Simple Application Server:Deploy an OpenClaw (formerly Moltbot, Clawdbot) image

Billing overview

Deploying and using the OpenClaw service on a Simple Application Server incurs the following fees:

• Simple Application Server fees: For more information, see Simple Application Server billing overview.

• Model call fees: By default, OpenClaw calls Alibaba Cloud Model Studio models during execution. The two main billing methods for model calls are:

  • Coding Plan AI Coding Package (Recommended): This plan uses a fixed monthly fee with a monthly request quota. Calls that exceed the quota return an error and are not charged. This helps you avoid unexpected costs.

    The Coding Plan only supports offsetting charges for calls to the qwen3-max-2026-01-23 and qwen3-coder-plus models. It does not support calls to multimodal models, including the default built-in Image Model qwen3-vl-plus.

  • Pay-as-you-go by token usage:

    • Version OpenClaw 2026.2.3 uses the qwen3-max-2026-01-23 model as the default text processing model (Primary Model) and the qwen3-vl-plus model as the image processing model (Image Model). For more information about billing, see Qwen-Max Model Billing and Qwen-VL Model Billing.

    • For version OpenClaw(Moltbot) 2026.1.27-beta.1, the qwen3-max-2026-01-23 model is used for servers purchased on or after January 31, 2026. For servers purchased before January 31, 2026, the qwen-vl-plus model is used by default.

      Important

      Enable Stop on Free Quota Exhaustion (Singapore region only): When you first activate Alibaba Cloud Model Studio (in the Singapore region), a free quota for new users is automatically issued for each model. By default, after the free quota is used up, you are charged based on the prices and usage in the model list. You can enable the Stop on Free Quota Exhaustion feature to avoid unexpected charges. For more information about billing, see OpenClaw (formerly MoltBot, Clawbot) purchase and billing questions.

Step 1: Purchase an OpenClaw package

1. Purchase a Simple Application Server pre-installed with the OpenClaw application.

   This application image is based on the 64-bit Alibaba Cloud Linux 3.2104 LTS operating system and comes from Alibaba Cloud Compute Nest.

2. On the Simple Application Server page, the resource configurations are preset. To change the configuration items, see the following information.

   • Instance: The memory must be 2 GiB or larger. You can switch packages as needed.

   • Region: The default is US (Virginia).

   • Purchase Configuration: The default duration is 12 months. You can change the duration as needed.

Step 2: Configure OpenClaw

1. On the Servers page, click the instance ID on the server card to go to the Server Overview page. Click the Application Details tab.

2. In the OpenClaw usage steps section, click Port Allow, then click Execute Command to open the firewall for the OpenClaw service port.

   Important

   • To prevent malicious scanning and targeted attacks, OpenClaw no longer uses a fixed default port during initialization. Instead, it generates a random port automatically. You can view the port number in the console at View the OpenClaw port number.

   • Opening the port exposes the service to the Internet. You can disable public access to the WebUI with one click. For details, see How do I enable or disable public access to the OpenClaw WebUI?

3. Click Configure OpenClaw, then click Execute Command to set the Alibaba Cloud Model Studio API key.

   You can configure one of two types of Alibaba Cloud Model Studio API keys:

   • Coding Plan exclusive API key (Recommended): This plan uses a fixed monthly fee with a monthly request quota. Calls that exceed the quota return an error and are not charged. This helps you avoid unexpected costs.

     The Coding Plan only supports offsetting charges for calls to the qwen3-max-2026-01-23 and qwen3-coder-plus models and does not support multimodal model calls (including the default built-in Image Model qwen3-vl-plus).

   • An Alibaba Cloud Model Studio API key billed by token usage.

   You can configure the API key using either System Recommended or Manual Input. System Recommended lists your Coding Plan API key (cost-controlled) and the API key for the Alibaba Cloud Model Studio model service closest to your server (low latency). To use an API key from another region or account, choose Manual Input.

   • System Recommended (dropdown selection)

     Region of the Simple Application Server	Region of the system-recommended Alibaba Cloud Model Studio API key	Region of the Coding Plan API key
     Chinese mainland regions	China (Beijing)	Singapore
     US and European regions	US (Virginia)
     Hong Kong (China) and other Asian regions	Singapore

   • Manual Input

     Click the button to switch to manual input. Enter your Alibaba Cloud Model Studio API key and select its region.

     Important

     When manually configuring, ensure the selected API key region is correct. Otherwise, model calls will fail.

4. Click Access Control page, then click Execute Command to retrieve the OpenClaw WebUI address. You can use this URL to interact with the OpenClaw agent in your browser.

   You can disable public access to the WebUI with one click. For details, see Disable public access to the OpenClaw WebUI.

5. (Optional) View the token.

   In Application Details > Basic Configuration > View Token, click Execute Command to view and save the token.

   

   Warning

   Do not expose the full URL that contains the token. This link includes your authentication credentials. Anyone with this link can bypass the logon process and gain administrative permissions to your OpenClaw console.

OpenClaw personalization

Generic agents behave identically, making them unsuitable for specific interaction scenarios. To help OpenClaw agents truly fit into business contexts—such as immersive role-playing or formal enterprise customer service—OpenClaw provides personalization capabilities.

The configuration files include the following:

• Personality definition (SOUL.md): Defines the AI’s core values, conversation style (e.g., formal, humorous, concise), and code of conduct.

• Identity definition (IDENTITY.md): Defines the AI’s name, self-awareness, background, and role.

• Workflow definition (AGENTS.md): Defines how the AI handles tasks, uses tools, and executes workflows.

Configuration steps: In Application Details > Personalization, click Edit to modify different configuration files. For scenario-specific examples, see OpenClaw personalization templates and scenario examples.

FAQ

References

You can use Tailscale to build a secure tunnel and connect to your Mac. This lets you manage iMessage on your Mac through OpenClaw. For more information, see Use OpenClaw (formerly Clawdbot) to call iMessage.