Introduction (Cloud Direct)
Welcome to the OpenClaw SaaS Cloud Deployment Guide.
This guide will take you from zero to a fully running AI agent SaaS business on the live internet — step by step.
You do not need to be an expert. You do not even need to install Node.js or Docker on your computer! Every step is explained in plain language. If you follow the instructions in order to push the code straight to the cloud, it will work.
What is this?
This is a ready-made business starter kit.
Once you set it up, you will have:
- A public landing page running permanently on Vercel at
www.your-domain.com - A customer dashboard where paying customers can connect their Telegram bot and chat with an AI agent
- An admin dashboard where you (the owner) can see all customers, agents, and platform activity
- A payment system that automatically charges customers and gives them access
- An AI agent that runs 24/7 in the cloud on Fly.io — automatically started for each customer when they subscribe
How does it work? (The big picture)
Here is the full flow in plain English:
1. A visitor opens your live landing page at `www.your-domain.com`
2. They sign up and pay (using Polar — the payment system)
3. The payment system sends a secret signal to your cloud backend saying "this person paid"
4. Your cloud backend automatically creates a record for them in the database
5. The customer logs into their dashboard
6. They connect their Telegram bot by pasting their bot token
7. **Fly.io automatically starts a dedicated AI agent machine for this customer in the cloud** — you do nothing
8. The customer sends a message on Telegram → the cloud agent receives it → replies using AI
What services will you need accounts on?
You will create accounts on 6 services. Almost all of them have free tiers to get started.
| # | Service | What it does | Cost to start |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GitHub | Stores your code securely | Free |
| 2 | Supabase | Your database and user login system | Free |
| 3 | Google Cloud | Provides the Gemini AI model | Free tier available |
| 4 | Polar | Handles payments from your customers | Free (takes small % per sale) |
| 5 | Fly.io | Runs your API server + one agent machine per customer 24/7 | ~$3–5/mo API + ~$4/mo per customer |
| 6 | Vercel | Hosts your public website permanently | Free |
The order of these guides
Follow the guides in exact order. Do not skip ahead. Each guide depends on what the previous one set up.
| Guide | What you will do |
|---|---|
| 02 — Prerequisites | Install the required text editors on your computer |
| 03 — Clone & Setup | Download the starter kit code |
| 04 — Supabase Setup | Create your cloud database |
| 05 — LLM API Keys | Get your AI (Gemini, OpenAI, Anthropic) keys |
| 06 — Vercel Setup | Deploy the frontend website to get your domain |
| 07 — Polar Setup | Set up payments to point to your new domain |
| 08 — Fly.io Setup | Create your backend servers |
| 09 — Deploy API | Push your code to Fly.io permanently |
| 10 — Push Agent Image | Push the agent factory image to the cloud |
| 11 — Environment Variables | Connect the frontend and backend together |
| 12 — Going Live | Verify everything works flawlessly on the internet |
| 13 — How to Customize | Change colors, models, and branding |
| 14 — The Troubleshooting Gold Mine | Fix any Vercel, DNS, or Database setup bugs |
Before you start
Take a moment to read this entire page before opening any other guide.
Important: Keep all your API keys and passwords in a safe place as you collect them. You will use a file called
.envto store them. We will explain exactly what to put in it.
When you are ready, move on to 02 — Prerequisites.