OpenClawBox: Self-Hosted AI Agent Infrastructure
Build your own VPA appliance for running AI agents securely at home or in your office.
The OpenClawBox Concept
An OpenClawBox is a dedicated hardware appliance designed to run OpenClaw and other AI agents in a completely private, self-hosted environment. Think of it as your personal VPA server - a physical manifestation of the Virtual Private Agent architecture.
Just as NAS devices democratized private cloud storage, the OpenClawBox concept democratizes private AI agent hosting. Your data, your agent, your control.
Why Self-Host Your AI Agent?
Complete Privacy
Your conversations, tasks, and data never leave your premises. No cloud provider sees your activity.
Always Available
No dependency on cloud services. Your agent works even during internet outages (for local tasks).
Data Sovereignty
Meet regulatory requirements by keeping all processing within your jurisdiction.
Custom Integrations
Connect to local services, home automation, internal databases without exposing them to the internet.
Hardware Specifications
Building an OpenClawBox doesn't require exotic hardware. Here are recommended configurations:
Entry Level
Personal use, basic automation
Components
- Raspberry Pi 5 (8GB) or Intel NUC
- 256GB NVMe SSD
- Gigabit Ethernet
- 32GB microSD for OS
Notes
Sufficient for OpenClaw with cloud AI APIs. Limited local model capability.
Prosumer
Power users, small office
Components
- Mini PC with Intel i5/Ryzen 5
- 32GB RAM
- 512GB NVMe SSD
- Optional: Entry GPU (RTX 3060)
Notes
Can run smaller local models (7B-13B parameters) alongside OpenClaw.
Enterprise
Heavy workloads, local LLMs
Components
- Workstation with Ryzen 9/Xeon
- 64GB+ RAM
- 1TB+ NVMe RAID
- RTX 4090 or A6000 GPU
Notes
Full local LLM inference (70B+ models). Complete air-gapped operation possible.
Software Stack
The recommended software stack for an OpenClawBox:
Network Architecture
Secure your OpenClawBox with proper network segmentation:
Internet
│
▼
┌─────────────────┐
│ Router/FW │ ◄── Port forwarding only for VPN
└────────┬────────┘
│
┌────┴────┐
│ VLAN │ ◄── Isolated network segment
└────┬────┘
│
┌────────┴────────┐
│ OpenClawBox │
│ ┌───────────┐ │
│ │ Docker │ │
│ │ ┌───────┐ │ │
│ │ │OpenClaw│ │ │
│ │ └───────┘ │ │
│ │ ┌───────┐ │ │
│ │ │Ollama │ │ │ ◄── Local LLM (optional)
│ │ └───────┘ │ │
│ └───────────┘ │
└─────────────────┘
│
┌────┴────┐
│ Egress │ ◄── Controlled outbound
│ Filter │ (OpenAI, Anthropic APIs)
└─────────┘Getting Started
Choose Your Hardware
Start with entry-level if testing, prosumer for daily use
Install Base OS
Ubuntu Server or Proxmox for VM flexibility
Set Up Docker
Container isolation is crucial for security
Deploy OpenClaw
Follow official GitHub instructions
Configure Networking
Implement VLAN isolation and egress filtering
Set Up Monitoring
Essential for detecting issues and security events
The VPA Standard
The OpenClawBox represents the physical implementation of Virtual Private Agent principles. As AI agents become more integrated into our lives, having a standardized approach to private, secure hosting becomes essential.
Whether you call it an OpenClawBox, a VPA appliance, or a personal AI server - the concept is the same: your agent, your infrastructure, your control.