ZeroClaw Deployer

Step 1: Create Your Oracle Cloud Account

Oracle Cloud gives you a free server that runs 24/7. No credit card charge — just a quick identity check.

Open the sign-up page and create a free account:

Credit/debit card: They'll ask for a card to verify your identity. Oracle may place a small temporary hold (~1€) on your card — this is not a real charge and will be refunded within 3-5 days.

Home Region: When asked to pick a region, choose one with availability (you saw this on the previous screen).

After signing up:

Oracle will send your Cloud Account Name to your email. You'll need this name to sign in later. Check your inbox (and spam folder) if you don't see it.

Set up two-factor login (Oracle requires this):

You need a free app on your phone called Google Authenticator:

Android (Google Play) → iPhone (App Store) →

When Oracle asks you to set up verification:

Click Mobile App
Click Offline Mode or Use Another Authenticator App
Open Google Authenticator on your phone and scan the QR code
Type the 6-digit code from the app into Oracle's page

From now on, every time you sign in, just open the app and type the current code.

Having trouble signing up? Click here for tips

Common issues:

Page won't load: Try a different browser (Chrome works best), or open an incognito/private window.
Card rejected: Try a different card. Some prepaid or virtual cards don't work. A regular bank card usually works.
"Unable to create account": Try a Gmail or Outlook email address. If it still fails, wait 24 hours and try again.

Still can't sign up? Oracle sometimes has capacity issues. Try again in a day or two.

Step 1: Create Your Google Cloud Account

Google Cloud gives you a free server that runs 24/7. You'll need a credit card for verification but you won't be charged.

Open the Google Cloud console:

Open Google Cloud Console →

Credit/debit card: Google requires a billing account to use the free tier. You won't be charged for the free server. New accounts also get $300 in free credits for 90 days.

Google account: You can use your existing Gmail account to sign in.

Set up billing (required for free tier):

In the Google Cloud Console, click the navigation menu (three lines, top-left)
Click Billing
Click Link a billing account
If you don't have a billing account yet, click the Create button to create one
Follow the steps to add your card

If a billing setup form appears automatically when you open the Console, you can skip it — just close or dismiss it and follow the steps above instead.

The e2-micro server is always free in US regions. You will not be charged.

Enable the Compute Engine API:

In the Console, click the navigation menu → APIs & Services → Library
Search for Compute Engine API
Click it, then click Enable

Find your Project ID:

In the Google Cloud Console, click the project selector dropdown at the top of the page (right next to the Google Cloud logo). A list of your projects will appear — the ID column shows your Project ID (it looks like my-project-123456). You'll need this in a later step.

Step 2: Unlock More Server Locations

Free tier accounts start with one region. Subscribing to more gives you more chances to find available capacity.

Sign in to cloud.oracle.com
Click the Cloud Shell icon in the top-right area. Cloud Shell is a small built-in terminal inside Oracle Cloud — it lets you run commands without installing anything on your computer. A black terminal will appear at the bottom of the page.
Copy the command below and paste it into Cloud Shell, then press Enter:

Paste into Cloud Shell and press Enter

n=0; for r in $(oci iam region list --all --query 'data[*]."key"' --raw-output 2>/dev/null | tr -d '[]," '); do [ -z "$r" ] && continue; out=$(oci iam region-subscription create --region-key "$r" --tenancy-id $OCI_TENANCY 2>&1) && { echo "Subscribed: $r"; n=$((n+1)); } || { echo "$out" | grep -q "Already subscribed\|already been subscribed" && echo "Already active: $r" || echo "Skipped: $r"; }; done; echo ""; oci iam region-subscription list --tenancy-id $OCI_TENANCY --query 'data[*]."region-name"' 2>/dev/null; echo "New regions added: $n"

Free tier accounts may be limited to 1-3 regions. If most regions show "Skipped", that's normal — the deployer will search all your subscribed regions for capacity. Wait about a minute for any new regions to activate before continuing.

Step 3: Get Your AI Secret Key

OpenRouter gives your AI agent a brain. Create a free account and get a secret key.

Create a free account:

Open OpenRouter Sign-Up →

No credit card needed. Just create an account with your email or Google/GitHub login.

Now get your secret key:

Go to openrouter.ai/keys and sign in
Click Create Key
Give it any name (e.g. "ZeroClaw"), leave everything else empty, and click "Create"
Copy the key — it starts with sk-or-v1-

Save this key! You'll paste it in the next step. You can always find it again at openrouter.ai/keys.

Step 4: Paste Your Keys

Paste the two pieces of information from your accounts. We never save your keys — they stay in your browser only.

Your Oracle Cloud ID

How to find it:

Go to cloud.oracle.com and sign in
Click your profile icon (top-right corner)
Click Tenancy: <your name>
Find the line that says OCID and click Copy

Your OpenRouter Secret Key

Paste the key you saved in Step 3. It starts with sk-or-v1-

Preferred Region

Checks all unlocked regions in your continent for capacity. If none found, try a different continent.

Step 5: Upload and Launch Your Server

We've prepared a configuration file. Upload it to Oracle and they'll create everything automatically.

First, download your configuration file:

This saves a small file to your computer. Your keys are inside it — don't share this file with anyone.

Now upload it to Oracle:

Go to cloud.oracle.com and sign in
Click the menu icon (three horizontal lines, top-left corner)
Click Developer Services → Resource Manager → Stacks
Click the Create Stack button
Choose My Configuration, then .Zip File
Upload the file you just downloaded (zeroclaw-stack.zip)
Click Next, then Next again (everything is already filled in)
Click Create

Now tell Oracle to build your server:

On your new stack page, click the Apply button
A box will pop up — click Apply again to confirm
Wait 3-5 minutes for it to finish
When the status shows SUCCEEDED, move to the next step

If you get an error about "no capacity", make sure you ran the Cloud Shell command in Step 2, wait a minute, then try Apply again. If it persists, download a new zip with a different continent.

While you wait, here's what's being built for you:

A private network for your server
Security rules so it can be reached from the internet
A secret key pair (to connect securely)
A free server with your AI agent installed on it

Step 6: Copy Your Server Details

Your server is ready! Now grab two pieces of information from Oracle.

On the same page where the status says SUCCEEDED, click the Outputs tab on the left side. You'll see a list of values — copy the two below.

1. Find instance_public_ip and copy the value (it looks like 129.159.42.100):

Click the Copy link next to the value in the Outputs tab, then paste it here.

2. Find ssh_private_key and copy the entire value:

Click Show next to ssh_private_key to reveal it, then click Copy. The value starts with -----BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY----- and ends with -----END RSA PRIVATE KEY-----.

The key is a large block of text in the Cloud Shell output. Select everything from -----BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY----- to -----END RSA PRIVATE KEY----- (including those lines), then press Ctrl+C to copy.

Don't worry about saving this — the next step will set it up for you automatically.

Step 7: Connect to Your Server

Let's connect to your server and make sure everything is installed.

Open the online terminal:

Go to cloud.oracle.com, sign in, and click the Cloud Shell icon in the top-right area. A black terminal will appear at the bottom.

Save your key in Cloud Shell:

Copy the command below and paste it into Cloud Shell. It uses the key you pasted in Step 6.

Paste into Cloud Shell and press Enter

(go back to Step 6 and paste your secret key first)

Connect to your server:

Copy this command and paste it into Cloud Shell:

Paste into Cloud Shell and press Enter

(go back to Step 6 and paste your server address first)

If it asks "Are you sure you want to continue connecting?", type yes and press Enter.

You're connected when you see something like: ubuntu@zeroclaw-agent:~$

Check that installation is complete:

Copy this command and paste it into Cloud Shell (you should be connected to your server now):

Paste into Cloud Shell and press Enter

sudo cloud-init status --wait

You'll see dots (.....) appearing while it's still working — this is normal. Wait until it stops and shows status: done. This can take 5-10 minutes.

Step 8: Go Live!

Almost there! Link WhatsApp, start the service, and verify everything works.

Start ZeroClaw (you should still be connected to your server from Step 7):

Paste and press Enter

source ~/.bashrc && zeroclaw daemon

A pairing code or QR code will appear on your screen. Now grab your phone!

Link WhatsApp to your AI agent:

Open WhatsApp on your phone
Android: tap the three dots (top-right) → Linked Devices
iPhone: tap Settings (bottom-right) → Linked Devices
Tap Link a Device
Scan the QR code or enter the pairing code shown in the terminal
Done! Your phone should show a new linked device

After linking, make it run forever:

Press Ctrl+C to stop, then run:

Paste and press Enter

source ~/.bashrc && zeroclaw service install && zeroclaw service start

This makes your AI agent run 24/7, even after you close your browser.

Need to re-link WhatsApp? Stop the service first, then start it manually:
zeroclaw service stop && zeroclaw daemon
Once linked again, press Ctrl+C and restart the service: zeroclaw service start

Verify it's working:

Send a WhatsApp message to your own number from a friend's phone. Your AI agent should reply automatically within a few seconds!

Step 9: Open the Dashboard (optional)

The dashboard lets you add tools, change settings, and manage your AI agent from your browser.

Open a new tab by clicking the + button at the top of the screen
In the new tab, connect to your server again (same command you used in Step 7):
Paste this and press Enter
```
cd ~/zeroclaw-deploy && ssh -i zeroclaw_key.pem ubuntu@YOUR_IP
```
Wait until the screen shows ubuntu@zeroclaw-agent:~$ before continuing. This means you are connected to your server.
Now create a secure link to your dashboard:
Paste this and press Enter
```
cloudflared tunnel --url http://localhost:3000
```
After a few seconds, a link will appear on screen. It looks like:
https://something-random.trycloudflare.com
Copy that link, open it in your browser, and add /agent at the end

No account or signup needed. The link changes if you restart, but you can always get a new one by running the command again.

Get a WhatsApp AI Agent Running 24/7 — For Free

Checking server availability...

Get a WhatsApp AI Agent Running 24/7 — For Free

Step 1: Create Your Oracle Cloud Account

Step 1: Create Your Google Cloud Account

Step 2: Unlock More Server Locations

Step 2: Verify Your Project

Step 3: Get Your AI Secret Key

Step 4: Paste Your Keys

Step 5: Upload and Launch Your Server

Step 5: Launch Your Server

Step 6: Copy Your Server Details

Step 7: Connect to Your Server

Step 8: Go Live!

Step 9: Open the Dashboard (optional)

Your AI Agent is Live!