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Self-hosted · Always on · Bring your own agents

Don't lock yourself into an AI provider's cloud.

Use the open cloud.

OpenClowd is the open-source control plane for running and steering terminal coding agents on a VPS or another always-on server or spare laptop you control—from any device.

Recommended setup: a small always-on VPS.

View developmentSee it in action

A one-command setup delivered through npm is planned for the public release.

sandboxed product walkthrough
openclowd/site

Start agent work where the repo already lives.

Demo

Choose an existing agent on the host, attach the session to a real workspace, and keep the work reachable after you leave the original terminal.

Agent session started in feature/auth-copy
workspace loaded from feature/auth-copy
codex command queued in terminal session
agent dispatched and streaming output

The control loop

See the work. Spot what needs you. Keep it moving.

Launch agents in a real workspace, monitor parallel sessions, review their changes, and send the next instruction without returning to the original terminal.

The cloud question

The question is not if your dev environment is moving to the cloud.The question is whose cloud.

With OpenClowd, the machine, repositories, agent accounts, and access boundary stay yours.

The old workflow

Your laptop should not be the control plane.

When several agents are working, the bottleneck is knowing what is running, what needs input, and how to get back to it. Terminal tabs, memory, and a laptop that must stay awake are a fragile control surface.

Recommended setup

Give your agents a machine that does not go to sleep.

Put OpenClowd and your terminal agents on an always-on machine you control. A small VPS is the recommended route; a home server, dev server, or spare laptop that stays online also works.

You provide and maintain the machine. OpenClowd does not provision a VPS or install your third-party coding agents.

  1. 01

    Start with an always-on machine

    Choose a basic VPS for the opinionated path, or use another reachable machine that stays online.

  2. 02

    Run the OpenClowd installer

    A one-command setup delivered through npm is planned for the public release. The release flow is intended to include preflight checks, authentication, and secure remote-access guidance.

  3. 03

    Open a real repository

    Use the repository and agent CLIs already installed and authenticated on that machine.

  4. 04

    Check in from anywhere

    Monitor, review, reattach, approve, and steer from a browser on your laptop or phone.

What changes

One place to run the loop.

Keep work running

Long-running sessions stay attached to the always-on host while it remains alive, even when you close your laptop or change devices.

Know what needs you

Workspace status, history, and attention signals make parallel sessions understandable without pretending to read every agent's private state.

Stay in reach

Use the browser and mobile-friendly controls to send short input, approve the next step, review work, or reattach later.

Bring your own agents

Use the terminal tools and AI accounts you already trust.

OpenClowd is the environment around your coding agents, not another model provider or AI billing layer. Any terminal-based agent that runs on the host belongs in the universal compatibility baseline; richer integrations are documented separately when they exist.

Read the compatibility model

Developer-controlled by design

Convenience without captivity.

  • OpenClowd runs on a machine you control.
  • Repository contents, prompts, transcripts, and session history stay on that self-hosted machine by default.
  • Remote access requires HTTPS and authentication; raw OpenClowd, terminal, and preview ports should not be exposed publicly.
  • OpenClowd uses your existing agent and provider accounts instead of becoming an AI reseller.
  • Live processes require the host to stay alive and do not survive a reboot or crash merely because OpenClowd retains history.
Read the trust and security boundary

Direct answers

OpenClowd FAQ

What is OpenClowd?

OpenClowd is a self-hosted web control plane for running, monitoring, reattaching to, and steering multiple terminal-based coding agents on always-on compute you control.

Do I need a VPS?

A small always-on VPS is the recommended setup, but it is not the only option. A home server, dev server, or spare laptop that remains online can also run OpenClowd.

Does OpenClowd provision or manage the server?

No. With the self-hosted product, you provide and maintain the VPS or other always-on machine.

Must the host stay online?

Yes. Running agent processes live on the host, so it must remain powered on and reachable. Live processes do not survive a host reboot or crash.

Is Managed OpenClowd available?

Not yet. The available launch path is self-hosted OpenClowd. The managed-hosting waitlist is only for future availability updates and early conversations.

Read all frequently asked questions

Future hosted option

Want OpenClowd without running the server?

Managed OpenClowd is the name for a future hosted path for people interested in using OpenClowd without operating the always-on machine themselves. It is not available yet, and its exact service scope is still being defined.

What managed hosting will mean

Waitlist signup is temporarily unavailable.

Put your agents somewhere they can keep working.

Start with an always-on machine, a real repository, and the coding agents you already use.

View development