VPS Development Environment Setup

Complete development environment setup script for Ubuntu 24.04 LTS VPS, optimized for Claude Code and multi-stack development.

📦 What Gets Installed

Core System Tools

✅ tmux - Terminal multiplexer with custom config
✅ git - Version control with useful aliases
✅ vim/nano - Text editors
✅ htop/btop - System monitoring
✅ ncdu - Disk usage analyzer
✅ tree, jq, zip/unzip - File utilities

Containerization

✅ Docker - Latest stable version
✅ Docker Compose - V2 plugin
✅ Docker Buildx - Multi-platform builds

Node.js Ecosystem

✅ NVM v0.39.7 - Node Version Manager
✅ Node.js v20.19.4 (LTS)
✅ npm - Latest version
✅ pnpm - Fast package manager
✅ yarn - Alternative package manager
✅ PM2 - Process manager
✅ NestJS CLI - For NestJS projects
✅ TypeScript/ts-node - TypeScript tooling

.NET Development

✅ .NET 8 SDK - Complete development kit
✅ .NET 8 Runtime - Runtime environment
✅ ASP.NET Core Runtime - Web development

Python Environment

✅ Python 3.12 - Latest Ubuntu 24.04 default
✅ pip - Package installer
✅ venv/virtualenv - Environment management
✅ pipenv/poetry - Advanced package managers
✅ IPython/Jupyter - Interactive shells
✅ black/flake8/pylint - Code quality tools

PHP

✅ PHP 8.3 - Latest stable
✅ Composer - Dependency manager
✅ Extensions: MySQL, PostgreSQL, Redis, GD, curl, XML, BCMath, etc.

Android Development

✅ OpenJDK 17 - Java Development Kit (required for Android)
✅ Android SDK - Command-line tools for building Android apps
✅ Android Build Tools 35.0.0 - Latest build tools
✅ Android Platform Tools - ADB and fastboot
✅ Android Platforms - SDK platforms 34 & 35
✅ Gradle 8.12 - Build automation tool

Database Clients

✅ MySQL client
✅ PostgreSQL client
✅ Redis CLI
✅ SQLite
✅ mongosh - MongoDB Shell

Developer Tools

✅ Claude Code CLI - AI-assisted coding
✅ GitHub CLI (gh) - GitHub operations
✅ lazygit - Beautiful Git UI
✅ fd - Modern find replacement
✅ ripgrep (rg) - Fast grep alternative
✅ bat - Cat with syntax highlighting
✅ exa - Modern ls replacement

AI CLI Tools

✅ Shell-GPT (sgpt) - Simple CLI assistant for quick commands
✅ Aider - AI pair programming tool
✅ Ollama - Local LLM runtime for offline AI
✅ GitHub Copilot CLI - GitHub's AI CLI extension
✅ Codex CLI - OpenAI's code assistant

Optional Add-ons

🦞 OpenClaw - Personal AI assistant via messaging channels (see OpenClaw Setup)

Security

✅ UFW firewall - Configured with SSH/HTTP/HTTPS
✅ fail2ban - Intrusion prevention
✅ certbot - SSL certificate management

🚀 Quick Start

1. Upload Script to VPS

# From your local machine (replace with your VPS IP)
scp vps-dev-setup.sh user@your-vps-ip:~/

# OR copy-paste the content directly
nano vps-dev-setup.sh
# Paste content, Ctrl+O to save, Ctrl+X to exit

2. Make Executable

chmod +x vps-dev-setup.sh

3. Run the Script

./vps-dev-setup.sh

⏱️ Estimated time: 10-15 minutes depending on connection speed

4. Post-Installation Steps

# 1. Log out and back in (or source bashrc)
source ~/.bashrc

# 2. Verify Node.js installation
node --version  # Should show v20.19.4

# 3. Configure Git
git config --global user.name "Your Name"
git config --global user.email "your.email@example.com"

# 4. Set up SSH keys for GitHub
ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "your.email@example.com"
cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub
# Add to GitHub: https://github.com/settings/keys

# 5. Authenticate Claude Code
claude-code auth

# 6. Test Docker (after re-login)
docker run hello-world

🔑 Accessing Private GitHub Repositories

To clone and work with private GitHub repositories on your VPS, you need to set up authentication. Here are the recommended methods:

Method 1: SSH Keys (Recommended)

SSH keys provide secure, password-less authentication for all your GitHub repositories.

Step 1: Generate SSH Key

# Generate a new ED25519 SSH key (recommended)
ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "your.email@example.com"

# Or use RSA if ED25519 is not supported
ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096 -C "your.email@example.com"

When prompted:

Press Enter to accept the default file location (~/.ssh/id_ed25519)
Enter a passphrase for extra security (optional but recommended)

Step 2: Add SSH Key to GitHub

# Display your public key
cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub

Copy the output and add it to GitHub:

Go to GitHub SSH Settings
Click New SSH key
Give it a descriptive title (e.g., "VPS Development Server")
Paste your public key
Click Add SSH key

Step 3: Test the Connection

# Test SSH connection to GitHub
ssh -T git@github.com

You should see: Hi username! You've successfully authenticated...

Step 4: Clone Repositories Using SSH

# Clone using SSH URL (starts with git@github.com:)
git clone git@github.com:username/private-repo.git

# Or update existing repo to use SSH
git remote set-url origin git@github.com:username/private-repo.git

Method 2: GitHub CLI Authentication

The GitHub CLI (gh) provides easy authentication with browser-based login.

# Start authentication
gh auth login

# Follow the prompts:
# 1. Select GitHub.com
# 2. Select SSH as preferred protocol
# 3. Upload your SSH key (or generate a new one)
# 4. Complete browser-based authentication

# Verify authentication
gh auth status

# Clone private repositories
gh repo clone username/private-repo

Method 3: Deploy Keys (For Specific Repositories)

Use deploy keys when you need read-only access to specific repositories (useful for CI/CD or automated deployments).

# Generate a dedicated key for the specific repo
ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "deploy-key-myproject" -f ~/.ssh/deploy_myproject

# Display the public key
cat ~/.ssh/deploy_myproject.pub

Add the deploy key to your repository:

Go to your repository on GitHub
Navigate to Settings → Deploy keys
Click Add deploy key
Paste the public key and give it a title
Check "Allow write access" if needed

Configure SSH to use the deploy key:

# Add to ~/.ssh/config
cat >> ~/.ssh/config << 'EOF'
Host github-myproject
    HostName github.com
    User git
    IdentityFile ~/.ssh/deploy_myproject
    IdentitiesOnly yes
EOF

# Clone using the custom host alias
git clone git@github-myproject:username/private-repo.git

Method 4: Personal Access Token (PAT)

Use tokens for HTTPS-based authentication (useful for scripts and automation).

Create a Token

Go to GitHub Token Settings
Click Generate new token (classic) or Fine-grained tokens
Select scopes: repo (for full repository access)
Copy the generated token

Configure Git to Use Token

# Option A: Use credential helper to cache token
git config --global credential.helper store

# Clone a repo and enter token when prompted for password
git clone https://github.com/username/private-repo.git
# Username: your-github-username
# Password: paste-your-token-here

# Option B: Include token in remote URL (less secure, avoid for shared systems)
git clone https://YOUR_TOKEN@github.com/username/private-repo.git

⚠️ Security Warning: Tokens in URLs may appear in logs. Use SSH keys or credential helpers instead for better security.

Best Practices

Use SSH Keys - Most secure and convenient for regular development work
Use Deploy Keys - For automated systems that need access to specific repositories
Use Tokens Sparingly - Only for scripts that require HTTPS; rotate them regularly
Protect Private Keys - Never share or commit your private keys (id_ed25519, not .pub)
Use Passphrases - Add a passphrase to SSH keys for extra security
Use SSH Agent - Avoid entering passphrases repeatedly

SSH Agent Setup

# Start SSH agent
eval "$(ssh-agent -s)"

# Add your key (you'll enter passphrase once per session)
ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_ed25519

# Verify loaded keys
ssh-add -l

To automatically start SSH agent, add to your ~/.bashrc:

# Auto-start SSH agent
if [ -z "$SSH_AUTH_SOCK" ]; then
    eval "$(ssh-agent -s)" > /dev/null
    ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_ed25519 2>/dev/null
fi

Troubleshooting

"Permission denied (publickey)"

# Check if SSH agent has your key
ssh-add -l

# If empty, add your key
ssh-add ~/.ssh/id_ed25519

# Verify the key is in GitHub
curl -s https://api.github.com/users/YOUR_USERNAME/keys

# Test with verbose output
ssh -vT git@github.com

"Host key verification failed"

# Add GitHub's host key to known hosts
ssh-keyscan github.com >> ~/.ssh/known_hosts

Multiple GitHub Accounts

If you use multiple GitHub accounts, configure SSH with different hosts:

# ~/.ssh/config
Host github-personal
    HostName github.com
    User git
    IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_personal
    IdentitiesOnly yes

Host github-work
    HostName github.com
    User git
    IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_work
    IdentitiesOnly yes

Use the appropriate host when cloning:

git clone git@github-personal:personal-account/repo.git
git clone git@github-work:work-org/repo.git

📁 Workspace Structure

The script creates the following directory structure:

~/
├── projects/
│   ├── web/                # Web application projects
│   ├── api/                # API/Backend projects
│   ├── mobile/             # Mobile app projects
│   ├── automation/         # Automation scripts
│   └── experiments/        # Testing & experiments
├── backups/                # Local backups
├── scripts/                # Utility scripts
└── logs/                   # Application logs

🎯 Useful Aliases

The script configures these aliases (available after source ~/.bashrc):

Navigation

..      # cd ..
...     # cd ../..
....    # cd ../../..

Git

gs      # git status
ga      # git add
gc      # git commit
gp      # git push
gl      # git log --oneline --graph
gco     # git checkout

Docker

d       # docker
dc      # docker compose
dps     # docker ps
dpa     # docker ps -a
dex     # docker exec -it
dlogs   # docker logs -f
dprune  # docker system prune -af

Node/NPM

ni      # npm install
ns      # npm start
nt      # npm test
nr      # npm run
pn      # pnpm

Tmux

ta      # tmux attach -t
tl      # tmux list-sessions
tn      # tmux new -s

System

ll      # exa -lah (or ls -alh)
lt      # tree view
ports   # netstat -tulanp
usage   # disk usage (du -h -d1)

Claude Code

cc      # claude-code

AI Tools

ai      # aider
aic     # aider --model sonnet
aig     # aider --model gpt-4o
ask     # sgpt (Shell-GPT)
ollama-code  # ollama run deepseek-coder

AI Helper Functions

ask-cmd '<query>'   # Get shell commands from AI
ask-code '<query>'  # Generate code from AI
gac                 # Git add all + AI commit review

OpenClaw (Optional Add-on)

oc          # openclaw
oc-chat     # openclaw chat
oc-status   # Gateway service status
oc-start    # Start Gateway service
oc-stop     # Stop Gateway service
oc-restart  # Restart Gateway service
oc-logs     # View Gateway logs (live)
oc-config   # Edit configuration
oc-check    # Quick status overview

🔧 Tmux Configuration

Custom tmux config with developer-friendly settings:

Key Bindings

Prefix: Ctrl+A (instead of default Ctrl+B)
Split Horizontal: Ctrl+A then |
Split Vertical: Ctrl+A then -
Navigate Panes: Ctrl+A then h/j/k/l
Reload Config: Ctrl+A then r

Features

✅ Mouse support enabled
✅ 50,000 line scrollback buffer
✅ Window numbering starts at 1
✅ Automatic window renumbering
✅ 256 color support

Quick Start with Tmux

# Create new session
tmux new -s work

# Detach (keep session running)
Ctrl+A, then d

# List sessions
tmux ls

# Reattach to session
tmux attach -t work

# Kill session
tmux kill-session -t work

📱 iPhone Access Setup

Option 1: Termius (Recommended)

Install Termius from App Store
Add new host with VPS IP
Configure SSH key authentication
Enable "Keep alive" for persistent connections

Option 2: Blink Shell

Install Blink Shell from App Store
More terminal-native experience
Better for long coding sessions

Persistent Session Workflow

# On VPS: Start tmux session
tmux new -s claude-dev

# Start Claude Code
cd ~/projects/web
claude-code

# On iPhone: Detach when needed
Ctrl+A, d

# On iPhone: Reattach anytime
ssh user@vps-ip
tmux attach -t claude-dev

🤖 Android Development

This setup includes a complete Android development environment for building Android apps via command line over SSH.

Environment Variables

The following environment variables are configured:

JAVA_HOME=/usr/lib/jvm/java-17-openjdk-amd64
ANDROID_HOME=$HOME/Android/Sdk
ANDROID_SDK_ROOT=$HOME/Android/Sdk

Building an Android App

# Navigate to your Android project
cd ~/projects/mobile/my-android-app

# Build debug APK
./gradlew assembleDebug

# Build release APK
./gradlew assembleRelease

# Build and install on connected device (via ADB over network)
./gradlew installDebug

# Run all tests
./gradlew test

# Clean and rebuild
./gradlew clean build

Managing Android SDK

# List installed packages
sdkmanager --list_installed

# List available packages
sdkmanager --list

# Install additional SDK platforms
sdkmanager "platforms;android-33"
sdkmanager "build-tools;34.0.0"

# Update all installed packages
sdkmanager --update

# Accept licenses
sdkmanager --licenses

ADB Commands

# List connected devices
adb devices

# Connect to device over network (useful for remote development)
adb connect <device-ip>:5555

# Install APK
adb install app-debug.apk

# Uninstall app
adb uninstall com.example.myapp

# View logs
adb logcat

# Copy files from/to device
adb push local-file.txt /sdcard/
adb pull /sdcard/file.txt ./

Creating a New Android Project

# Using Gradle init (basic)
mkdir my-android-app && cd my-android-app
gradle init --type basic

# For a complete Android project, clone a template or use Android Studio
# on your local machine, then push to git and clone on VPS

React Native / Expo (Android)

# Build React Native Android app
cd my-react-native-app
npx react-native build-android --mode=release

# Expo projects
npx expo prebuild --platform android
cd android && ./gradlew assembleRelease

Flutter (Android)

# Install Flutter (if needed)
git clone https://github.com/flutter/flutter.git ~/flutter
export PATH="$PATH:$HOME/flutter/bin"
flutter doctor

# Build Flutter Android app
cd my-flutter-app
flutter build apk --release
flutter build appbundle --release

Useful Gradle Options

# Build with increased memory
./gradlew assembleDebug -Dorg.gradle.jvmargs="-Xmx4g"

# Parallel builds
./gradlew assembleDebug --parallel

# Offline mode (faster if dependencies cached)
./gradlew assembleDebug --offline

# Skip tests
./gradlew assembleDebug -x test

# Verbose output
./gradlew assembleDebug --info

🔒 Security Notes

Firewall Configuration

The script configures UFW to allow only:

SSH (port 22)
HTTP (port 80)
HTTPS (port 443)

To allow additional ports:

sudo ufw allow 3000/tcp  # Example: Node.js app
sudo ufw status          # Check current rules

fail2ban

Automatically enabled to protect against brute-force attacks on SSH.

Check status:

sudo fail2ban-client status
sudo fail2ban-client status sshd

Additional Security Recommendations

# 1. Change default SSH port (optional)
sudo nano /etc/ssh/sshd_config
# Change: Port 22 → Port 2222
sudo systemctl restart sshd
sudo ufw allow 2222/tcp
sudo ufw delete allow 22/tcp

# 2. Disable password authentication (after SSH keys setup)
sudo nano /etc/ssh/sshd_config
# Set: PasswordAuthentication no
sudo systemctl restart sshd

# 3. Set up automatic security updates
sudo apt install unattended-upgrades
sudo dpkg-reconfigure -plow unattended-upgrades

🤖 AI Tools Workflow

This environment includes multiple AI CLI tools for different development scenarios.

Initial Setup

Configure API keys for AI services:

# Add to ~/.bashrc for persistence
export OPENAI_API_KEY='your-openai-key'       # For Shell-GPT, Aider with GPT
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY='your-anthropic-key' # For Aider with Claude

# Download local models for Ollama (optional, for offline use)
ollama pull deepseek-coder    # Best for coding tasks
ollama pull llama3            # General purpose
ollama pull codellama         # Code completion

Recommended Workflow

For Daily Development:

# 1. Start a tmux session
tmux new -s dev

# 2. Use Claude Code for large tasks
claude-code

# 3. Use Aider for quick refactoring
aider app.py tests.py

# 4. Use Ollama for offline queries
ollama run deepseek-coder "explain this pattern"

# 5. Use Shell-GPT for quick commands
sgpt "find all TODO comments"

For Specific Tasks:

Refactoring:

aider --model sonnet app/

Test Generation:

aider tests/ --message "add tests for UserController"

Bug Fixing:

claude-code  # For deep context understanding

Quick Commands:

sgpt --code "bash script to backup database"

Tool Comparison

Tool	Best For	Requires API Key	Offline Support
Claude Code	Complex tasks, deep context	Anthropic	No
Aider	Pair programming, refactoring	OpenAI/Anthropic	No
Shell-GPT	Quick queries, commands	OpenAI	No
Ollama	Offline work, local models	None	Yes
GitHub Copilot	GitHub integration	GitHub	No

AI Aliases Quick Reference

# AI Tools
cc              # Claude Code
ai / aider      # Aider
aic             # Aider with Claude Sonnet
aig             # Aider with GPT-4o
ask / sgpt      # Shell-GPT
ollama-code     # Ollama with deepseek-coder

# Helper Functions
ask-cmd '<query>'   # Get shell command suggestions
ask-code '<query>'  # Generate code snippets
gac                 # Git add all + AI-assisted commit

🦞 OpenClaw AI Assistant (Optional)

OpenClaw is an optional add-on that enables you to interact with AI through messaging platforms (WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord, Slack). It runs as a Gateway service on your VPS.

Why Use OpenClaw?

Message from anywhere: Chat with your AI assistant via your phone's messaging apps
Persistent sessions: Your conversations continue even when you disconnect
Multiple channels: Support for WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord, and Slack
Secure by default: Loopback binding, pairing mode, and sandbox isolation

Installation

After running vps-dev-setup.sh, install OpenClaw with the optional script:

# Download and run OpenClaw setup
chmod +x openclaw-setup.sh
./openclaw-setup.sh

# Source bashrc to get aliases
source ~/.bashrc

# Complete onboarding
openclaw onboard

Note: OpenClaw requires Node.js v22+. The setup script will upgrade your Node.js if needed (from v20 installed by the main script).

Quick Start

# 1. Set your API key (if not done during onboarding)
openclaw config set apiKey YOUR_ANTHROPIC_API_KEY

# 2. Start the Gateway service
oc-start

# 3. Check status
oc-status

# 4. View logs
oc-logs

Gateway Service Management

The Gateway runs as a systemd user service:

# Start/stop/restart
systemctl --user start openclaw-gateway
systemctl --user stop openclaw-gateway
systemctl --user restart openclaw-gateway

# Check status
systemctl --user status openclaw-gateway

# View logs
journalctl --user -u openclaw-gateway -f

# Or use the aliases:
oc-start / oc-stop / oc-restart / oc-status / oc-logs

Configuration

Configuration is stored at ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json. Edit with:

oc-config    # Opens in nano/your editor

Default secure settings:

Gateway bound to 127.0.0.1:18789 (localhost only)
All messaging channels disabled
Pairing mode enabled for all channels
Sandbox mode for non-main sessions

Enabling Messaging Channels

⚠️ Security Warning: Only enable channels you need. Each channel requires explicit configuration to prevent unauthorized access.

# Edit configuration
oc-config

# Find the channel you want to enable and set "enabled": true
# Configure allowFrom lists for authorized contacts
# Restart the gateway
oc-restart

For detailed channel setup, see docs/OPENCLAW.md or visit:

Remote Access

The Gateway binds to localhost only by default. For remote access:

Option 1: SSH Tunnel (Recommended)

# From your local machine
ssh -L 18789:127.0.0.1:18789 user@your-vps-ip

# Gateway is now accessible at localhost:18789 on your machine

Option 2: Tailscale

# Install Tailscale on VPS and client device
# Update openclaw.json to allow Tailscale:
# "auth": { "allowTailscale": true }

Directory Structure

~/.openclaw/
├── openclaw.json       # Main configuration
├── workspace/          # Agent workspace
└── backups/            # Configuration backups

~/logs/openclaw/
├── openclaw.log        # Application logs
├── gateway.log         # Gateway service logs
├── gateway-error.log   # Gateway error logs
└── audit.log           # Security audit trail

OpenClaw Aliases Reference

# Commands
oc              # openclaw (main CLI)
oc-chat         # openclaw chat
oc-code         # openclaw code

# Service management
oc-start        # Start Gateway
oc-stop         # Stop Gateway
oc-restart      # Restart Gateway
oc-status       # Check Gateway status
oc-enable       # Enable Gateway on boot
oc-disable      # Disable Gateway on boot

# Logs
oc-logs         # Live Gateway logs
oc-logs-all     # All Gateway logs
oc-logs-error   # Error logs only

# Configuration
oc-config       # Edit configuration
oc-check        # Quick status check

# Navigation
oc-workspace    # Go to workspace directory

Uninstalling OpenClaw

# Stop and disable the service
oc-stop
systemctl --user disable openclaw-gateway

# Remove the npm package
npm uninstall -g openclaw

# Remove configuration and workspace (optional)
rm -rf ~/.openclaw
rm ~/.config/systemd/user/openclaw-gateway.service

# Remove log files (optional)
rm -rf ~/logs/openclaw

# Remove aliases from .bashrc (manual)
nano ~/.bashrc
# Delete the "OpenClaw Configuration" section

🐛 Troubleshooting

Docker Permission Denied

Problem: permission denied while trying to connect to the Docker daemon socket

Solution:

# Log out and log back in to apply group membership
exit
# SSH back in

NVM Command Not Found

Problem: nvm: command not found

Solution:

source ~/.bashrc
# OR
source ~/.nvm/nvm.sh

Port Already in Use

Problem: Application won't start because port is in use

Solution:

# Find process using port (e.g., 3000)
sudo lsof -i :3000
# OR
sudo netstat -tulanp | grep 3000

# Kill the process
sudo kill -9 <PID>

Out of Disk Space

Problem: No space left on device

Solution:

# Analyze disk usage
ncdu /

# Clean Docker
docker system prune -af

# Clean package cache
sudo apt clean
sudo apt autoclean

# Clean old logs
sudo journalctl --vacuum-time=7d

Android SDK Commands Not Found

Problem: sdkmanager: command not found or similar

Solution:

# Reload shell configuration
source ~/.bashrc

# Or manually add to path
export ANDROID_HOME="$HOME/Android/Sdk"
export PATH="$ANDROID_HOME/cmdline-tools/latest/bin:$ANDROID_HOME/platform-tools:$PATH"

Gradle Build Failed - Memory Issues

Problem: Build fails with OutOfMemoryError or GC overhead limit exceeded

Solution:

# Increase Gradle daemon memory
echo "org.gradle.jvmargs=-Xmx4g -XX:+HeapDumpOnOutOfMemoryError" >> ~/.gradle/gradle.properties

# Or pass directly to build
./gradlew assembleDebug -Dorg.gradle.jvmargs="-Xmx4g"

# For very limited memory VPS, disable daemon
./gradlew assembleDebug --no-daemon

Android SDK License Not Accepted

Problem: Build fails with license agreement errors

Solution:

# Accept all licenses
yes | sdkmanager --licenses

JAVA_HOME Not Set

Problem: Gradle/Android build fails with Java not found

Solution:

# Reload shell or set manually
source ~/.bashrc

# Or set explicitly
export JAVA_HOME="/usr/lib/jvm/java-17-openjdk-amd64"
export PATH="$JAVA_HOME/bin:$PATH"

OpenClaw Gateway Won't Start

Problem: oc-start fails or Gateway service won't start

Solution:

# Check service status for error details
oc-status

# Check logs for specific errors
oc-logs-error

# Verify configuration is valid JSON
openclaw config validate

# Ensure Node.js v22+ is active
node --version
# If not v22+, switch:
nvm use 22

# Restart the service
systemctl --user daemon-reload
oc-restart

OpenClaw Command Not Found

Problem: openclaw: command not found after installation

Solution:

# Reload NVM and shell
source ~/.nvm/nvm.sh
source ~/.bashrc

# Verify Node.js is using correct version
nvm use 22

# Check if openclaw is in npm global
npm list -g openclaw

# If not found, reinstall
npm install -g openclaw@latest

OpenClaw Gateway Port Already in Use

Problem: Gateway fails with "port 18789 already in use"

Solution:

# Find process using the port
sudo lsof -i :18789

# Kill the process
sudo kill -9 <PID>

# Or change the port in configuration
oc-config
# Change "port": 18789 to another port
oc-restart

OpenClaw Sandbox Mode Fails

Problem: Sandbox mode errors or Docker-related failures

Solution:

# Verify Docker is running
docker info

# If Docker permission denied, add user to docker group
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
# Log out and back in

# Check Docker is accessible
docker run hello-world

# Restart OpenClaw Gateway
oc-restart

📊 System Monitoring

Check Resource Usage

# CPU & Memory (interactive)
htop
# OR modern alternative
btop

# Disk usage
df -h
ncdu /

# Docker stats
docker stats

# System info
inxi -F

Check Running Services

# All services
systemctl list-units --type=service --state=running

# Specific service
systemctl status docker
systemctl status fail2ban

🔄 Updating the Environment

Update System Packages

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade -y

Update Node.js

nvm install 20.19.4  # or newer version
nvm use 20.19.4
nvm alias default 20.19.4

Update Global npm Packages

npm update -g

Update Docker

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io

📝 Maintenance Tasks

Daily

Check htop for resource usage
Monitor Docker containers: docker ps

Weekly

Update system: sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade
Clean Docker: docker system prune
Review logs: journalctl -xe

Monthly

Review disk usage: ncdu /
Check fail2ban logs: sudo fail2ban-client status
Update all global packages

🎓 Learning Resources

Tmux

Docker

Git

🆘 Support & Feedback

If you encounter issues:

Check troubleshooting section above
Review script output for error messages
Check system logs: journalctl -xe
Verify service status: systemctl status <service>

📄 License

This setup script is provided as-is for development purposes.

Last Updated: February 2026
Target System: Ubuntu 24.04 LTS

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
docs		docs
README.md		README.md
openclaw-setup.sh		openclaw-setup.sh
verify-setup.sh		verify-setup.sh
vps-dev-setup.sh		vps-dev-setup.sh

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VPS Development Environment Setup

📦 What Gets Installed

Core System Tools

Containerization

Node.js Ecosystem

.NET Development

Python Environment

PHP

Android Development

Database Clients

Developer Tools

AI CLI Tools

Optional Add-ons

Security

🚀 Quick Start

1. Upload Script to VPS

2. Make Executable

3. Run the Script

4. Post-Installation Steps

🔑 Accessing Private GitHub Repositories

Method 1: SSH Keys (Recommended)

Step 1: Generate SSH Key

Step 2: Add SSH Key to GitHub

Step 3: Test the Connection

Step 4: Clone Repositories Using SSH

Method 2: GitHub CLI Authentication

Method 3: Deploy Keys (For Specific Repositories)

Method 4: Personal Access Token (PAT)

Create a Token

Configure Git to Use Token

Best Practices

SSH Agent Setup

Troubleshooting

"Permission denied (publickey)"

"Host key verification failed"

Multiple GitHub Accounts

📁 Workspace Structure

🎯 Useful Aliases

Navigation

Git

Docker

Node/NPM

Tmux

System

Claude Code

AI Tools

AI Helper Functions

OpenClaw (Optional Add-on)

🔧 Tmux Configuration

Key Bindings

Features

Quick Start with Tmux

📱 iPhone Access Setup

Option 1: Termius (Recommended)

Option 2: Blink Shell

Persistent Session Workflow

🤖 Android Development

Environment Variables

Building an Android App

Managing Android SDK

ADB Commands

Creating a New Android Project

React Native / Expo (Android)

Flutter (Android)

Useful Gradle Options

🔒 Security Notes

Firewall Configuration

fail2ban

Additional Security Recommendations

🤖 AI Tools Workflow

Initial Setup

Recommended Workflow

For Daily Development:

For Specific Tasks:

Tool Comparison

AI Aliases Quick Reference