openboatmobile-ai/docs/DIGITALOCEAN_SETUP.md

DigitalOcean Setup

Detailed guide for deploying OpenBoatmobile to DigitalOcean.

When to Use DigitalOcean

Factor	Hetzner	DigitalOcean
Price	€4.49/mo (cx23)	$24/mo (s-2vcpu-4gb)
US West Coast	No	Yes (SFO2, SFO3)
Documentation	Good	Excellent
One-click apps	Limited	Extensive
Support	Ticket	Ticket + Premium

Use DigitalOcean if:

• You're on the US West Coast (SFO has better latency than Ashburn)
• You already have DO credits/promo codes
• You prefer DO's documentation and ecosystem

Create DigitalOcean Account

1. Go to DigitalOcean
2. Sign up
3. Add a payment method ($5 minimum)

Create API Token

1. Go to DO API Settings
2. Click Generate New Token
3. Name it (e.g., "openclaw-terraform")
4. Permissions: Read & Write
5. Copy the token immediately (shown only once)

Add SSH Key

1. Go to DO Security Settings
2. Click Add SSH Key
3. Paste your public key contents:

   cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub
   

4. Give it a name
5. Click Add SSH Key

Get the Fingerprint

Terraform needs the fingerprint, not the name:

ssh-keygen -lf ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub
# Output: 256 SHA256:abc123... your@email.com (ED25519)

The fingerprint is the part after SHA256: and before the email.

TF_VAR_ssh_key_fingerprints='["abc123..."]'

Choose a Region

Code	Location	Notes
nyc1	New York	US East
nyc3	New York	US East (recommended)
sfo2	San Francisco	US West
sfo3	San Francisco	US West
ams3	Amsterdam	Europe
lon1	London	Europe
sgp1	Singapore	Asia

Configure OpenBoatmobile

Minimal Configuration

In terraform.tfvars:

provider = "digitalocean"

server_name               = "my-agent"
droplet_size_digitalocean = "s-2vcpu-4gb"
region_digitalocean       = "nyc3"

# These come from environment:
# TF_VAR_do_token
# TF_VAR_venice_api_key
# TF_VAR_ssh_key_fingerprints

Droplet Sizes

Size	vCPU	RAM	Disk	Price
s-1vcpu-2gb	1	2 GB	50 GB	$12/mo
s-2vcpu-4gb	2	4 GB	80 GB	$24/mo (recommended)
s-2vcpu-8gb	2	8 GB	160 GB	$48/mo
s-4vcpu-8gb	4	8 GB	160 GB	$64/mo

The s-2vcpu-4gb is the sweet spot for OpenClaw.

Deploy

# Load secrets
source .env

# Initialize (first time only)
terraform init

# Preview changes
terraform plan

# Deploy
terraform apply

Post-Deployment

Terraform outputs:

server_ip = "123.45.67.89"
ssh_command = "ssh openclaw@123.45.67.89"  # or "ssh hermes@123.45.67.89" for Hermes

Connect

# Username is 'openclaw' or 'hermes' depending on framework
ssh <USERNAME>@123.45.67.89

Run OpenClaw Onboarding

openclaw onboard --install-daemon

Firewall Rules

OpenBoatmobile creates a DigitalOcean firewall with:

Direction	Port	Source
Inbound	22 (SSH)	Configured IPs
Outbound	All	Any

To restrict SSH to your IP:

TF_VAR_ssh_allowed_ips='["your.public.ip/32"]'

Cleanup

terraform destroy

Troubleshooting

"SSH Key fingerprint not found"

• Use the fingerprint, not the name
• The fingerprint is shown in DO Console under Security
• Make sure there are no extra spaces

"API Token invalid"

• Regenerate the token
• Copy immediately (shown only once)
• Check for trailing spaces in .env

Droplet created but can't SSH

• Wait 2-3 minutes for cloud-init
• Verify your key fingerprint is correct
• Check firewall allows your IP

"Rate limit exceeded"

• DO has API rate limits
• Wait a few minutes and retry
• Use terraform plan sparingly before apply