OpenClaw on Proxmox: Run 5 Isolated AI Agents on One Home Server (2026)
What This Guide Covers: A complete tutorial for running multiple isolated OpenClaw AI agent instances on a single Proxmox VE home server using LXC containers. You will have separate agents for work, personal, and family use — all isolated from each other, running 24/7, with shared VPN07 proxy connectivity. Estimated hardware cost: $150–400 for a mini PC. Estimated setup time: 60–90 minutes.
Why Proxmox Is the Homelab Gold Standard for OpenClaw
Proxmox VE (Virtual Environment) is a free, open-source hypervisor platform based on Debian Linux that transforms any PC into a powerful virtualization server. It supports both KVM virtual machines (full OS virtualization) and LXC containers (lightweight operating system containers) — and for running multiple OpenClaw instances, LXC containers are the ideal choice.
Why LXC over VM for OpenClaw? LXC containers share the host kernel and run with minimal overhead — an OpenClaw LXC container uses approximately 200–400MB RAM and practically zero CPU when idle. In contrast, a KVM virtual machine running a full OS requires at least 512MB RAM just for the OS itself. On a typical homelab machine with 16GB RAM, you can comfortably run 5–8 isolated OpenClaw agents as LXC containers while using the remaining resources for other services like Plex, Home Assistant, or Nextcloud.
The homelab approach also delivers massive cost savings. Running 5 OpenClaw agents on cloud VPS instances would cost $30–50/month. On a home Proxmox server using a $200 mini PC (such as an Intel N100 or AMD Ryzen mini PC), your total annual operating cost is electricity (~$20/year) plus VPN07 ($18/year) — a savings of $300–500 per year compared to cloud hosting.
Annual Cost Comparison: Proxmox vs Cloud
Proxmox Homelab (5 agents)
- Hardware (one-time): $200
- Electricity: ~$20/yr
- VPN07: $18/yr
- Year 1: $238 | Year 2+: $38/yr
Cloud VPS (5 agents)
- 5× $6/mo DigitalOcean: $360/yr
- Data transfer fees: +$20/yr
- VPN: varies
- $380+/yr ongoing
Recommended Hardware for Proxmox + OpenClaw
Proxmox runs on almost any x86-64 hardware, from old laptops to dedicated servers. For a 5-agent OpenClaw homelab, here are the recommended specifications:
Intel N100 Mini PC — ~$150
16GB DDR5 RAM, 512GB NVMe SSD, 4-core CPU at 3.4GHz. Draws only 6–12W under load. Perfect for a silent, always-on homelab. Examples: Beelink EQ12, Minisforum UN100C.
AMD Ryzen 5 Mini PC — ~$250
32GB DDR5 RAM, 1TB NVMe SSD, 6-core CPU. Better performance for heavier workloads. Examples: Minisforum UM560, Beelink SER5 MAX.
Repurposed Old PC/Laptop — $0
Any x86-64 machine with 8GB+ RAM from the last 8 years can run Proxmox and 3–5 OpenClaw agents. Use what you have before buying new hardware.
Step 1 — Install Proxmox VE 8.x
Download the Proxmox VE 8.x ISO from proxmox.com/downloads. Flash it to a USB drive using Rufus (Windows) or dd (Linux/macOS). Boot your homelab machine from the USB and follow the Proxmox installer — accept the license, select the NVMe drive as the target, configure your static IP and hostname, and set the admin password.
After installation, access the Proxmox web interface from any browser on your network:
https://192.168.1.xxx:8006
# Login with: root / (your admin password)
After logging in, dismiss the "no subscription" warning (Proxmox VE is fully functional without a paid subscription). Update Proxmox to use the free community repositories instead of the enterprise ones:
# SSH into the Proxmox host
ssh [email protected]
# Disable enterprise repository
sed -i 's/^deb/# deb/' /etc/apt/sources.list.d/pve-enterprise.list
# Add community repository
echo "deb http://download.proxmox.com/debian/pve bookworm pve-no-subscription" >> /etc/apt/sources.list
# Update and upgrade
apt update && apt full-upgrade -y
Step 2 — Create LXC Container Template
Download an LXC container template for Ubuntu 24.04 (the recommended base for OpenClaw). In the Proxmox web UI, navigate to: Node → local (storage) → CT Templates → Templates. Search for "ubuntu-24.04" and download it.
Alternatively, via SSH:
pveam update
pveam download local ubuntu-24.04-standard_24.04-2_amd64.tar.zst
Create the first OpenClaw LXC container. We will use ID 200 for the first agent:
pct create 200 local:vztmpl/ubuntu-24.04-standard_24.04-2_amd64.tar.zst \
--hostname openclaw-agent1 \
--cores 1 \
--memory 512 \
--swap 512 \
--rootfs local-lvm:8 \
--net0 name=eth0,bridge=vmbr0,ip=dhcp \
--unprivileged 1 \
--features nesting=1 \
--password "your-container-password" \
--start 1
The --features nesting=1 flag enables nested containers, which is needed for Docker if you want to run OpenClaw inside Docker within the LXC container. For our purpose of running OpenClaw directly, it is optional but good practice to enable it.
Step 3 — Install OpenClaw in Each Container
Log into the container (via Proxmox web console or SSH) and install OpenClaw:
# Enter the container console
pct exec 200 -- bash
# Inside the container, update and install prerequisites
apt update && apt upgrade -y
apt install -y curl git build-essential
# Install nvm and Node.js 22
curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.39.7/install.sh | bash
source ~/.bashrc
nvm install 22
nvm alias default 22
# Install OpenClaw
npm install -g openclaw
# Run the onboarding wizard
openclaw onboard
Configure OpenClaw as a systemd service inside the container:
cat > /etc/systemd/system/openclaw.service << 'EOF'
[Unit]
Description=OpenClaw AI Agent
After=network-online.target
Wants=network-online.target
[Service]
Type=simple
User=root
ExecStart=/usr/local/bin/node /usr/local/lib/node_modules/openclaw/bin/openclaw.js start
Restart=always
RestartSec=10
[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
EOF
systemctl daemon-reload
systemctl enable openclaw
systemctl start openclaw
Repeat this process for each agent, creating containers with IDs 201, 202, 203, 204 for agents 2 through 5. Give each container a unique hostname (openclaw-work, openclaw-personal, openclaw-family, etc.) and configure each with a different Telegram bot token and unique Claude API key or account.
Step 4 — Resource Allocation Strategy
With multiple OpenClaw agents running simultaneously, resource management becomes important. Here is a recommended allocation strategy for a 16GB RAM system running 5 agents:
| Agent | CPU Cores | RAM | Disk | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agent 1 (Primary) | 2 | 1GB | 20GB | Work/Professional |
| Agent 2 | 1 | 512MB | 10GB | Personal Tasks |
| Agent 3 | 1 | 512MB | 10GB | Research/Web Scraping |
| Agent 4 | 1 | 256MB | 8GB | Family/Home Automation |
| Agent 5 | 1 | 256MB | 8GB | Cron Jobs / Background |
Proxmox allows you to adjust these resources dynamically — if Agent 1 is running a complex research task and needs more RAM, you can temporarily increase its allocation from the web UI without restarting the container. CPU cores are shared (not exclusive) by default, so the 2-core Agent 1 only uses 2 cores when actively processing.
Step 5 — Snapshot Backup and Disaster Recovery
One of Proxmox's most powerful features for OpenClaw homelabs is instant snapshots. You can capture the complete state of a running OpenClaw container — including all memory, conversation history, and installed skills — in seconds, and restore to that exact state at any time:
# Take a snapshot of Agent 1 (from Proxmox host)
pct snapshot 200 "pre-update-$(date +%Y%m%d)" \
--description "Before OpenClaw update"
# List snapshots
pct listsnapshot 200
# Restore from snapshot if something goes wrong
pct rollback 200 pre-update-20260301
For automated daily backups, configure Proxmox's built-in backup scheduler via the web UI: Datacenter → Backup → Add. Schedule nightly backups at 3:00 AM with a retention policy of 7 copies. Proxmox will backup all containers to your NVMe drive (or to a separate backup storage if configured), ensuring you never lose your OpenClaw agents' accumulated memory and skills.
Step 6 — Shared VPN07 Proxy for All 5 Agents
Running 5 separate OpenClaw agents means 5 simultaneous connections to Claude's API. Without a VPN, all 5 connections share your home IP address, which can trigger Anthropic's rate limiting and result in failed requests. VPN07 solves this elegantly with a shared proxy architecture.
Install VPN07 on the Proxmox host (not inside individual containers), then configure it as an HTTP proxy that all containers route through. This means you only need one VPN07 subscription for all 5 agents:
# On the Proxmox HOST (not inside a container):
curl -fsSL https://vpn07.com/install.sh | sudo bash
sudo vpn07 connect --auto
# Start VPN07 as an HTTP proxy on port 8888
sudo vpn07 proxy --port 8888 --bind 0.0.0.0
# Get the Proxmox host IP on the container bridge
ip addr show vmbr0 # Example: 192.168.1.100
Now configure each OpenClaw container to use this proxy. In each container:
# Add proxy settings to the container's environment
echo "HTTPS_PROXY=http://192.168.1.100:8888" >> /etc/environment
echo "HTTP_PROXY=http://192.168.1.100:8888" >> /etc/environment
# Update the openclaw systemd service to include proxy env vars
nano /etc/systemd/system/openclaw.service
# Add these lines under [Service]:
# Environment="HTTPS_PROXY=http://192.168.1.100:8888"
# Environment="HTTP_PROXY=http://192.168.1.100:8888"
systemctl daemon-reload && systemctl restart openclaw
VPN07 at $1.5/month routes API traffic from all 5 agents through a dedicated 1000Mbps server. The Claude API sees requests coming from VPN07's clean datacenter IP, not your home IP — dramatically reducing rate limiting and connection failures. With 70+ country server options, you can route all agents through the optimal server for lowest Claude API latency.
The financial math is compelling: five cloud-hosted OpenClaw agents would cost $30–50 per month in VPS fees. Your entire Proxmox homelab runs for just $1.5/month (VPN07) plus a few cents of electricity. That is a saving of $340–580 per year while delivering better performance, full data ownership, and the ability to snapshot-restore any agent to any point in time. VPN07's 30-day money-back guarantee means you can test this setup with absolutely zero financial risk — start your Proxmox homelab today, add VPN07 as the networking backbone, and experience the most powerful and cost-effective OpenClaw setup available.
Step 7 — Monitoring All Agents from One Dashboard
Managing 5 separate OpenClaw agents would be cumbersome without a unified monitoring approach. Proxmox's web interface already provides a consolidated view of all container health — CPU, RAM, disk I/O, and network usage for each agent are visible in the datacenter summary. For application-level monitoring, install a lightweight status dashboard:
# Check the status of all OpenClaw agents from the Proxmox host
for ctid in 200 201 202 203 204; do
echo "=== Container $ctid ==="
pct exec $ctid -- systemctl status openclaw --no-pager
done
For automated health monitoring, create a simple bash script that checks all 5 agents every 5 minutes and sends a Telegram notification if any agent's service has stopped:
#!/bin/bash
# /usr/local/bin/check-openclaw-agents.sh
TELEGRAM_TOKEN="your-admin-bot-token"
CHAT_ID="your-admin-chat-id"
for ctid in 200 201 202 203 204; do
STATUS=$(pct exec $ctid -- systemctl is-active openclaw 2>&1)
if [ "$STATUS" != "active" ]; then
MSG="⚠️ OpenClaw agent in container $ctid is DOWN. Status: $STATUS"
curl -s -X POST "https://api.telegram.org/bot${TELEGRAM_TOKEN}/sendMessage" \
-d "chat_id=${CHAT_ID}&text=${MSG}"
# Auto-restart the failed container's service
pct exec $ctid -- systemctl restart openclaw
fi
done
Add this script to the Proxmox host's crontab to run every 5 minutes:
chmod +x /usr/local/bin/check-openclaw-agents.sh
echo "*/5 * * * * root /usr/local/bin/check-openclaw-agents.sh" >> /etc/crontab
This creates a self-healing homelab: if any OpenClaw agent crashes or stops unexpectedly, the monitor script automatically restarts it and sends you an alert within 5 minutes. Combined with Proxmox's daily snapshot backups, you have a production-grade reliability setup that rivals expensive commercial AI agent platforms — at a fraction of the cost.
Advanced Proxmox Tips for OpenClaw Power Users
Template Containers: Create one perfectly configured OpenClaw container, then use pct clone 200 205 to create new instances from it in seconds. This is ideal for spinning up temporary agents for specific projects.
VLAN Isolation: Assign different VLANs to work and personal agents for network-level isolation. Work agent traffic stays on the corporate VLAN, personal agent on the home VLAN — completely separated networking.
Memory Ballooning: Enable memory ballooning in Proxmox so inactive containers release unused RAM back to the pool. An idle OpenClaw agent at 3 AM can drop from 512MB to 150MB allocated, freeing resources for active agents.
Power Your Proxmox Homelab with VPN07
One subscription · All 5 agents · 1000Mbps · $1.5/month
VPN07 is the network backbone for serious OpenClaw homelab builders. With 1000Mbps dedicated bandwidth across 70+ countries, one VPN07 subscription powers all your Proxmox OpenClaw containers through a shared proxy — eliminating rate limiting, geo-restrictions, and ISP throttling for every agent simultaneously. 10 years of proven reliability, 30-day money-back guarantee. The ultimate networking upgrade for your homelab.
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