Quick Start
Quick Start
Pick one setup path. Both run the agent in your cloud account; the difference is who operates the deployment layer.
| Path | Best for | Start here |
|---|---|---|
| Guided hosted setup | Fast launch, more providers and channels, managed operations | aideploy.co |
| Public self-host beta | Source control, local lifecycle CLI, DigitalOcean + Telegram golden path | belongnet/aideploy |
Guided hosted setup
- Go to aideploy.co
- Sign in with DigitalOcean — click the button, authorize, done (~10 seconds)
- Sign in with ChatGPT — click the button, authorize, done (~10 seconds)
- Connect Telegram — paste your BotFather token (~30 seconds)
- Click "Launch My Agent" — wait for the progress bar to finish (~60–90 seconds)
- Done! — your agent is live. Send it a message on Telegram.
What you need
- A DigitalOcean account (credit card required for billing; eligible new accounts can receive a $200 / 60-day referral credit)
- A ChatGPT account (Plus or Pro recommended)
- A Telegram account
- A Tailscale account (free) for private dashboard access
You can swap any of these for another cloud provider, AI provider, or messaging channel.
Open-source self-host setup
The public beta supports:
- DigitalOcean as the live cloud path
- OpenClaw or Hermes Agent
- OpenAI, Anthropic, or Kimi with an API key
- Telegram with outbound polling
- A Tailscale-private browser surface
Start with the repository's self-host guide. It gives you the current tagged-source command, required credentials, checksum-pinned OpenTofu setup, readiness checks, and deterministic teardown. The short lifecycle is:
node cli/dist/index.js up
node cli/dist/index.js doctor
node cli/dist/index.js down <deploy-id>
The public CLI validates every prerequisite before creating billable resources. It records state under ~/.aideploy/<deploy-id>/, reports when the real runtime and Telegram path are ready, and removes secrets and infrastructure during a successful teardown.
See Open Source for the public-versus-managed feature boundary, licensing, release verification, and contribution links.
After deployment
- Open your dashboard — reach the management dashboard over your Tailscale private network (
:3000), select your agent, then go to Connect AI & Messengers. - Finish setup from chat — once the bot is replying in Telegram, you can finish any remaining provider or channel setup right there. Ask it to connect ChatGPT or Claude, open the sign-in link it sends, then paste the code back to the bot. It deletes that sensitive message when possible.
- Add more agents — go to Agents and click New Agent to deploy additional agents.
- Install Tailscale — add the Tailscale app to your phone or laptop to reach the dashboard from anywhere.
- Test it — confirm Telegram is connected in the setup checklist, then send a message to your bot.
Estimated costs
- DigitalOcean server: ~$24–30/month (Starter plan, 2 vCPU / 4 GB RAM)
- ChatGPT: included in your existing subscription when you sign in with OAuth
- Tailscale: free for personal use
Security note
When you finish ChatGPT or Claude sign-in from a messenger, the bot sends a browser sign-in link. Copy that link into Safari, Chrome, or your normal desktop browser — messenger in-app browsers cannot finish the login reliably. Paste back the ChatGPT sign-in code (or the Claude redirect URL / one-time code) the browser shows you.
For raw provider API keys, use the dashboard's secure setup forms instead of pasting keys into chat.
Need help?
- Check the Troubleshooting guide
- Review the deployment logs in the Technical details section of the wizard
- For source installs, run
node cli/dist/index.js doctorand use the repository's issue tracker