Clawdbot AWS Setup Guide | Deploy Your AI Assistant

What You'll Build

A virtual machine running 24/7 in the cloud
Clawdbot AI assistant installed and configured
Optional WhatsApp, Telegram, or other integrations
Optional desktop access via VNC for browser login

What's Included

Part 1: AWS Account & CLI Setup (Free)
Part 2: Create EC2 Instance
Part 3: Connect to Your Server
Part 4: Install Clawdbot
Part 5: Desktop Access (VNC)
Part 6: Chrome Extension Setup
Quick Reference Tables

AWS Account & CLI Setup

FREE

Create AWS Account

Go to aws.amazon.com and click Create an AWS Account
Enter email, password, and account name
Choose "Personal" account type
Add payment method (credit/debit card required)
Complete phone verification
Select Basic support (Free)

Create IAM User with Admin Access

Sign in to AWS Console
Search for IAM in the top search bar
Go to Users → Create user
Create a user and attach AdministratorAccess permission
Under that user's Security credentials tab → Create access key
Choose "Command Line Interface (CLI)" as the use case
Save both the Access Key ID and Secret Access Key!

Install AWS CLI

Mac

brew install awscli

Or download directly:

curl "https://awscli.amazonaws.com/AWSCLIV2.pkg" -o "AWSCLIV2.pkg"
sudo installer -pkg AWSCLIV2.pkg -target /

Configure AWS CLI

Mac

aws configure

Enter your credentials when prompted:

AWS Access Key ID [None]: your-access-key
AWS Secret Access Key [None]: your-secret-key
Default region name [None]: us-east-1
Default output format [None]: json

Verify it works:

aws sts get-caller-identity

✓

You're ready! Your AWS CLI is now configured. Continue to Part 2 to create your server.

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EC2 instance setup commands
Clawdbot installation & config
WhatsApp integration setup
VNC desktop access
Chrome extension setup
Quick reference cheat sheets

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Create EC2 Instance

Create SSH Key Pair

Mac

aws ec2 create-key-pair \
  --key-name clawdbot-key \
  --query 'KeyMaterial' \
  --output text \
  --region us-east-1 > clawdbot-key.pem

chmod 400 clawdbot-key.pem

Important: Keep this .pem file safe! You need it to connect to your server.

Create Security Group

Mac

aws ec2 create-security-group \
  --group-name clawdbot-sg \
  --description "Clawdbot security group" \
  --region us-east-1

Allow SSH access:

aws ec2 authorize-security-group-ingress \
  --group-name clawdbot-sg \
  --protocol tcp \
  --port 22 \
  --cidr 0.0.0.0/0 \
  --region us-east-1

Launch EC2 Instance

Mac

aws ec2 run-instances \
  --image-id ami-0c7217cdde317cfec \
  --instance-type t3.micro \
  --key-name clawdbot-key \
  --security-groups clawdbot-sg \
  --region us-east-1

Instance Types:

t3.micro - 2 vCPU, 1GB RAM (~$8/month, free tier)
t3.small - 2 vCPU, 2GB RAM (~$15/month)
t3.medium - 2 vCPU, 4GB RAM (~$30/month)

Get Your Server's IP Address

Mac

Wait 30 seconds for the instance to start, then:

aws ec2 describe-instances \
  --filters "Name=instance-state-name,Values=running" \
  --query 'Reservations[*].Instances[*].PublicIpAddress' \
  --region us-east-1 \
  --output text

Connect to Your Server

SSH Into Your Server

Mac

ssh -i clawdbot-key.pem ubuntu@YOUR_IP_ADDRESS

Type yes when asked about host authenticity.

✓

Connected! You're now on your AWS server. The prompt will show ubuntu@ip-xxx-xxx-xxx-xxx

Install Clawdbot

Install Node.js 22

Server

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

Verify installation:

node --version

Add Swap Space

Server

Prevents memory errors on small instances:

sudo fallocate -l 2G /swapfile
sudo chmod 600 /swapfile
sudo mkswap /swapfile
sudo swapon /swapfile

Install Clawdbot

Server

sudo npm install -g clawdbot@latest

Run Onboarding Wizard

Server

clawdbot onboard --install-daemon

The wizard guides you through: Gateway config, Anthropic API auth, Channel setup (WhatsApp, etc.)

→

Anthropic Token: On your Mac, run claude setup-token and paste the result into the wizard to use your Claude Max subscription.

Start Clawdbot

Server

Run in foreground (see logs):

clawdbot tui

Or run as background daemon:

clawdbot gateway --daemon

Desktop Access (VNC)

Optional: Only needed if you want to visually log into services like Gmail through a browser on the server.

Expand Disk Space

Mac

aws ec2 modify-volume \
  --volume-id $(aws ec2 describe-volumes \
    --filters "Name=attachment.instance-id,Values=$(aws ec2 describe-instances \
      --query 'Reservations[*].Instances[*].InstanceId' \
      --region us-east-1 --output text)" \
    --query 'Volumes[*].VolumeId' \
    --region us-east-1 --output text) \
  --size 50 --region us-east-1

Then on the server, expand the partition:

sudo growpart /dev/nvme0n1 1
sudo resize2fs /dev/root
df -h

Install Desktop Environment

Server

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y xfce4 xfce4-goodies tightvncserver dbus-x11

Start VNC Server

Server

vncserver :1 -geometry 1280x800 -depth 24

Create a password when prompted.

Open VNC Port

Mac

aws ec2 authorize-security-group-ingress \
  --group-name clawdbot-sg \
  --protocol tcp --port 5901 \
  --cidr 0.0.0.0/0 --region us-east-1

Connect via VNC

Mac

Open Finder → Go → Connect to Server (or Cmd+K)
Enter: vnc://YOUR_IP:5901
Enter your VNC password

Chrome Extension Setup

Install Chrome

Server

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y wget gnupg

wget -q -O - https://dl.google.com/linux/linux_signing_key.pub \
  | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/google-chrome.gpg

echo "deb [arch=amd64 signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/google-chrome.gpg] \
  http://dl.google.com/linux/chrome/deb/ stable main" \
  | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/google-chrome.list

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y google-chrome-stable

Find Extension Path

Server

find /usr/lib/node_modules/clawdbot -name manifest.json

Result: /usr/lib/node_modules/clawdbot/assets/chrome-extension

Load Extension in Chrome

Open Chrome in VNC desktop
Go to chrome://extensions
Enable Developer mode (top right toggle)
Click Load unpacked
Navigate to: /usr/lib/node_modules/clawdbot/assets/chrome-extension
Click Select/Open

★

Quick Reference

Common Commands

Action	Command
Connect to server	`ssh -i clawdbot-key.pem ubuntu@IP`
Chat interface	`clawdbot tui`
Start daemon	`clawdbot gateway --daemon`
Stop daemon	`clawdbot gateway stop`
Restart daemon	`clawdbot gateway restart`
Check status	`clawdbot status`
Start VNC	`vncserver :1 -geometry 1280x800 -depth 24`
Stop VNC	`vncserver -kill :1`

Monthly Cost Estimate

~$12-14/month

t3.micro instance + 50GB storage + data transfer

Free tier: 750 hours of t3.micro free for first 12 months