Stand up a private AI assistant on your own server in about 30 minutes. End state: a chat UI at https://ai.your-domain.com running fully on your hardware. No third-party model APIs. Your data never leaves the box.
// What you need before starting
A credit card and ~10 minutes to create one account at hetzner.com (or any VPS provider).
A domain name pointed to the server (we recommend Cloudflare for DNS).
A laptop with SSH (Mac/Linux built-in; Windows: PowerShell or Termius).
This setup runs CPU-only by default. Works fine for 7B-8B models like Llama 3.1 8B. For larger models or faster responses, use a GPU instance from RunPod and point Open WebUI at it.
// Step 1 — Create a Hetzner Cloud server
Sign up at hetzner.com/cloud.
Click + Add Server.
Location: Ashburn, VA (closest to PR/NYC) or Hillsboro, OR.
Image: Ubuntu 24.04.
Type: CPX31 (4 vCPU / 8GB RAM, ~$10/mo) for production. For testing only, CX22 (~$4/mo).
SSH keys: paste your public key. Get it with cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub. If you do not have one, create with ssh-keygen -t ed25519.
Name it openclaw-ai-01 and click Create & Buy Now.
// Step 2 — Point your DNS
In Cloudflare (or your registrar), add an A record:
ai.your-domain.com A <server-ip> Proxy: OFF
Caddy needs DNS to resolve directly to the server to issue Let's Encrypt certs. Keep Cloudflare proxy OFF for the AI subdomain.
Caddy will automatically obtain a Let's Encrypt certificate on first request. Wait ~30 seconds, then load https://ai.your-domain.com in a browser.
// Final checklist
Visit https://ai.your-domain.com → create the first admin account (this becomes the owner; lock it down).
Send a test message → you should see Llama 3.1 respond.
Open WebUI → Admin Panel → Settings → Disable Sign Ups. Only invited users from now on.
Create individual user accounts for the client team. Hand off the URL.
// Updates / maintenance
cd ~/openclaw && docker compose pull && docker compose up -d
// Backups (snapshots are simplest)
In Hetzner Cloud Console → your server → Snapshots → enable weekly. ~$1/mo extra. Restoring is one click.
Done. You now have a private LLM running on infrastructure you control, behind HTTPS, with auth, ready to hand to a client. Total time: ~30 min once accounts exist.
// Need help?
Email hola@openclaw.pr or book an in-person setup at /appointments.
BienvenidoWelcome
¡Bienvenido a OpenClaw Puerto Rico!Welcome to OpenClaw Puerto Rico!
Tu asistente de IA privado, listo en 24 horas. Agenda una llamada gratis de 15 min y descubre cómo automatizar tu negocio.Your private AI assistant, live in 24 hours. Book a free 15-min call and see how to automate your business.
