ZeroClaw Deployer

Step 1: Create Your Free Accounts

You need two free accounts: one for the server (where your AI agent will live) and one for the AI brain.

A) Oracle Cloud Account (your free server)

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, pick any you prefer. The deployer will automatically check all OCI regions for available capacity, starting with your preferred continent.

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 for security):

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.

B) OpenRouter Account (the AI brain)

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 2: Paste Your Keys

Paste the two pieces of information from your accounts below. 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
Come back here and paste it above

Just signed up?

After signing in for the first time, wait a moment for your account to finish setting up. Then follow the steps above.

Your OpenRouter Secret Key

This is the key you created in Step 1. It starts with sk-or-v1-

Preferred Region

The deployer auto-subscribes to all regions in your continent. On first run it subscribes; click Apply a second time to deploy. If no capacity is found, try a different continent.

Step 3: Create Your Server

We've prepared a configuration file for you. You'll upload it to Oracle and they'll create everything automatically — no commands to type!

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 (two runs needed):

On your new stack page, click the Apply button
A box will pop up — click Apply again to confirm
Wait for it to finish — the status will show SUCCEEDED with status = PENDING in the outputs. This is normal! It just subscribed you to new regions.
Go back to Stack Details and click Apply again
If you see "Too many requests", wait 60 seconds and try Apply again
This second run finds a region with capacity and deploys your server. Wait 3-5 minutes.
When the status shows SUCCEEDED with a real IP address, your server is ready!

While you wait, here's what Oracle is building 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

After the status shows SUCCEEDED:

On the same page, click the Outputs tab (left side of the page). You'll see a list of values. Copy two of them below:

1. Your server's address (Public IP):

Find instance_public_ip in the Outputs list and copy-paste the value here.

2. Your secret connection key:

Find ssh_private_key in the Outputs list, copy the entire value and paste it here:

This saves the key as a file on your computer. You'll need it in the next step.

Step 4: Connect to Your Server

Your server is ready. Let's connect to it and make sure everything is running.

Open Oracle's online terminal:

Go to cloud.oracle.com, sign in, and click the Cloud Shell icon in the top-right area. A black box will appear at the bottom of the page — that's Cloud Shell.

Save your key in Cloud Shell:

Copy the command below and paste it into the black box (Cloud Shell). It uses the key you pasted in Step 3.

Paste this into Cloud Shell

(go back to Step 3 and paste your secret key first)

This command is filled in automatically from Step 3. If it says "go back", return to Step 3 and paste your key.

Connect to your server:

Copy this command and paste it into Cloud Shell:

Paste this into Cloud Shell

(go back to Step 3 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 the installation is complete:

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

Paste this into Cloud Shell

sudo cloud-init status --wait

Wait until it says status: done. If it says status: running, just wait a bit longer — it's still installing.

Step 5: Link Your WhatsApp

Almost there! Now let's connect your AI agent to WhatsApp so it can send and receive messages.

Start ZeroClaw (you should still be connected to your server in Cloud Shell):

Paste this into Cloud Shell

zeroclaw daemon

A QR code (a square made of dots) will appear on your screen. Now grab your phone!

Scan the QR code with your phone:

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
Point your phone camera at the QR code on your screen
Done! Your phone should show a new linked device

After scanning, start the background service:

Press Ctrl+C to stop the daemon, then run:

Paste this into Cloud Shell

zeroclaw service install && zeroclaw service start

This makes your AI agent run 24/7 in the background, even after you close Cloud Shell.

QR code disappeared? No worries! Run zeroclaw daemon again and a new one will appear.

Step 6: Make Sure It's Working

Let's make sure your AI agent is alive and ready to respond!

Quick test from Cloud Shell:

If you're still connected to your server, run this command:

Paste this into Cloud Shell

curl http://<PUBLIC_IP>:3000/health

If you see {"status":"ok"} — congratulations, it's working!

Or test from here:

Your server address (from Step 3):

The real test:

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

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

Step 1: Create Your Free Accounts

A) Oracle Cloud Account (your free server)

B) OpenRouter Account (the AI brain)

Step 2: Paste Your Keys

Step 3: Create Your Server

Step 4: Connect to Your Server

Step 5: Link Your WhatsApp

Step 6: Make Sure It's Working

Your AI Agent is Live!