./data:/app/data
      - ./config:/app/config
    labels:
      - traefik.http.routers.openclaw.rule=Host(`ai.yourdomain.com`)
      - traefik.http.routers.openclaw.tls.certresolver=le
      - traefik.http.services.openclaw.loadbalancer.server.port=3000
    restart: unless-stopped
EOF

touch acme.json && chmod 600 acme.json
docker compose up -d

Replace ai.yourdomain.com with your actual domain. Ensure DNS A record points to your VPS IP. SSL certificate will be obtained automatically within minutes.

OpenClaw supports multiple AI models and tools. Configure them through the web interface at https://ai.yourdomain.com or via config files:

Multi-model setup: OpenClaw automatically routes to the best available model based on your API keys. With Claude + GPT configured, it uses Claude for complex reasoning and GPT for quick responses.

Tool integrations you can enable:

• Browser automation — web scraping, form filling, research
• File system — read/write files, manage documents
• Shell execution — run commands, scripts, builds
• Messaging — Discord, Telegram, WhatsApp bot integrations
• Calendar — Google Calendar integration
• Email — Gmail send/receive via OAuth

Make your deployment production-ready:

# Set up automated backups
crontab -e
# Add: 0 3 * * * cd ~/openclaw && tar czf ~/backups/openclaw-$(date +%Y%m%d).tar.gz data config .env

# Set up log rotation
cat > /etc/logrotate.d/docker << 'EOF'
/var/lib/docker/containers/*/*.log {
  rotate 7
  daily
  compress
  missingok
  delaycompress
  copytruncate
}
EOF

# Set up automatic Docker image updates (optional)
# Install watchtower for auto-updates
docker run -d --name watchtower \
  -v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock \
  containrrr/watchtower --interval 86400

Also recommended: set up UptimeRobot (free) to monitor your OpenClaw instance and alert you if it goes down.