Openclaw on Oracle’s Free Tier: Always-On AI for $0/month

I wasn’t about to spend $1,500 on a new Mac mini just to try out Openclaw (formerly Moltbot/Clawdbot), but I knew I wanted an always-on AI agent. Something that wouldn’t forget context when I closed my laptop, that I could access from my phone via Telegram, and that could actually do things—check email, manage files, run scripts.

Oracle’s Always Free tier solved the hardware problem: 4 ARM cores and 24GB RAM for $0/month. No trials, no expiration. Just free infrastructure that runs 24/7.

This guide walks through the complete setup—from spinning up the instance to having a working AI assistant in your pocket.

The Setup: Step-by-Step

Here’s exactly how I built it. Total time: ~3 hours. Monthly cost: $0 for infrastructure + $20 Claude Pro subscription.

Go to oracle.com/cloud/free
Click “Start for free”
Create account (requires credit card for verification, but it’s never charged)
Complete verification

Oracle’s free tier doesn’t expire. These resources remain available as long as the account is active.

Step 2: Spin Up the Max Free Instance

In the Oracle Cloud Console:

Compute > Instances > Create Instance
Name: ai-server (or whatever you want)
Image: Ubuntu 24.04 (Canonical-Ubuntu-24.04-aarch64)
Shape:
- Click “Change Shape”
- Select “Ampere” (ARM)
- Choose VM.Standard.A1.Flex
- Set 4 OCPUs and 24GB RAM (maxes out free tier)
Networking: Use default VCN (creates automatically)
SSH Keys:
- Generate a key pair (Download private key!)
- Or paste your existing public key
Boot Volume: 200GB (max free tier)
Click Create

Wait 3-5 minutes for the instance to provision. Note the public IP address.

Step 3: Initial Server Access

From your terminal:

# SSH into your new server
ssh -i /path/to/your/private-key.pem ubuntu@YOUR_PUBLIC_IP

# Update packages
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

# Install essentials
sudo apt install -y git curl wget build-essential

Step 4: Install Tailscale (Secure Remote Access)

Tailscale provides secure remote access without exposing SSH to the public internet:

# Install Tailscale
curl -fsSL https://tailscale.com/install.sh | sh

# Start and authenticate
sudo tailscale up

# Visit the auth URL it prints, log in, approve device

You can now SSH via the Tailscale IP (100.x.x.x) instead of the public IP.

Step 5: Install Node.js

# Install fnm (Fast Node Manager)
curl -fsSL https://fnm.vercel.app/install | bash
source ~/.bashrc

# Install latest Node LTS
fnm install --lts
fnm use lts-latest
fnm default lts-latest

# Verify
node --version  # Should show v22.x.x or higher

Step 6: Install Claude CLI

# Install Claude Code
npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code

# Authenticate (opens browser for OAuth)
claude auth login

# Test it
claude chat "Hello from my new server!"

Step 7: Security Hardening

Set up fail2ban (blocks brute-force SSH attacks):

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sudo apt install -y fail2ban
sudo systemctl enable fail2ban
sudo systemctl start fail2ban

Configure automatic security updates:

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sudo apt install -y unattended-upgrades
sudo dpkg-reconfigure -plow unattended-upgrades
# Select "Yes" to enable automatic updates

Lock down file permissions:

# Your home directory should be private
chmod 700 ~

# SSH keys should be locked down
chmod 600 ~/.ssh/authorized_keys

Step 8: Set Up Backups and Self-Healing

Install rclone for Google Drive backups:

# Install rclone
sudo apt install -y rclone

# Configure Google Drive
rclone config
# Follow prompts: "n" for new remote, name it "gdrive", choose "drive" type

# Create backup script
cat > ~/backup-to-gdrive.sh << 'EOF'
#!/bin/bash
rclone sync ~/ gdrive:server-backups \
  --exclude node_modules/** \
  --exclude .git/objects/** \
  --exclude .cache/** \
  --log-file ~/backup.log
EOF

chmod +x ~/backup-to-gdrive.sh

Set up automated backup cron job:

# Edit crontab
crontab -e

# Add this line (runs backup daily at 3 AM):
0 3 * * * /home/ubuntu/backup-to-gdrive.sh

Step 9: Install Openclaw

# Install globally
npm install -g openclaw@latest

# Run onboarding wizard
openclaw onboard

# Follow prompts:
# - Model: Select Claude (use your Claude Pro auth)
# - Workspace: Accept default (~/ or create ~/openclaw-workspace)
# - Channels: Select Telegram (easiest to set up)
# - Skills: Install recommended (or skip for now)

The wizard will walk you through everything. Most important: the Telegram setup.

Step 10: Configure Telegram

Create a Telegram bot:

Open Telegram, search for @BotFather
Send /newbot
Choose a name (e.g., “My Openclaw Bot”)
Choose a username (e.g., my_openclaw_bot)
Copy the API token BotFather gives you

Add token to Openclaw:

During openclaw onboard, when asked for Telegram token, paste it.

Or manually add to ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json:

{
  "channels": {
    "telegram": {
      "enabled": true,
      "botToken": "YOUR_TOKEN_HERE"
    }
  }
}

Start the gateway:

1	openclaw gateway --daemon

Test it:

Find your bot in Telegram (search for the username you created)
Send /start
Send a message like “What’s the server uptime?”

If it responds, you’re done!

Step 11: Enable Heartbeat Monitoring (Optional)

Edit ~/openclaw-workspace/HEARTBEAT.md:

# Check system status
- Run: `uptime` and `df -h` to check server health
- If disk usage > 80%, alert me

# Check for important emails (if Gmail configured)
- Run email check script
- Alert if unread from specific senders

# Return HEARTBEAT_OK if nothing needs attention

Configure heartbeat interval in ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json:

{
  "agents": {
    "defaults": {
      "heartbeat": {
        "every": "30m"
      }
    }
  }
}

Openclaw will now run checks every 30 minutes and send alerts when needed.

What You Get

Cost: $0/month infrastructure + $20/month Claude Pro subscription

Specs:

4 ARM Ampere cores
24GB RAM
200GB storage
Always-on AI assistant via Telegram
Persistent conversations across sessions
File system and shell access
Automated backups

Next Steps

Additional features you can add:

More channels: WhatsApp, Slack, Discord, iMessage
Gmail/Calendar integration via OAuth
Receipt processing with Google Drive storage
Workflow automation with n8n
Mobile coding via Happy app (Claude Code on iOS/Android)

The setup is modular. Start with Openclaw + Telegram and add other components as needed.

Troubleshooting

Openclaw gateway won’t start?

Check logs: openclaw logs --follow
Verify Node version: node --version (need 22+)
Check port conflicts: sudo ss -tulpn | grep 18789

Telegram bot not responding?

Verify gateway is running: ps aux | grep openclaw
Check token in ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json
Test token: curl https://api.telegram.org/bot<TOKEN>/getMe

Lost SSH access?

Use Oracle Cloud Console > Instance > Console Connection
Or reboot instance from console

Summary

Oracle’s free tier provides 4 ARM cores and 24GB RAM at no cost. Openclaw offers persistent AI conversations with file system access, accessible via messaging platforms like Telegram.

Setup takes approximately 3 hours. The core components (Oracle instance + Openclaw + Telegram) provide the base functionality. Additional features can be added later.

Total monthly cost: $20 for Claude Pro subscription. Infrastructure remains free.

Resources: