0/5 steps
Powered by Telegram

Moltbot setup
in 5 minutes

No coding required. Just a server and Telegram. Free setup, you pay only for hosting (~$5/month).

Let's Go
Step 1

Pick your server provider

Click one to see setup instructions

DigitalOcean RECOMMENDED
$6/month
  • Beginner friendly interface
  • Great documentation
  • Reliable uptime
Hetzner
€4/month
  • Best price in EU
  • 2GB RAM for €4
  • German data centers

🌊 DigitalOcean Setup

  1. Create an account or log in to DigitalOcean
  2. Click the green "Create" button → "Droplets"
  3. Choose a region (pick one close to you)
  4. Select Ubuntu 24.04 LTS as the image
  5. Choose Basic → Regular SSD → $6/mo (1GB RAM, 1 vCPU)
  6. Under Authentication, choose SSH Key (recommended) or Password
  7. Click "Create Droplet" — wait ~60 seconds
  8. Copy your server's IP address (shown on dashboard)
I've created my server — I have the IP address

🇩🇪 Hetzner Setup

  1. Create an account at Hetzner Cloud
  2. Create a new project (or use default)
  3. Click "Add Server"
  4. Choose location: Falkenstein, Nuremberg, or Helsinki
  5. Select Ubuntu 24.04 as the image
  6. Choose CX22 — €4.51/mo (2GB RAM, 2 vCPU)
  7. Add your SSH key (or set a root password)
  8. Click "Create & Buy" — wait ~30 seconds
  9. Copy your server's IP address
I've created my server — I have the IP address
Step 2

Install Moltbot

Copy-paste these commands. Takes about 3 minutes.

2.1

Connect to your server

Open Terminal (Mac/Linux) or PowerShell (Windows) and connect:

Terminal 
ssh root@YOUR_SERVER_IP
💡

Replace YOUR_SERVER_IP with the IP you copied from your provider.

2.2

Install Node.js

Moltbot needs Node.js 22. Run this single command:

Terminal 
apt update && curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_22.x | bash - && apt install -y nodejs
2.3

Install & Setup Moltbot

Install Moltbot and run the setup wizard:

Terminal 
npm install -g moltbot@latest && moltbot onboard --install-daemon
🧙

The wizard will ask for your Anthropic API key. Get one at console.anthropic.com

2.4

Connect Telegram

Create a Telegram bot and connect it to Moltbot:

📱 Create your Telegram bot

  1. Open Telegram and search for @BotFather
  2. Send the command: /newbot
  3. Choose a name (e.g., "My AI Assistant")
  4. Choose a username (must end in "bot", e.g., myai_assistant_bot)
  5. BotFather gives you a token — copy it!
  6. The wizard will ask for this token. Paste it when prompted.
🔒

Your bot token is secret! Never share it publicly. It looks like: 123456789:ABCdefGHI...

2.5

Test your bot!

Open your bot in Telegram and send a message. It should respond! 🎉

  • Find your bot: search for @your_bot_username
  • Press "Start" and say hello
  • Your AI assistant is now ready!
Useful commands 
moltbot gateway status  # Check if running
moltbot health          # Run health check
🦞

You did it!

Your personal AI assistant is live. Start chatting on Telegram!

Need help?

Troubleshooting

Bot doesn't respond to messages

Check if the gateway is running: moltbot gateway status. If it says "stopped", start it with moltbot gateway start.

Getting "unauthorized" errors

Your bot token might be wrong. Re-run moltbot onboard and paste the token carefully from BotFather.

Can't connect via SSH

Wait 1-2 minutes after creating the server. Check you're using the correct IP. If using a password, try: ssh -o PreferredAuthentications=password root@IP

Want to add WhatsApp later?

Run moltbot channels login to scan the QR code with WhatsApp. Both Telegram and WhatsApp can work together!