100% Open Source · MIT

Install CARAPACE on Linux.
One command. ~5 minutes.

A headless OpenClaw gateway on any Ubuntu or Debian VPS. Provision, pick a provider, paste your key, connect Tailscale, pair your phone. Done.

The installer is open source — read it, fork it, send PRs.

Before you start

  • An Ubuntu or Debian VPS — anything from $5/mo works. DigitalOcean, Hetzner, Vultr, Linode, Scaleway — whatever you like.
  • SSH access — `ssh [email protected]` needs to work. The installer runs as your user; it'll `sudo` when it needs to.
  • An API key for your chosen provider — or nothing if you want to skip and configure it later. Gemini's free tier is the easiest on-ramp.
1

Run the one-liner

SSH into your VPS and paste this.

curl -fsSL https://carapace.info/install.sh | bash

Heads up: piping to bash means you trust the code. Read it first if you want — it's on GitHub. The script installs OpenClaw, Node via nvm, tmux, jq, and sets up your gateway. It's idempotent — safe to re-run.

2

Pick your AI provider

The installer pauses here. Press the number for the one you want.

ubuntu@vps ~ — carapace install
Pick your AI provider: 1) Google Gemini (free tier, recommended) 2) OpenAI Codex (ChatGPT OAuth — Plus/Pro subscription) 3) Anthropic Claude (API key — pay-as-you-go) 4) OpenAI API (API key — pay-as-you-go) 5) xAI Grok (API key — pay-as-you-go) 6) Skip (I'll do this myself later) Choice [1]: 1

Don't have a key yet? Grab a free Gemini key at aistudio.google.com/apikey — no credit card, ~60 requests/min on the free tier. Or pick Skip (6) and configure it from the dashboard later.

3

Paste your API key

Each character echoes as * so you can see your paste landed.

ubuntu@vps ~ — carapace install
Paste your google API key (AIza...) (each character echoes as * — paste + press Enter) Key: ********************************* → captured: AIzaSy•••1nU ✓ AI configured: google/gemini-2.5-flash
4

Connect Tailscale

The only step where you leave the terminal — click the auth URL and approve.

ubuntu@vps ~ — carapace install
Connecting Tailscale... To authenticate, visit: https://login.tailscale.com/a/abc123xyz Waiting for authentication... ✓ Tailscale connected — vps-london.tail-scale.ts.net

No Tailscale account? Sign up free at tailscale.com/start — personal use is free up to 100 devices. Tailscale gives you a secure mesh so your phone can reach your VPS anywhere, without exposing any ports.

5

Pair your iPhone

Open the Carapace iOS app → Settings → Add Gateway → Scan. That's it.

ubuntu@vps ~ — carapace install
Ready to pair. Scan the QR → ✓ Gateway listening on vps-london.tail-scale.ts.net:18789 ✓ Pair token active — expires in 5 minutes # If you'd rather not scan, paste this into the iOS app: carapace://config?gatewayBaseURL=https%3A%2F%2F... Waiting for device...
Example QR — encodes carapace.info

Mock QR for preview only. Scans to carapace.info — your real pair QR embeds a one-time token.

That's it. You're live.

Your gateway's running, your phone's paired, your key's set. Open the iOS app, start talking. Optional: add a Gemini vision key in Settings → Vision if you picked a different chat provider.

iOS setup → Back to home

Stuck?

Open an issue on GitHub.

The installer is open source. Bug reports, feature requests, and PRs welcome.

Open an issue