Deploy OpenClaw on Zeabur: Zero-Config PaaS Setup in 5 Minutes 2026
TL;DR: Zeabur is a developer-friendly PaaS (Platform as a Service) that removes all the friction from deploying cloud applications. Instead of creating a VM, configuring SSH, installing Node.js, and setting up systemd — you connect GitHub, set two environment variables, and your OpenClaw agent is live in under 5 minutes. Zeabur handles HTTPS, auto-scaling, logging, and deployments automatically.
What is Zeabur and Why Use It for OpenClaw?
Zeabur (zeabur.com) is a modern PaaS platform that supports deploying applications from GitHub repositories with virtually zero configuration. Think of it as the middle ground between a raw VPS (too complex) and a fully managed SaaS (too restrictive for OpenClaw).
OpenClaw is an open-source Node.js application — exactly what PaaS platforms are designed for. Zeabur detects the runtime automatically, builds the application, and deploys it with a public HTTPS URL, all from your GitHub repository. The key advantages for OpenClaw users:
5-Minute Deploy
Fork OpenClaw on GitHub, connect to Zeabur, set your API keys as environment variables — done. No SSH, no servers, no Linux commands required.
Free HTTPS
Zeabur automatically provisions a Let's Encrypt HTTPS certificate for your deployment domain. No Nginx, no Certbot, no certificate renewal headaches.
Git Auto-Deploy
Every time you push to your main branch, Zeabur automatically rebuilds and redeploys your OpenClaw. Rolling updates with zero downtime.
Hong Kong Node = Excellent Claude API Latency
Zeabur's Hong Kong region provides excellent connectivity to Anthropic's Claude API servers. Users testing from Asia Pacific consistently report under 120ms response times — significantly better than US-only cloud providers.
Zeabur Pricing: What's Free?
| Plan | Monthly Cost | Resources | Good For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Limited credits/month | Testing, development |
| Developer | ~$5/month | More credits, custom domains | Personal OpenClaw 24/7 |
| Team | ~$20/month | Multiple services, team access | Business OpenClaw deployments |
The free plan is ideal for testing OpenClaw and light usage. For a production agent that needs to respond 24/7, the Developer plan (~$5/month) is the right choice. Combined with VPN07 at $1.5/month, your total cloud AI agent stack costs under $7/month — far less than hiring a virtual assistant.
Step 1 — Fork OpenClaw on GitHub
Zeabur deploys from GitHub repositories, so you'll need to fork OpenClaw first:
Visit github.com/openclaw/openclaw
Click the Fork button (top right). This creates your own copy of OpenClaw that Zeabur will deploy.
Keep the default settings
No need to change branch names or repo names. The default fork is exactly what Zeabur needs.
Optionally: customize your OpenClaw
Because it's your fork, you can add custom skills, modify the persona prompt, or adjust configuration before deploying. Zeabur will rebuild whenever you push changes.
Step 2 — Create a Zeabur Account and New Project
Sign Up at zeabur.com
Click "Get Started" and sign in with your GitHub account. Authorizing with GitHub allows Zeabur to access your forked OpenClaw repository.
Create a New Project
In the Zeabur dashboard, click Create Project. Give it a name like "openclaw-personal". Choose your region — Hong Kong or Singapore for best Claude API latency in Asia Pacific.
Add a New Service from GitHub
Click + Add Service → Git. Select your forked OpenClaw repository. Zeabur automatically detects it as a Node.js project and configures the build.
Step 3 — Configure Environment Variables
This is the most important step. OpenClaw needs your API keys and configuration, which you set as Zeabur environment variables instead of config files:
Required Environment Variables
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY
Your Anthropic API key from console.anthropic.com. Format: sk-ant-api03-xxx
TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN
Your Telegram bot token from @BotFather. Format: 1234567890:ABCdef...
TELEGRAM_OWNER_ID
Your Telegram user ID (from @userinfobot). This prevents others from accessing your agent.
NODE_ENV
Set to production for optimized performance.
OPENCLAW_AGENT_NAME
Optional: your AI agent's name (e.g., "Aria", "Max", "Nova"). Sets the persona for conversations.
Security: Never Commit API Keys to Git
Zeabur's environment variables are encrypted at rest and never exposed in logs or deployment outputs. This is the correct, secure way to store API keys — never put them in your openclaw.config.json file that's committed to your fork.
Step 4 — Deploy and Go Live
After setting environment variables, trigger a deployment:
Click Redeploy in Zeabur dashboard (or push any commit to your GitHub fork)
Watch the build log — npm install and OpenClaw startup typically takes 2–3 minutes
When you see "Service running" and a URL like openclaw.zeabur.app, the deployment is live
Open Telegram and send your bot "Hello" — if your agent responds within 10 seconds, the deployment succeeded!
Step 5 — Persistent Storage for Agent Memory
OpenClaw stores its memory, skills, and configuration in local files. Without persistent storage, Zeabur will lose this data every time the service restarts or redeploys. Here's how to set up persistent storage:
# In Zeabur dashboard:
# 1. Go to your OpenClaw service → Settings → Volumes
# 2. Add a new volume:
# Mount path: /openclaw-data
# Size: 5 GB (sufficient for months of memory)
# 3. Redeploy the service
# Then set the data directory env var:
OPENCLAW_DATA_DIR=/openclaw-data
What Gets Persisted
- • Agent memory and context (conversation history, learned preferences)
- • Installed skills and custom automations
- • Configuration and persona settings
- • Scheduled task definitions (cron jobs)
Step 6 — GitHub Auto-Deploy Workflow
One of Zeabur's most powerful features is automatic redeployment whenever you push to GitHub. Here's how to use this for OpenClaw updates:
Keep Up With OpenClaw Updates
# Sync your fork with upstream
git remote add upstream https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw.git
git fetch upstream
git merge upstream/main
git push origin main
# Zeabur auto-deploys the new version!
Add Custom Skills
# Add a custom skill to your fork
cp my-skill.ts skills/
git add skills/my-skill.ts
git commit -m "Add custom skill"
git push origin main
# Zeabur rebuilds with your new skill!
Step 7 — Custom Domain (Optional)
Zeabur provides a free subdomain like yourapp.zeabur.app. For a professional setup, add your own domain:
1. In Zeabur → Service → Networking → Custom Domain
Enter your domain, e.g., ai.yourdomain.com
2. Add a CNAME record in your DNS
Point ai.yourdomain.com CNAME to yourapp.zeabur.app
3. Zeabur auto-provisions HTTPS
Within minutes, Let's Encrypt certificate is issued and your domain is live with HTTPS
Zeabur vs Other Deployment Options
| Platform | Setup Time | Monthly Cost | Management | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zeabur | 5 minutes | $0–5 | Zero | Non-technical, quick start |
| Google Cloud | 30 minutes | $0 (free tier) | Medium | Cost-conscious, long-term |
| Azure | 45 minutes | $0–30 | Medium-High | Enterprise, students |
| Mac mini (local) | 60 minutes | $0 (hardware owned) | Medium | Privacy, always-on home |
| Windows Server | 2+ hours | Varies | High | Enterprise, IT teams |
Connecting OpenClaw to Multiple Services via Zeabur
Once OpenClaw is running on Zeabur, you can dramatically expand its capabilities by connecting additional services. Zeabur makes it easy to add companion services to your project:
PostgreSQL Database
Add Zeabur's managed PostgreSQL service for persistent, queryable storage of OpenClaw's memory and skill data. More powerful than file-based storage for heavy usage.
Redis Cache
Add Redis for high-performance caching of frequently accessed data. Significantly reduces Claude API calls and speeds up repeated queries about the same topics.
N8N Workflow Engine
Deploy n8n alongside OpenClaw on Zeabur. Zeabur's shared project network allows OpenClaw to trigger n8n workflows via internal HTTP calls — no public internet exposure needed.
Meilisearch
Add Meilisearch for full-text search over OpenClaw's memory files. Ask your AI "what did I tell you about [topic] last month?" and get instant answers from the search index.
Zeabur's internal networking means all these services communicate over a private network — no API keys or authentication needed between services, significantly simplifying your architecture.
What Makes Zeabur + OpenClaw Special in 2026
The combination of OpenClaw's AI agent capabilities and Zeabur's zero-ops infrastructure represents a significant shift in how individuals and small teams access enterprise-grade AI automation:
🌐 Democratized AI Operations
Five years ago, running a 24/7 AI agent required a DevOps engineer, a VM, and significant infrastructure knowledge. With Zeabur + OpenClaw, a designer, writer, or entrepreneur with zero server experience can deploy and run their own AI agent in 5 minutes.
🔄 Self-Healing Architecture
Zeabur automatically restarts crashed services, handles rolling deployments, and manages resource allocation. Combined with OpenClaw's built-in heartbeat monitoring, your AI agent effectively manages and heals itself.
📈 Scale When You Need It
Start on Zeabur's free tier for personal use. When your OpenClaw starts handling business-critical workflows, upgrade your plan without changing any code or migrating servers — Zeabur scales with you.
VPN07 for Zeabur: Maximum AI API Performance
Even on Zeabur, your OpenClaw agent needs to reach AI APIs reliably. While Zeabur's Hong Kong nodes generally have good connectivity, there are scenarios where VPN07 adds critical value:
🌏 When Claude API is Slow from Hong Kong
During peak US business hours, Anthropic's API may experience higher latency from Hong Kong. Configure a VPN07 US West node as an outbound proxy to reduce this from 180ms to under 90ms.
🔒 When Accessing Private Company APIs
If your OpenClaw needs to access internal company APIs or CRM systems, VPN07 with your company's IP whitelisted provides the secure tunnel from Zeabur's public infrastructure to your private network.
📱 Your iPad/iPhone Accessing Zeabur Dashboard
Install VPN07 on your mobile devices to securely monitor your Zeabur deployment logs and manage environment variables from public Wi-Fi without risk.
Troubleshooting Zeabur Deployments
Build fails with "npm ERR! peer dep missing"
Fix: Add NODE_VERSION=22 as a Zeabur environment variable to force the correct Node.js version. Also try npm_config_legacy_peer_deps=true.
Agent doesn't remember anything between restarts
Cause: No persistent volume configured. Fix: Add a Zeabur volume at path /openclaw-data and set OPENCLAW_DATA_DIR=/openclaw-data in environment variables.
Service crashes after a few hours
Cause: Free tier resource limits. Fix: Upgrade to the Developer plan, or optimize OpenClaw's memory usage by limiting skill count and conversation history length.
Telegram bot not responding
Check: View Zeabur service logs for errors. Common causes: wrong TELEGRAM_BOT_TOKEN, wrong TELEGRAM_OWNER_ID format (should be a number like 123456789, not a username).
Real-World Zeabur + OpenClaw Use Cases
The combination of Zeabur's zero-ops cloud infrastructure and OpenClaw's extensible AI agent framework opens up compelling real-world applications across diverse user types and industries.
👨💻 Indie Developer on Vercel/Zeabur Stack
Deploy your main app on Vercel, OpenClaw on Zeabur. Your AI agent monitors your GitHub PRs, reviews code via webhooks, and posts summaries to your Telegram — all running in the cloud with zero VPS management.
📊 Content Creator Automation
Your Zeabur OpenClaw scrapes RSS feeds, generates daily content briefs, and posts to your Telegram every morning. Set it and forget it — it runs 24/7 without your computer.
🛒 E-Commerce Monitor
OpenClaw on Zeabur tracks competitor prices, inventory levels, and customer reviews automatically. Sends you Telegram alerts when prices drop or reviews mention your product negatively.
🎓 Study Assistant
Students on the Azure student plan can run OpenClaw on Zeabur's free tier as a study assistant — summarizing papers, answering questions, tracking assignment deadlines via Telegram.
VPN07 — Complete the Stack
1000Mbps · 70+ Countries · Trusted Since 2015
Zeabur gives you zero-ops deployment. VPN07 gives you zero-compromise network performance. Together, your OpenClaw on Zeabur gets 1000Mbps AI API access, secure remote management from any device, and protection on any network. VPN07 has been running reliably for 10+ years with 70+ global server locations — the perfect network partner for your cloud-hosted AI agent. Only $1.5/month, with a 30-day money-back guarantee. No technical skills needed to start.
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