I wanted to let a few friends get a hosted OpenClaw setup without each of them dealing with Docker, reverse proxy, SSL certs, etc. So I built a small toolkit that turns one Linux box into a multi-tenant hosting setup. Each person gets their own isolated instance on a unique subdomain.
What each person gets:
1. Their own OpenClaw dashboard.
2. A password-protected web terminal (HMAC tokens, 24h TTL)
3. Isolated CPU, memory, and PID limits so one person can't take down the box
Stack: Docker containers + Traefik for routing and auto SSL (Let’s Encrypt DNS-01) + a tiny forward-auth service (~90 lines of JS) for terminal token validation.
You can try it locally with one command, no server needed.
That spins up 2 instances on localhost using localtest.me. For real server deploys, there’s a provision script that sets up Docker + Traefik and a create-instance script to add more users and give them their own OpenClaws.
Rough sizing: each instance needs ~4 GB RAM, so an 8 GB VPS fits ~2, 16 GB fits ~4, etc. If you’ve already got a VPS sitting around, you just need a domain pointed at it (wildcard DNS A record) and the provision script handles the rest: installs Docker, sets up Traefik, automates SSL. Way cheaper than managed OpenClaw hosting and you actually own the infra.
Open to hearing feedback, anyone else self-hosting this vs using managed hosting?
